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Old 05-14-2017, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,432 posts, read 2,488,215 times
Reputation: 1784

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I recently bought 25 years old house. Everything worked fine except plumbing started to clog at multiple spots in a couple of weeks after moving.

First of all, half bathroom downstairs. It seems to clog for no reason. I used concentrated sulfuric acid a couple of times and it helped to open the clog. But few days later I simply dumped dirty water from a hard floor cleaner in the toilet and it stuck again. That dirty water had nothing that could cause a clog, only some sand particles and that's it. So I though this problem might be caused by a tree roots outside. There are several mature trees. But I read an article saying that this problem is applicable to the houses built before mid 1970s with clay piping. However, 1990s houses should have PVC piping and tree roots are not supposed to damage those pipes. So I don't know what it could be. What do you think is the case? Sulfuric acid helps to unblock the clog very efficiently, but later the drain gets clogged again for apparently no reason.
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Old 05-14-2017, 11:19 AM
 
178 posts, read 172,599 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghost Town View Post
I recently bought 25 years old house. Everything worked fine except plumbing started to clog at multiple spots in a couple of weeks after moving.

First of all, half bathroom downstairs. It seems to clog for no reason. I used concentrated sulfuric acid a couple of times and it helped to open the clog. But few days later I simply dumped dirty water from a hard floor cleaner in the toilet and it stuck again. That dirty water had nothing that could cause a clog, only some sand particles and that's it. So I though this problem might be caused by a tree roots outside. There are several mature trees. But I read an article saying that this problem is applicable to the houses built before mid 1970s with clay piping. However, 1990s houses should have PVC piping and tree roots are not supposed to damage those pipes. So I don't know what it could be. What do you think is the case? Sulfuric acid helps to unblock the clog very efficiently, but later the drain gets clogged again for apparently no reason.
If the clog is caused by fats and oils and you pour sulfuric acid down it it may clear it untill the water dries out of the oil. Then the oil turns into a hard soap. snaking it or replacing the pipe is the only way to get it out.
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Old 05-14-2017, 12:14 PM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,432 posts, read 2,488,215 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joewy View Post
If the clog is caused by fats and oils and you pour sulfuric acid down it it may clear it untill the water dries out of the oil. Then the oil turns into a hard soap. snaking it or replacing the pipe is the only way to get it out.
Thanks. But how oil could get there? It's just a half bathroom, isolated from a kitchen. Right now it's not a tight clog so if I flush this toilet, water accumulates there but eventually gets out in several minutes. However it might get worse again if I put a small amount of bathroom tissue there.
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:00 PM
Status: " You’re not getting another penny out of me" (set 9 days ago)
 
19,732 posts, read 20,534,949 times
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Depends where the bathroom is located in relation to the plumbing line. Or not.
If the main trap is partially clogged and the bathroom is the last fixture before the trap then that would be noticeable first. The line needs to be cleared.
Call a plumber. Stop pouring harsh chemicals down the drain.
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:10 PM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,432 posts, read 2,488,215 times
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Originally Posted by hotkarl View Post
Depends where the bathroom is located in relation to the plumbing line. Or not.
If the main trap is partially clogged and the bathroom is the last fixture before the trap then that would be noticeable first. The line needs to be cleared.
Call a plumber. Stop pouring harsh chemicals down the drain.
Thank you!
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:22 PM
 
178 posts, read 172,599 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghost Town View Post
Thanks. But how oil could get there? It's just a half bathroom, isolated from a kitchen. Right now it's not a tight clog so if I flush this toilet, water accumulates there but eventually gets out in several minutes. However it might get worse again if I put a small amount of bathroom tissue there.
Your body, hair, the toilet so on and so forth. If they had babies it makes it all the worse when that soap gets mixed with the flushable baby wipes and turns into a concrete of some sort.

Yes, call a plumber or rout it out yourself. chemicals are only useful for the sink traps. After that they cause more harm then good.
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Old 05-14-2017, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,432 posts, read 2,488,215 times
Reputation: 1784
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joewy View Post
Your body, hair, the toilet so on and so forth. If they had babies it makes it all the worse when that soap gets mixed with the flushable baby wipes and turns into a concrete of some sort.

Yes, call a plumber or rout it out yourself. chemicals are only useful for the sink traps. After that they cause more harm then good.
Thanks!
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Old 05-14-2017, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Ft. Myers
19,719 posts, read 16,739,852 times
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We have two shops and in the one the toilet, over time, began to flush slower and slower. Finally, I removed the toilet and all I could see down in the elbow were roots. I called a root removal guy and he ran this huge electric powered snake down the hole and cleared it out, then he put some chemical down in there to seal the pipes so it shouldn't happen again.

Our pipes are PVC, not clay, so I was surprised that roots could intrude, but he said that happens all the time.
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Old 05-14-2017, 04:19 PM
Status: " You’re not getting another penny out of me" (set 9 days ago)
 
19,732 posts, read 20,534,949 times
Reputation: 16431
Roots will grow through anything, PVC Cast Clay, doesn't matter.
I don't believe the op to have a root issue, sounds more like a partial blockage, after the bathroom. Bathroom may be last in the line before trap, that's what it sounds like.
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Old 05-14-2017, 04:33 PM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,432 posts, read 2,488,215 times
Reputation: 1784
I believe this bathroom is located last in line, based on the house geometry. But if roots can get into PVC piping they also could cause this issue
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