[yvette516]

Help!

When my washing machine is running (which is located in the garage), my toilets and tubs start to fill up and/or overflow and water runs through the garage.
This house was built in the 80's and I moved here in 1998.
It seems like it's always having plumbing problems. There were a lot of oak trees in the front yard a long time ago and I thought maybe roots from the trees had something to do with it but I had a plumbing company come out and cut out a piece of the driveway to use the camera in the pipes but they said everything looked OK.

I read a lot before asking this question and they mentioned a septic tank issue.
I live in the city and have city water (Tampa, FL) so I don't even know if I have a septic tank. Other articles I read said it could be a vent clog. What's that mean?

Finances are tight since I'm a single Mom of 4 so I would like to see if I can fix this myself before I decide to call a plumber.

I do have a hand closet auger but I was using it incorrectly. My 17 year old daughter was telling my that I was scratching up the toilet but I kept trying to do it my way. Then I found a video clip on the internet on the This Old House website.. It showed how to use an auger and when it said " it has this protective coating here so it won't scratch your toilet" we started laughing. So now we have a scratched up toilet, a garage with water everywhere and two bathooms with the tub/showers/toilets backed up.

P.S... and the toilet even talks to me even when there's no laundry being washed.

Anything you can offer is greatly appreciated. Yvette :)

[speedball1]

Hi Yvette, Greetings from Sarasota.
Backups = clogs and blockages. Soooo, if the plumber didn't find any clogs in the line from the house to the street,(most root problems are found at the street raiser) did he go up on the roof and snake the vents to remove any blockages that might be in the house main or branches or did he just run the camera and leave? Back to you, Tom

[yvette516]

Tom,

To tell you the truth I can't remember. The ironic part of this whole thing is that my current husband is a plumber. However, he's in jail for possession and even if he was home he'd be too lazy to fix it unless the clog had a bag of drugs inside of it...

Do you have any suggestions? Things I can try or should I call a plumber?

[speedball1]

Do you have any suggestions? Things I can try or should I call a plumber?

Sorry about Hubby. Hope this teaches him you can't work high. As for your problem, how handy are you? Do you live in a one storied house and are yo afraid of heights?
If the sewer isn't clogged,(and I'm not too sure it's not still blocked at the city raiser) Then I would snake from the washer vent. But I'm not convinced the plumber did you a good job if all he did was to send a camera down the sewer and then leave you without removing the blockage? What kind of a plumber will charge you and then leave you with the same problem? Let's check that plumbers work. Locate the house cleanout and open it up.
Now cycle the washer. If it backs up out of the clean out then the blockage is between the cleanout and the street. (If you live in the city it's doubtful you're on a septic tank.) Your cleanout will be located on the street side 18" off the house foundation. Check it out and let me know w3hat you find. Good luck, Tom
Back in the 60's I used to work in Tampa for Henry Gonzolas Plumbing. Che