Tips To Unclog A Plumbing Vent

By Scott Rodgers

Sometimes you notice your kitchen sink or the bathroom sink not able to drain down water as quickly as it is supposed to be. Instead you notice a certain rise in the water level complemented by a foul smell occupying the spaces of your home.

After ensuring that the drainage pipe and the sink traps are operating normally without any hindrance, make way for an inspection of your plumbing vent as that is where the solution to the problem may lie.

A vent is a plumbing component that makes way for the escape of waste gases and sewer gases produced by the said waste. Vents work in collaboration with the sink traps and the drainage system such that the waste gases don't enter into the building and are expelled properly.

Vents are commonly installed on the roofs with a metal/plastic pipe of about 1 or 2 feet rising above the roof surface. They have a diameter of about 3-4 inches and are visible from a distance even.

To clean out all the debris and foreign materials from the vent, move to the vent site. Take an extension ladder and set it up inclined to the roof. Since you have to inspect the vent from the roof surface only hence it becomes mandatory to double check whether the roof surface is rigid enough to carry your weight. If your roof is a saturated one then standing on the roof may prove very risky. In such a case the examination could be performed by an expert who would possess necessary tools and techniques to reach out to the vent.

An additional roof ladder extending from the inclined ladder to the ridge of the vent may be used so as to place yourself in a comfortable position. This would also prevent you from standing on the wet and saturated roof.

Once you've reached the vent put the beam of a torch into the vent to locate any clog. Insert a long bamboo stick or a rigid metal rod to break apart any clog in the form of debris, leaves and other foreign materials. A deeper clog however has to be eliminated by a hose pipe. The force of the water would drain down any such clog into the drainage.

If that doesn't work either then the hose pipe can be inserted into the vent easing the path for the water flow. - 30517

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here