Hi there,
Me and my husband bought a house five years ago. The house is built in the 70's with a septic tank. We had no water problems in our basement the first 4 years. However, recently the basement drain has been overflowing when it has been raining. The drain does not have a sump pump.

Could it just be an overflow problem that could be fixed by installing overflow protection or could it be something else?

Appreciate your input - thanks

Has your septic tank been treated monthly ?

Maybe you need to have your septic tank cleaned out or drained.

Also could be a clog in the pipe in your basement. You could call a local plumber and ask for prices or an estimate of what it would be to look at your specific situation. Usually A Plummer or Hvac technician are going to be rather expensive. But you could try the drain cleaner such as Drayno or whatever brand you may use. If that doesn't work and the problem still persists it could be a few problems such as cracked pipes leaking into the ground and when you get a significant amount of rain the backwash is coming into your basement via easiest route for it to travel.

Hi Hedlan... tell me how old is the house? Do you have interior perimeter drains? Do these pipes drop into a pit?

Describe the basement drain... or better yet... post a pic. Using "go advanced" feature on this site when you re-post.

Also, what do YOU mean by overflow protection? Would you consider installing a pump?

Sorry for all the questions, but answers will help to determine best course of action. Let us know.

Hi Massplumber,
House is around 40 years old. No interior perimeter drains.
As far as overflow protection - I have read other questions on this site and someone recommended an overflow protection on a basement drain.
Flood guards for floor drains - check valve to prevent flooding from FAMOUS PLUMBING SUPPLY (http://www.plumbingsupply.com/floodguard.html)

I definitely would consider installing a pump if that would solve the issue.

Here is a picture of the drain - thanks for your help
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0JauG7Vm5YuPg&notag=1

Hmmm... wondering just like silencedbear... when was last time you got the septic pumped out?

Also, you could dig up drain and cut in a backflow preventer (check valve)... but I do not think that will address the issue that you have at this time. A pump will not be the right answer, also.

I am no expert on septics or the piping related to their fields... I think speedball1 and maybe ballengerb1 may be able to tell you more (just find their name in any post, click on it, click on view profile, and then click on send a private message... that should bring them running in to give their two cents).

But first, find out when you last had that septic pumped... they will want to know that. Good luck.

Do you have any other plumbing issues (when it is raining), like toilets won't flush or sinks won't drain. Is this just water coming up the floor drain while of after a rain, or does it come up when you flush? Does water have odor, is it clear?
We are speaking of a floor drain aren't we.

Hi hkstroud,
We have no other plumbing issues, only overflowing when it's raining.
No odor to the water but somewhat dirty.
We did have the septic pumped a couple of months ago.

Sounds like your floor drain empties to a dry well,(a pit in the ground filled with gravel), not to your septic tank. Its just a place for water to drain to until it can be absorbed into the ground. For some reason yours is working backwards, probably because the ground is saturated, the water is coming from the ground back into you basement. You probably can't find it and couldn't do anything about it if you could. Nothing but block the pipe.

It looks like the check valve requires work to install. Why not go to plumbing supply and get something to just block the drain. The have blow up balls you can put in pipe, then pump up with a bicycle pump. If you ever need the drain (and its not raining) just let the air out and remove the ball. The have other plugs but they have little handles on them that you might stumble on.

I agree with Harold, Hedlann. Start simple and then see what happens.

In my area they refer to those rubber blow up balls as TEST BALLS... Cherne makes most of them.. and easily found at any plumbing supply house in your area.

I say try it and see what happens at next rain. Cheapest solution to start... for sure! Good luck

Hi there - thanks to all of you for your input - very much appreciated ! :)