u/Charles07v

Both sinks in my kids’ bathroom suddenly stopped draining and filled with dirty standing water. The bathtub in the same bathroom drains normally, so it doesn’t seem like a whole-house or main line issue. Each sink has its own P-trap that goes straight into the wall (they don’t connect under the cabinet). I believe an AC condensate line may also tie into the drain in this cabinet, but the sink drains themselves go directly into the wall.

Here’s everything I’ve tried so far, in order:

1. Tried plunging the sinks, including sealing one drain while plunging the other. No luck.
2. Bought a better plunger and tried again the same way. Still no improvement.
3. Ran a hand plumbing snake down each sink drain, but couldn’t pull anything out.
4. Removed one P-trap with a bucket underneath, and both sinks drained immediately into the bucket.
5. Removed the P-trap completely and ran the snake directly into the pipe going into the wall about 5–10 feet. Didn’t pull out any debris.
6. Reassembled everything and tested again. The sinks filled right back up and didn't drain.
7. After that I made a Reddit post asking for advice. Several people suggested continuing to snake the drain but attaching the snake to a drill to give it more power. I tried that today and got some interesting results.
8. When I snaked the left pipe, the snake eventually comes out the right sink.
9. When I snake the right pipe, it comes out the left sink pipe. So inside the wall the two drains clearly connect before dropping down, and my snake is just crossing between them instead of going down toward the clog.

What’s the best next move for a DIY attempt? Is there a trick to getting the snake to go down the correct branch, or am I basically at the point where I need a plumber?

Two adjacent sinks in my kids’ bathroom are completely stopped up with standing water, but the bathtub next to them drains normally. Each sink has its own P-trap that goes directly into the wall, and there’s also what I believe is an AC condensate drain line tied into the plumbing in that cabinet. The clog seemed to happen suddenly. I first tried pouring vinegar down the sinks, then followed with hot water, but that didn’t clear it. I then tried plunging, including plugging/sealing one sink while plunging the other, and later bought a better plunger and tried again with no success.

After that, I tried running a plumbing snake down each sink drain, but couldn’t remove anything. Then I removed one of the P-traps with a 5-gallon bucket underneath, and both sinks drained into the bucket. I removed the P-trap completely and ran the snake directly into the pipe going into the wall. The snake went about 5 to 10 feet before it wouldn’t go farther, but I didn’t pull back any debris. I reassembled everything, cleaned the sinks, and tested again, but both sinks filled right back up with clean water and still won’t drain.

Any ideas on what to try next, or is this likely time to call a plumber with a powered auger?