FLOOD (Not my fault)

[cyberwollf]

Ok so after joking with my wife about flooding the basement with RO (which i have not done yet) I do have water on the floor.  The washing machine dumps into an old utility sink (like it always has).  Recently the sink started draining slow, so today i took a piece of 1/4 tube and rodded the drain out.  Now, i did a load of laundry and when the machine dumps, the sink drains fine, but there is a backup and the floor drain floods the floor untill the sink is empty. 

Being from Louisiana i have never seen a basement before now  How is the line connected to the city?  The pipe to the left is the greywater out and the drain to its right.  Where would i need to snake, and why would the floor drain now backup?? unless the clog is now below the floor..?



Looking at the floor it seems as if this problem has happend before... But not in the year we have lived here.  Suggestions?

[Baggerhog]

Since the pipe drains that I see there look like black iron pipe it tells me that the plumbing is older. The drain pipe to the sewer or possible the septic may be clay tile and therefore may be roots from trees in the yard. I would try and snake at the floor drain. If you find roots in the drain there is a product you should put down your drains every so often to kill the roots in the drain line. I forget the name of the product.

[cyberwollf]

could this be related to the sink clog? or coincidence?  Will taking a shower do the same thing?

[Kenn]

I agree with Baggerhog about the roots and getting it snaked. If your washer also dumps into that common drain, you would be surprised how much washer "lint" will build up in that part of the drain system.If there are roots ( I would bet that there are ) that just gives the lint something to grab onto. A few other things it could be, but lets not hope it is any of those 

IMO   

[cyberwollf]

It did seem like some squishy lint was in the drain with i rodded it today...  We have very few big trees around, but i have no idea which way the pipe heads to the city.  Looks like im going to get a snake from Home depot in the morning.. Any thoughts on whether a shower would also flood it?
   

[Kenn]

Seems like an older home from the cast pipe in the floor. Due to the age ( I aint sayin' old    ) of the home and if you havent had the drains cleaned before, then I would say that it's a good possibility. I have mine ( sink, shower and washer) snaked once a year. Mostly because of my wife's hair . And for around $70 bucks a year it's worth it to me. I would do it all myself but I have them snake all the way to the road  . I figure if they are going to be here to do 1 they can do them all. Besides, I get wet enough with the tanks

[Jon in SW Ohio]

Yup, sewer line back up caused by tree roots is most likely the culprit. Cleaning up and drying out this exact problem is what I do for a living, though lately it's been mostly pipe breaks from freezing temperatures.

Do you have a clean out drain (usually capped) along with that main drain? The clean out is usually what you want to snake out.

[Amstar]

I have the exact set up and I am going through the exact same problem.  I however put sand (a ton of it) I wasnt thinking... into the washbin and it went down into the pipes and its been clogged since.  I cut the pipe open, turned it so that the washbin drains right over the drain that i have in the floor instead of down the pipe in the floor.

is that bad?

curious to see how it works out with you.. so i may learn how to fix mine as well.

[cyberwollf]

Picked up a drill powered snake this morning.  I am going to snake down the floor drain.  I hear you on the sand, i was worried about that   I'll let you know how it goes

[cyberwollf]

Ok.  That didn't work. after i snaked the floor drain, i tried to dump the washer and after half the sink basin filled, I could see the water level in the drain rising.  Also alot of gurgling in there.  Jon can you PM me with a quote to fix this?  BTW no clean out cap

[cyberwollf]

Ok I give up.. Is there suppose to be standing water in the drain at all time?  I PMd you Jon

[cyberwollf]

Ok so i was waiting to see if it was just to the high water table because of the melting snow right now, BUT... today it started backing up when the toilet flushed and toilet paper and all came up.  I got a guy coming tomorrow. 

Also a friend told me basement drains have a anti backup valve and snaking wont necessary help.  BTW did try the 20 foot snake with no success.  There goes the tax refund...

[MSUJenn]

I feel your pain. If it is tree roots in your sewer line, they use an industrial sized snake to get them out. Atleast that's what they did when we had that problem. It also helps if they put a camera down there to see if they got all of the roots, or whatever it is. They didn't do that the first couple of times they came to our house, and we kept having a flooded basement every time I would do a load of laundry. We finally had Roto Rooter come out with a camera and clear all of the roots out with a their big snakey thing. We also bought this stuff from them to dump in the drain lines every so often that is supposed to kill any new roots growing in there. We haven't had any problems since then (knocks on wood   ). Good luck!

[cyberwollf]

how much $$ was that?  I had a friend that does alot of house flipping recommend "Dayton Sewer and Drain"

[MSUJenn]

I don't think it was too expensive, under $200 each time, but we had several plumbers come out. The first guy didn't have a long enough snake to reach the roots, neither did the second guy, but he went out and rented the equipment, but he still didn't get them all, so that's why we went with Roto Rooter. Also, any good plumber will guarantee their work, and will come back out if they didn't get it all the first time...we didn't know that, so we kept calling different plumbers, and paid a lot more than we had to. Judging by their name, I'm sure Dayton Sewer and Drain has experience with getting tree roots out, so you should be fine.

[cyberwollf]

i am flying out of town tomorrow morning so I'm worried they might try to scam my wife.  Since I'll be on a plane or behind a secure area, i wont have my phone to talk with her.

[JSLeedy]

I have a neighbor that I would trust completly to do it.  I don't know his number but if you PM me yours I can give it to him.  He has done work for me and does a good job.  I will vouch for him.  Whatever that is worth.

[cyberwollf]

sorry i missed that post or i would have.  I had another guy reccomended from a friend.  They came out today and the wife said everyting is good now.  It was roots. 

[JSLeedy]

sorry i missed that post or i would have.  I had another guy reccomended from a friend.  They came out today and the wife said everyting is good now.  It was roots. 

No worries.  I was just throwing that out there for you cause I know he is trustworthy.