Shop vac for drain clog?

[Formulator]

I woke up this morning to a significant clog in my main return line. Thankfully my backup durso is doing its job like an old pro. I’ve never dealt with a clog before and it seems my 1 inch PVC is too small and too many bends for a drain snake.

My DT is plumbed to a basement sump not directly below the DT, so there is a 45 degree turn and a 90 degree turn, as well as about a 15 foot linear section of pipe between the DT and sump. I have no idea what is clogging it. I suspect a large turbo snail got in there, but can’t see anything when looking into the drain pipe.

I read somewhere that shop vacs can prove useful for clearing smaller pipes of clogs. Has anyone tried this method or have any other suggestions?

 

[exnisstech]

Never tried a shop vac for drains. I see menards offers a mini snake thats 1/8" but only 10ft long. If you do find a snake I would push from the bottom up vs top down unless you think a snail got in from the sump.

 

[ptrusk]

Shop vac worked for me to remove a clog from a large snail. You have a much better chance of sucking it out the way it went in than trying to shove it through. I suggest trying shop vac first.

 

[Formulator]

Thanks both. I think I will give the shop vac a try. If it works, I may make it part of regular maintenance. I’m kind of curious to see what other gunk comes out of there after 6 years of use with no cleaning…

Good to know there are smaller snakes out there too. I will try that if shop vac doesn’t work.

 

[exnisstech]

Let us know how it goes and what you get out.

 

[ptrusk]

You probably will figure it out but the best way is to remove the standpipe and suck on the bulkhead. The other end should be out of the water so either remove a section or drain the sump a bit. Should come flying out in a second.

 

[Formulator]

Update: Shop vac worked like a charm! Pulled quite a bit of sludge/debris out of the pipe. I haven’t dug around to see what the major culprit of the clog was yet, but will get some pics later.

 

[Formulator]

Found the culprit! Left outside all day and overnight. Got down in the 60’s last night with a thunderstorm. Didn’t realize these guys were so hardy! Also not sure how he scaled my overflow and stand pipe to get into the drain…

 

[aquaman67]

Im on my phone. What is it?

 

[Formulator]

Im on my phone. What is it?

Hermit crab

 

[merkmerk73]

Update: Shop vac worked like a charm! Pulled quite a bit of sludge/debris out of the pipe. I haven’t dug around to see what the major culprit of the clog was yet, but will get some pics later.

How exactly are you doing this?

Just shoving your shop vac hose underneath?

I have a shop vac but I'm not sure how I would do this or if I could even get my hose to fit in such a manner.

 

[Formulator]

I stuck the end of the shop vac hose into the end of my stand-pipe in the overflow and sucked all the gunk out through the top end. I have 1 inch PVC and my shop vac fit pretty well. I did have to use my fingers to create a perfect seal, but it did the job for me. If your drain comes out underwater in your sump, you will need to drain some water out of the sump first so you are only sucking air and whatever crud is stuck in the pipe.

If your shop vac hose doesn’t match up with your pipe for a good fit, they sell these attachments at home depot that I was going to try next based on the recommendation of a plumber I talked to.