My fun (sarcasm) adventures in plumbing nightmare.....

[Joel Owens]

Okay so I move a new tenant into a unit.

They call the next day and say the tubs are not draining well.We go and inspect and the tubs are slow draining.

We put drain-o and others down the line and it does nothing.Then we call our plumber and he snakes the line.

The problem is someone put in a T line from the 2 tubs instead of a Y line so the line is clear from tub to tub but the snake cannot turn a corner to go further into the pipe.

So the plumber suggest we use CLOBBER from a specialty store which is straight concentrated sulfuric acid.This does not clear the line.

Plumber comes out and then installs a Y line fixing the T-line.Puts a camera down the line from the kitchen which is downstairs and the bath plumbing is in the ceiling.

He sees a drink cap and what looks like a bottle but can't tell.We are thinking from a roof put on years ago a roofer dropped a drink down the plumbing vent and it is stuck.

So the plumber opens up the wall above the kitchen sink and VOILA the problem is found!

Some idiot left a (ball check) in place fully inflated on the 3" line.No wonder water form the tubs wasn't draining.Apparently there was work done to the kitchen 7 to 8 years ago before I bought it a few months ago.

The plumber says the ball check is to check holding water and pressure test and then is supposed to be taken off and a regular line used or just remove the ball and cap the pipe.

Instead he said many times dry wallers just goes over it before the plumber comes back and the plumber says screw it and leaves it.

I just couldn't believe it but the plumber has found this before on other properties he has worked on.

He said the building inspector is not responsible for seeing the ball check comes out or is not covered up.The inspector sees it pass the test and leaves.I just can't believe nobody checks this kind of stuff before throwing walls up.