Down the drain

[c1anchor]

Hey all,
A question, as I am the second owner of this coach, I'm uncertain of the reason for the kitchen drain being unusually slow. Is it safe to pour liquid plummer into it? Or is there an rv alternative?
TIA!

[Grumpy Grampa]

I would do two things first.

1. Take p-trap apart, clean it out.
2. Make sure you have adequate slop to drain after p-Trap.
3. Do all other drains work fine?

Good luck.

[Sappy2]

Get a drain snake (cheap one that is a long plastic stick with barbes). Run it down that drain and see what comes out. I had a slow one and after the snake job, ran water great. As for liquid plumber, I do not recomemend that or taking anything apart unless absolutely necessary.

[powerboatr]

second on takign p trap off, clean it and then run a snake of sorts down the pipe


we do a BLAST about once every 3 months, i clean the traps then use a water hose to blast water through the pipes using the sink drain. i wrap a heavy cloth around the hose so it only goes down the drain.

it will remove the grease stuff easy enough.
BUT YOU must make sure all your connections are tight and you plug the other side of sink drain with a stopper and have a person to cut off water quick in case of h,mmmmm and issue

[Chateau_Nomad]

This is a good reason I NEVER rinse food/grease etc. down the kitchen sink. It's a little extra effort, but all dishes, cooking utensils, pots, pans, skillets, storage containers, etc. get wiped clean with paper towels and Clorox (or similar) wipes to remove all food particles. The only purpose of the sink is to then sanitize those items in hot soapy water... after which it's ONLY the soapy water going down the drain... the food was put in a garbage container.

There are enough "unprovoked" things that can and WILL go wrong in an RV. I consider my little extra "being anal" dishwashing routine just added insurance that I'm not causing or contributing to those problems.

I once had an RV salesman try to tell me that my gray tank would stink worse than the black tank. I told him: "You obviously don't know me very well..."

[MWarrren]

Personally I believe there’s a good chance that the slope is insufficient. If the pipe attached to the sink runs over and back behind a faux wall like a lot do to hide some of the wires water pipes etc, then good chance the slope is very shallow. I have a Delano and that’s what I’m dealing with. We purchased brand new and the Mrs was washing dishes and fussing about drain and asked if she could use something to clean. Upon inspection it was obvious. The trap takes up a good amount of space down so slope is hard to come by. If the motor home is not leveled well it is worse of course.
2 cents worth

[MJC62]

I think it were mine I would do what Sappy suggested, snake it out first before I crawled underneath and pulled apart the P trap. I don't like crawling around on these old arthritic knees any more than I have too.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by MWarrren

Personally I believe there’s a good chance that the slope is insufficient. If the pipe attached to the sink runs over and back behind a faux wall like a lot do to hide some of the wires water pipes etc, then good chance the slope is very shallow. I have a Delano and that’s what I’m dealing with. We purchased brand new and the Mrs was washing dishes and fussing about drain and asked if she could use something to clean. Upon inspection it was obvious. The trap takes up a good amount of space down so slope is hard to come by. If the motor home is not leveled well it is worse of course.

2 cents worth

I agree with this as the most likely issue. If the trap takes up too much room under your sink you can give this gizmo a try. It can be used horizontally. I’ve not tried it but I’m considering it.

https://drainmaster.com/rv/hepvo-waterless-valve

[c1anchor]

Thanks guys, all great advice. I will start with the slope inspection and then try the snake. I'll let y'all know how it turns out. Safe travels...

[Travelin' Texans]

I would NOT recommend using any drain cleaner due to risk of harming drain valve seals.
I would also NOT recommend using a snake! If by chance the sink has the Hepvo trapless valve the snake WILL damage the rubber bladder beyond repair.
It's also possible to damage the plastic holding tank with a snake.
Check which trap that's there, then either clean the p trap or check that the bladder in the Hepvo is not damaged, inverted or stuck together with grease.

Here's a photo of a Hepvo trap.

[dkoldman]

I might be too late to the party, but what I would try is to get the water hose out, hook up this hose bladder and insert in line where you move the P trap, and you can watch the crap drain out of your gray tank if you have one of the clear attachments.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Cobra-Rubbe...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Judge]

If the sink is on a slide, it is also likely that there is a flexible hose as part of the drain to the grey tank and the hose could either have a slope issue or could potentially have a kink in it.

[witzee]

mine was slow since new, and slope was fine, line was clear, etc. the problem was the vent pipe. if it doesn't open easily (which is didn't) the drain will be very slow.

[donmorris]

Best I ever did and do every 3 months is to take baking soda and put down the drain then add a couple of cups of white vinegar. Do to all drain cleansing sanitizes and unstoppable like magic.
Absolutely safe and no environment impact.

[Reid]

We periodically have the same problem. I've removed / cleaned the P-trap in past but have since found out it is easier and faster to just use a wood skewer and poke it thru the drain....clears the problem instantly for us. We keep the skewer on the counter.

[abjbrtd]

Originally Posted by Judge

If the sink is on a slide, it is also likely that there is a flexible hose as part of the drain to the grey tank and the hose could either have a slope issue or could potentially have a kink in it.

c1anchor what motorhome do you have?

Our sink is in a slide and that was the problem

[71_340]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

This is a good reason I NEVER rinse food/grease etc. down the kitchen sink. It's a little extra effort, but all dishes, cooking utensils, pots, pans, skillets, storage containers, etc. get wiped clean with paper towels and Clorox (or similar) wipes to remove all food particles. The only purpose of the sink is to then sanitize those items in hot soapy water... after which it's ONLY the soapy water going down the drain... the food was put in a garbage container.

There are enough "unprovoked" things that can and WILL go wrong in an RV. I consider my little extra "being anal" dishwashing routine just added insurance that I'm not causing or contributing to those problems.

I once had an RV salesman try to tell me that my gray tank would stink worse than the black tank. I told him: "You obviously don't know me very well..."

Best advice given above! I am also super anal (my wife's term for me) when it comes to what goes down into the grey tank. I am the only one to do dishes in our RV.