Drain pipe partially clogged with grease

[Dale7905]

A cleanout connection was installed in a 2" vertical drain pipe coming from my kitchen. The 12" length of pipe cut from the vertical drain pipe to make space for the cleanout to be installed was partially clogged (about 50%) with a blackish greasey-like substance. It seems obvious that the drain should be cleaned of this greasey substance before it begins to cause problems. What is the best tool to clean out this substance ( I assume some type of snake) and what type of cutter head and what diameter snake line should be used? Any helpful hints and /or techniques on how to go about cleaning the drain would be greatly appreciated. The task will involve the snake having to feed through a 2" J trap. Thanks for help.. Dale

[ToUtahNow]

Dale,

\I'm curious why you would need to clean the drain through the trap if you had a 2" cleanout installed.

Regardless, depending on the bends in you line, I would use a 5/8" sectional cable (or 1/2" drum machine)with a grease cutter blade on the end. After the line is snaked I would follow up with a high pressure jetter and tell your wife to stop putting grease down the drain.

Mark

[imported_PLUMBER RICK]

i agree with mark on this. the same question is why the trap if you have a c/o?

the 1 thing i would do different is if the c/o is outside where the water, waste will not cause a clean up issue, i would forgo the cable snake and jump into the jetter. the purpose for this is to eliminate a very greasy cable to have to clean up. a cable will only punch a hole through the stoppage. the real cleaning is done with a jetter. if waste water is not an issue, then the jetter will open and clean the drain. if waste water is a problem, then clear the drain with a snake and wash your cable clean. the grease is an acid that will destroy a cable if not properly cleaned.

chances are that you don't have access to a hydro-jetter. so a do it yourself cleaning will be to snake with a 1/2'' cable and run hot water with the cable once you clear the line. this will help to flush the line. a sectional cable machine is a good choice, but not typically rented to a homeowner. the cutter should be no larger than 1.5'' in a 2'' line. a single knife 2'' will work, but a double knife 1.5'' will clean more efficiently.

rick.

[Dale7905]

Rick and Mark, Thanks for the helpful hints. They are much appreciated and very informative. I've printed them out for reference.

Regarding the J trap question mentioned: The cleanout was installed in the vertical drain pipe near the kitchen sink and runs down the utility room wall( which is right beneath the kitchen). The c/o was installed about 4 feet from the utility room floor. The c/o is such that the vertical pipe can be snaked both up towards the kitchen sink and also down to the drain beneath the floor. So I won't have to snake through a J trap using the installed cleanout. However, the utility room floor also has a floor drain close to the clothes washer, which goes through a J trap to connect with the kitchen drain under the concrete floor. So I'm thinking I may have to snake some of the clogged drain through the utility floor drain and its associated J trap. I hope I was able to describe the situation clearly.

I've been having another thought about whether the 2" drain pipes can be inspected visually using some of the fiber optic visual inspection tools advertised? It sure would be nice to actually 'see' what the drains look like after using a snake or jetter cleanout. Would you have any comments on the use of these tools? Do plumbers or professional folks who clean out drains use them to verify the drains are well cleaned or do they just look at the rate the water flows out of the sink or down the drains?

Thanks again,

Dale

[imported_PLUMBER RICK]

dale, a camera is used to diagnose the condition of a drain line. i charge for this service as the equiptment cost 5-10 thousand. some people do it for free to then sell you a job. so to answer your question. if it's not broken, don't fix it. if the line is flowing freely, full blast, then you're fine.

rick.