# Drain with Air lock?



## Jrosm (Apr 17, 2016)

I have a bathroom drain that drains slow in my upstairs bathroom. It just started for no apparent reason. My first thought was there was a clog. There was debri in the trap and I cleaned that out, I also had debri in the outgoing pipe from the trap to the wall, so I cleaned that. However, it still won't drain which is why I thought it might be an air lock. When I put the plumbing back together the water runs fine as it is suppose to, but if I close the drain to the sink and allow it to fill and release the drain I get a couple of bubbles and then the sink doesn't drain. I can repeat the process of removing the trap and reinstalling it and get the same result. There is an approximately 1 inch diameter pipe that appears to be coming from my AC unit that "T"s into the sink drain tail before the trap. When I blow on the vent tube up in the attic at the AC I hear water in the A/C, but there is no way to blow air through the pipe in the direction of the sink without cutting the pipe. But before I do that, I was hoping someone can give me guidance on my situation. No repairs have been done to plumbing in the last two years. Thanks in advance


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

Clean the trip lever assembly inside the sink tailpiece. To do this you'll need to disconnect the linkage and remove the lever rod from the stopper. 
Or buy one of these for a couple bucks. I use one at least oce a year-- http://www.menards.com/main/plumbin...55CF980C90DAB15B.eklka-prodapp5-external-mcom
You can get them at Wallmart or most hardware stores


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## Jrosm (Apr 17, 2016)

Thank you for your reply, I tried your suggestion but no joy. I'm thinking there is a clog further down the line, since with time and the drain stop removed the wayer does actually back up. I didn't catch this earlier b/c I did not run it long enough. I will snake from the wall and see if I have success. Thanks again for your suggestion.


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## srloren (Jun 8, 2015)

You need to purchase a small 1/4" or 3/16" hand snake from Home Depot and disassemble the trap and if possible remove the trap arm so that you know that the snake goes down the drain instead of up the vent. Also run the plastic barbed cleaner down the over flow to be sure it is clear. The other thing you might check is the vent through the roof to make sure it is not blocked from bird poo or possibly even a nest that would prevent the air from entering the vent. That would cause bubbling too. You have received good advice above and as always, hair is the most frequent culprit in these smaller drains in the bathroom. Good luck


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