Cleaning Drain Vent Pipe

Some folks will use a garden hose to clear their vent pipe.

Cleaning drain vent pipe.

Water will begin to drain when you have succeeded. The plumbing vent pipe is a vertical pipe that attaches to the drain line and runs through the roof of a home. This is usually a plastic or metal pipe about 4 inches in diameter that extends 1 to 2 feet. Remove any items you can reach.

Bring a 20 foot sewer auger onto the roof. The pipe leading to the main roof vent is called the vent stack. The force of the water should clear the obstruction and the water will continue down the stack to the sewer. If the pipe won t drain you ll need to try the auger.

Leave the hose on the roof while you climb down and fetch a 10 to 20 foot plumbing auger also known as a snake. Step 2 locate the vent. If the blockage is deeper inside insert a garden hose into the vent and turn on the water. If the blockage is stubborn you may have to clear it with a 20 foot sewer auger.

If not use a sewer auger to clear it. Use a flashlight to shine a bright light down the vent pipe to look for further blockage you can reach. Feed the cable bit by bit until you hit a barrier. Cleaning a drain vent step 1 mount the roof.

A 10 to 20 foot length is recommended. Feed the end of a garden hose down the vent pipe and have someone on the ground turn on the water. Wear shoes with a firm grip to avoid an accidental fall while on the roof. In order to access the roof you will need a ladder ensure that you observe the aspects of ladder safety such as placing it on a level solid ground.

If you can see but can t reach run a plumber s snake down the vent pipe. That s a short term solution. There is still gunk gathering on the sides of your pipe that you need to clear out. Withdraw the cable debris often comes with it.

Then try the following. Insert the head into the vent opening and feed in the cable until you encounter the. Turn the handle to push the head through the blockage. If you only use a garden hose you ll be back up on your roof in no time clearing another vent pipe problem.

Step 3 clean the vent. The force of the plunger may clear the obstruction in the main stack. It helps maintain proper atmospheric pressure in a building s waste system and channels the exhaust gasses to the vent. For those items you can t remove from above run the plumber s snake down the vent pipe.