Remove clean out plug

[busybee1952]

There is a clean out plug I need to remove on an elbow that goes to the washing machine stand up pipe. It's the black plastic kind but I cannot figure out how one removes those plugs. Do they twist out or are you suppose to somehow get ahold of that little lip and pull it out?

[Harry]

Hi

If you are talking about the P-trap yes some (not all) do have a cleanout plug. It is threaded and probably has a rubber washer. Loosen by turning counter clockwise.

Harry

[busybee1952]

Thanks Harry but I gave up and ended up cutting the pipe with the hacksaw. Ran a hose down through there endless times and got a bunch of really nasty gunk out. I had already put 1 1/2 bottles of drain cleaner down there and it didn't seem to help. Hopefully, I have dislodged enough of the partial clog so that my washer will drain. Just have to repair the pipe I cut now. I have one of those rubber patches with the clamps on it but I'm thinking I will have to put some kind of metal something in the pipe first so that the clamps don't squash the drain line. Is that right?

[Harry]

Hi

The pipe is not expensive. I think I would replace it instead of patching. Water leaks can destroy a MH.

Harry

[busybee1952]

I think replacing this pipe would be beyond my abilities since it comes from the washer stand up pipe and then goes to the main drain pipe and has a wierd curve in it where it goes into the main drain pipe. I just don't know how to hook into the main drain pipe or if I could even find replacement pipe with that wierd curve. I think I'd much rather replace it than try to dig out more of the nasty stuff that's in there for sure but I just don't know how.

[Harry]

Hi

The weird curve in the washer stand pipe is probably a "trap". Water is trapped there so the sewer gases don't come up the pipe.

The parts are not expensive. In order to replace the stand pipe sometimes you have to go downunder the home. Is yours built this way?

Harry

[busybee1952]

No, the wierd curve is where the washer drain pipe connects to the main drain pipe. I don't mean the trap in the stand pipe. If the mosquitos don't carry me off, I'll try to take a picture of it and post it tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

[busybee1952]

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t243 ... ection.jpg


Ok, here is the picture of the wierd curve in the washing machine drain pipe where it connects to the main drain. I don't know why it has this wierd curve or how I would replace this whole pipe.[/img]

[Harry]

Hi

Exactly where did you cut the standpipe?

The reason I ask you may be able to repair and not replace.

Harry

[busybee1952]

I didn't actually cut the standpipe. Ok, the standpipe comes down through the floor and hooks to a p-trap just under the floor. I cut just a little ways, maybe about 6" or so, past the p-trap and toward the main drain line. That way, I could run the garden hose in the trap and also the other direction to where that drain connects into the main drain line.

I figured I could just put one of those 2" rubber patches with the clamps on it to fix it since there's not that much pressure there but I was wondering if I needed to insert a metal tube or if the drainline itself is strong enough to support the clamps. Someone else had put one of these patches on the main drain line at some point. You can see it in the picture. I replaced it though because it was bulged out and had been leaking. When I took it off, I found that one of the screws in the clamp wasn't tight. I don't know how the screw could have come loose but maybe it did that when the trailer was moved to my property. All I know is that it had been leaking a long time and it was really nasty under there.

[Harry]

Hi

Yes I've seen those repair patch and clamps. I suppose they work ok.

The best repair is to replace the pipe. If you go this route get all the parts and practice putting them together without glue to make sure they all fit together right. Then clean and glue em together.

Good luck

Harry