PSA: That "quick" drain clean at the diner took me 2 full shifts before I found the grease trap access panel hidden behind the new fridge.

Spent 6 hours tearing apart pipes under the sink on a Tuesday only to realize the previous owners just slid a commercial fridge in front of the real cleanout hatch, has anyone else dealt with a secret panel that wasted your whole day?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix82421d ago

Stashing a fridge in front of the access panel is a classic move from the "deal with it later" school of kitchen maintenance. Found a similar situation where the cleanout was hidden behind a false wall panel that was just tacked on with a couple of screws, and the whole thing was covered by a stack of old menus. Took me a solid 45 minutes of just staring at a wall before I noticed the screw heads were painted over with the same color as the drywall.

the_margaret20d ago

@felix824 you just reminded me of the time I spent an hour trying to figure out why my dishwasher wasn't draining, only to find the previous owner had sealed the cleanout behind a layer of peel-and-stick backsplash. Pulled six tiles before I found it. The whole kitchen is a game of hide and seek if you ask me. A magnet is your best friend in those situations - run it along any suspicious seams and look for the pull. Saves your back from moving appliances that don't need moving.