Something is blocked in the drain lines for the building, not just your unit. That inherently requires getting the super involved, because they'll probably have to run a snake down a drain somewhere else in the building.

In their case, their shower emptied into the same downpipe that serviced the common roof gutters and their neighbour's sink. There was a blockage as a result of leaves gathering at the bend where the downpipe entered the drain at ground level, hence the backing up.

We were lucky, as it looks like somebody else had had the same problem at some point and had punched a small hole near the downpipe bend, and we were able to use that to access and unblock it with some wire then flush it through with plenty of water.

I'd have your super check that out as a possibility first - there's always a possibility of passing any problems downstream if it's a severe blockage, so maybe not a DIY job for you.

Last edited Mon Oct 5, 2015, 05:04 PM - Edit history (1)

The product is called Hair clog remover ,it is used in bath tub drains and bathroom sinks. It appears the poster above pretty much explained the problem area in the pipes ,so, what it comes down to is your neighbors bath drain- ,that is most likely just the place to pour in the Drain Care product Hair Clog Remover. Your neighbors bath tub drain and bath sink.

From your sink, bath tub ,you are getting to the problem area ,but from your neighbors bathroom ,you get getting on top of it. Hair clog remover is only used in bathrooms -tub and sink- it is not used in any other areas of your drain system.
Given what is going on in those pipes I would suggest the gallon bottle ,costs between 8 and ten bucks.

By the way the stuff is called 10 Minute Hair Clog Remover ! I would pour at least 1/4 of the bottle down yer neighbors bath tub drain , at least a cup or cup and 1/2 down yer neighbors sink , ,wait ten minutes ,flush with hot water and repeat the process at yer neighbors bath tub drain ,again flush after 1o minutes with plenty of hot water.

As a contractor doing apartment maintenance over the years the stuff has saved me time and trouble with those snakes.
Not to mention clean up after running that snake . And ,the build up is trapped gunk ,a combination of stuff,like a hair ball.
Sometings all the snake does is poke a hole through the gunk , only to reform somewhere down the pipes. In other words ,it will drain but it's a guess for how long.
If you have ever heard the saying like a slippery snake, thats what the stuff does ,it makes the build up slip and slide through the pipes. If the snake just polks through it , it can and does stay building back up to a blockage. That;s the iffy part about running the snake through certain types of blockage.

A plumber will tell you after the drain is open ,upon completion of running the snake that your drain is open but there is a chance the clog moved down the pipes and may build back up later, if it does,call back .


Yea, well, if you use hair clog remover and it moves down the pipe later rebuilding back into a clog ,you can call out the bottle of hair clog remover and pour some more down the pipes ! It is faster and far cheaper that paying and repaying a plumber!




It's a good product and it works . The objective is to move the gunk down the pipes into the main drain ,the 4 inch pipes.

Talk to your super and have the super get to it, save the building some real bucks on those plumber charges and the stuff works fast.
Buy some for yourself and keep it under your sink !



On edit, I forgot about Bush ! Over time and in particular when there is no perforated drain cover over the bath tub drain or bathroom sink drain ,a lot of stuff goes down the pipes and collects in places forming a kind of junk pile. And the stuff collective becomes like a mountain of junk in yer drain system. The stuff of junk is unseemly but there is a product you can get that will allow you to do combat with the stuff and the junk. Stuff happens as you know but when the stuff becomes a junk pile in your pipes than something must be done ! What it comes down to is you must have the right stuff on hand so you can get rid of the junk.

10 minute Hair Clog Remover is the right stuff folks . There is no treasure to be found for anyone in that junk collective in your pipes !

Zep 10 Minute Hair Clog Remover !

<a href="http://photobucket.com/images/jeb%20bush" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="jeb bush photo: Bush, Jeb jeb_zpspjyy4tpe.jpg"/></a>

!

I haven't thought about it in years because I think it got harder to find.

I have a lot of hair buildup. I've been using the drain catchers and that helps some. I need to get some of the 10 minute stuff to keep on hand.

Since it is part of the common plumbing it should be a building/association paid repair.