Q-My bathroom sink drain is partially clogged. The water drains out, but very slowly. I have tried drain cleaners, but they only helped a little. A neighbor lent me a plumber`s ”snake,” but when I tried to force this down the drain I had a lot of trouble, even though I removed the pop-up drain fitting first.
Apparently, I can`t force the snake past that U-shaped bend in the drainpipe under the sink. Other than call in an expensive plumber, is there anything else you can suggest?
A-You don`t use a snake by forcing it down through the sink`s drain opening. That U-shaped pipe you are referring to under the sink is called a trap. Many traps have a plug at the bottom that can be unscrewed, after which the snake is pushed up through the plug opening.
You push the tip of the snake into the drainpipe above the trap until it reaches the obstruction. Then twist the end of the snake to snare the obstruction so that you can draw it back out. If your trap has no plug at the bottom, then the whole trap should be removed by loosening the threaded collar at each end of the U. After this, the snake can be forced up into the drainpipe the same way.
Concrete erosion
Q-The garage in my split-level house has an exposed concrete foundation wall about 30 inches high. There are two hairline cracks on the outside that seem to accumulate a sandlike material on the inside. When I brush this away, it comes back in two or three months. I think a leak is pushing this sandlike material to the outside.
A-If it were a leak, water would be coming from the outside in, not from inside to outside. The sandlike material could be the concrete breaking down, or sand eroding due to a poor initial mix of the concrete mix.
Either way, I suggest brushing out the sandy residue, then scraping out the crack to open it. Fill with either a hydraulic patching cement or a vinyl- concrete patching cement.
Dripping condensation
Q-I own a one-story house that is about 45 years old. I have lots of condensation in my attic during the winter-so much that you can see drips on the interior walls below. The attic has three roof vents and I have checked to be certain that the vents under the eaves are not blocked by insulation. The roof does not leak, and there is no condensation problem in the summer.
A-First check the humidity inside the house; it sounds as though it may be too high. If you have a humidifier on the furnace, turn it way down or off to see if this helps.
I also suspect that you do not have enough ventilation in the attic. In addition to continuous eave vents, you probably need continuous ridge vents.
