Bathroom sink filling up with water?
I live in a single family home with one bathroom. About a week ago the bathroom sink began filling up with water, although the drain of that sink is not clogged. Originally the water had some brown sediment. I understand from other places on the internet that I probably have a clog somewhere else, but I can't figure out the origin and I've used multiple heavy duty drain cleaners in every possible place (kitchen sink, bathroom sink, bottom of dishwasher, washing machine). The bathroom sink definitely fills up when I am using the kitchen sink. Yesterday [the bathroom sink] started filling with colored water (first brown, then blue) when I was doing laundry so I assumed it was laundry related, but I had also just put heavy duty drain cleaner in the kitchen sink and I was doing mainly whites in the wash so the blue was a mystery. The kitchen sink (no disposal) is clearly mildly clogged - it drains, but there is some water that still comes just below the drain. I'm on the city water system. Where in the world can I look for the clog? Thank you!
Why would a bathroom sink smell bad when the water first runs?
Our sink in our apartment has this really awful odor when you first turn it on in the morning, or when first turning it on after a few hours. We've mentioned it to the landlord, but every time they send someone over it just happens to not do it. I can't seem to figure out if its the water coming through the pipes, or the pipes where its being drained. If it were in the sink, you think you'd smell it all day, but it quickly subsides once you run the water for a bit. No other sink/drain does this in the house and with the almost sulfur-ish smell, we dread even turning it on...But being the only bathroom, its hard to avoid. Should we try to use draino or something? Snake it? Or is it something else?
Do most water pipes (kitchen sink, bathroom sink) run into a septic tank? Or, into a seperate drainage tank?
There are 3 possibilities. 1) all drains go to a sewer system. 2) all drains go to a septic tank or cesspool. 3) Soil drains go to the septic tank or sewer, with all other drains going to a gray water tank. Gray water is simply saved water from things like the kitchen sink which do NOT contain human or animal waste. Gray water can by used for irrigation of plants and food vegetables without fear of contamination with bacteria such as E-Coli found in human and animal waste. If the kitchen sink is clogged, but NO other problems manifest, then I am confused as to why a snake or plunger will NOT work. There really is nothing but smooth pipe between the sink and anywhere else. If the plunger does not work, there is a place where air can get in or out between the sink and the clog. If the snake does not work, then you did not snake far enough down the pipe. Building code are strict on how pipes can be joined. Drains ALL meet in a Y connection, specifically so a snake can only go ONE way down to the end. If you used a T connection and are coming in from the side, how do you make the right angle bend? THAT is why all drains come together in a Y so coming in from either leg of the Y gets you out the bottom with no right angle turns. So, if the sink is plugged, you may have a Y connection down below somewhere between your sink and the clog, but that poses a question, the other leg of the Y. Where it THAT? water must back up in BOTH legs, which means another sink is backing up as well. But you make no mention of other problems, so I am back to the two things, an air bubble somewhere between the sink and the clog which is why your plunger does not work, or not snaking far enough down the drain to get to the clog. It does not matter where the end point of the drain IS. What matters is what is close to the sink with the problem.
Does the water in your bathroom taste different then from your kitchen?
The other morning I got water from the bathroom sink. It tastes different then if it does from my kitchen. I asked a few people if they thought the same thing and they said yes. Does anyone know why that is?
Why does my toilet gurgle up water when the sink is running?
It would be hard to say without seeing how your bathroom is plumbed. Gurgling from a drain is typically a problem with the vent on that line. Normally a poorly vented drain will have the water sucked out by the vacuum created by water passing through the pipe. You say that “my toilet gurgles up water,” does the water level increase when the sink drains or does it make a bubbling sound? Water entering the toilet from the drain pipe would be an indication of a clog below the toilet connection, something that would be more immediate a problem than noise coming from the bowl. I have to believe you have a bad vent or no vent and what you’re hearing is the air being sucked through the toilet siphon. if that happens often enough the water seal will be compromised and you’ll get sewer gas coming into your bathroom through the siphon gap.
Why does my bathroom sink gurgle as the bathtub empties?
The sink is poorly vented.Drain-waste-vent system - WikipediaYou have a vent in a drain line to allow gasses in the sewer line to escape without going into the house. This works with the traps (which use a low point in the line to act as a valve and seal the drain from the house) but gasses have to go some where and that’s why you need a vent.So if a drain is gurgling, it means that the vent isn’t working well: could be clogged or could never have been built well, but the flow of water from the tub is most likely pulling air and with no other source, the bathroom sink is letting air into the lines through your trap.You could probably address this with an under sink vent valve: (random pic of one, not endorsing any particular design)… or find out where the make up air for the bathtub was supposed to come from and if that vent is either missing or clogged and correct that.Or, just live with the gurgling sound.(I hate plumbing-work)
What happens to water when it goes into a sink?
When water goes down the drain, whether it's in your sink, toilet, bathtub or shower drain, it flows through your Drain-waste-vent system that is part of your house plumbing in the walls and under the floors. The DWV allows removal of sewage and "dirty water", and it regulates air pressure in the pipes to allow proper drainage via gravity.Traps (dipped sections in the drain piping with water in them) are used to keep the smelly gases from coming out of each drain because all the pipes are connected together. That means your sink drain is connected to your toilet drain, so when you flush your toilet the smells don't come up through your sink because of the traps.The waste piping has vents (usually sticking out of the roof) to introduce air into the system to keep everything flowing properly. If there were no vents then the piping system may act like a straw with your thumb over the top, making drainage very difficult.The DWV piping is sloped downwards just the right amount to allow gravity to take away the waste water and the associated solids (if you know what I mean).From there it flows out the main discharge pipe either into a septic tank in your yard or to a community "lift station" where it is pumped to your friendly neighborhood Wastewater Treatment plant where the solids are removed and the water is possibly recycled.
My drain pipe in the wall is "knocking" when I run water through it... what should I do?
Knocking is only found in a pressure pipe line.. Can be hot or cold lines.. Usually the knocking is caused by air traps with the pipe acting like a hydraulic.. It will make the pipe bounce and the knock is the sound of the pipe either hitting on something when it is turned off or on or when the bubble comes to an elbow or corner in the pipework.. This can be overcome by installing an anti knocking valve in the pipe line..It is simply a ball and spring,like a shock absorber that takes the thump out of the water motion.. Note ..Ok two of you with the same problem now.. Freezing cold weather..Drain pipe is freezing inside... Hot water enters drain and expands the pipe.. The pipe makes noises as it expands.. Especially if it is copper, lead or steel..
Is there anything wrong with drinking water from the bathroom sink or shower?
Do you mean as opposed to the kitchen sink? It’s amazing how universal this question is!Kitchen sink water sometimes tastes better because kitchen taps are fitted with an aerator, which makes the water taste better by mixing a bit of air into it. It’s basically a little piece of screen. That little bit of bit adds taste, but there’s no difference in the healthiness of the water.In every case, make sure that you are running the tap for a few seconds, or as long as necessary for the water to come out cold. That cold temperature means that you have flushed out any water that has been sitting in the metal pipes that run through the house. That sitting water might have spent hours sitting in the copper (or sometimes lead) pipes, where possibly toxic metals have had the chance to leach into it. Even copper pipes can have some lead in the solder that is used to join sections of pipe. Most cities have vitrified clay (VC) pipes underground that carry water to your house. When water comes out of your tap cold, you know it’s coming from those underground pipes. VC is much, much safer for your water than the metal pipes in your walls.Make sure you are reading the news and know about the status of municipal water where you live. Flint, Michigan, has horribly toxic water in its municipal supply, due to an interaction between chemicals used to purify the water with the lead pipes used to carry it. If you notice a bad taste in your water, better play it safe and switch to bottled or distilled. Even a home purifier like a Brita pitcher can improve water a lot.