Stranger Things In Your Kitchen Drain
When you have a garbage disposal, you may find that you end up with some stranger things in your kitchen drain. While some of these things are more "normal" than you think, others should probably be examined by a plumbing professional. Here are just a few of the stranger things that plumbers have worked on and seen.
Garbage Disposal on, Sludge in the Opposite Sink
Sometimes some less-than-effective handymen, who are not real plumbers, install a garbage disposal in a way that links the plumbing from the disposal unit to the same pipe that takes wastewater down from both sinks. When that happens, you, the homeowner, flips the switch for the garbage disposal unit. You end up with the mess from the unit flowing upward into the other sink drain.
It is a disturbing mess at best, but because it leaves so much mess behind after you turn the unit off, you may want to have that fixed. The real plumber can reroute your under-the-sink plumbing so that the garbage disposal's drain pipe empties farther down the main sink lines and does not back up into the opposite sink. You can also stop up the other sink drain with a twist-in drain stopper so that the sludge does not come up.
Thick, Black, Foul-Smelling Muck
If you do not have standing water in your sink, but you do have stench coming from the drain, take a paper towel and wipe out the drain. It may leave a thick, black foul-smelling muck on the paper towel. Take care not to touch this stuff. If you were to look at it under a microscope, you would find hundreds of drain fly larvae, juveniles and adults, as well as their remains and fecal matter. While you can frequently try to wipe the drain clean, it may be a better idea just to have it professionally cleaned by a plumber.
Sludge, Standing Water and Foul Sewer Smells
While it is unusual for raw sewage to find its way into a kitchen sink, it does not mean that it cannot happen. When raw sewage and black water back-flows, it usually looks for the nearest exit, which is the bathroom plumbing and fixtures. However, if your home's plumbing is universally connected (i.e., all of the house's pipes empty into the same sewer stack and are connected to each other), you may find that raw sewage comes up in all of the drains in the house. An overhaul of the plumbing by a professional can quickly change this situation for the better.
Contact professionals like AAA Home Services for further help.
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