I have a single story slab home. Washing machine in attached garage. Two bathrooms with the toilets backed up to each other on the same wall. Also city sewer. I notice every 3-6 months, I'll notice 2 problems, not necessarily at the same time. 1.) I'll wake up and notice that my bathtub is full of black particles and about 2 inches of water. Draino clears this up pretty well. 2.) Toilets have bubbles coming up while washing machine or dishwasher are draining.

Today, we were doing a load of laundry, I was in the backyard right outside my bathroom windows. There is this metal cap sitting loosely on some sort of pipe, about 6 inches in diameter. All of sudden I noticed water and looked like a paper towel coming up out of this pipe. Then later, the toilet started bubbling?

The first time this happened, I had roto rooter out and they said that they would not go up on my roof to root it out. They wanted to install a clean out in the front of my house for $800.00 before they would do anything. So my father-in-law and I rented a cable from Home Depot and went to the roof. We rooted the whole 50' or so and that thing came up clean. And the problem lasted about a day, no more than that.

Any ideas what this could be or how I can keep this from happening?

I have a single story slab home. Washing machine in attached garage. Two bathrooms with the toilets backed up to each other on the same wall. Also city sewer. I notice every 3-6 months, I'll notice 2 problems, not necessarily at the same time. 1.) I'll wake up and notice that my bathtub is full of black particles and about 2 inches of water. Draino clears this up pretty well. 2.) Toilets have bubbles coming up while washing machine or dishwasher are draining.

Today, we were doing a load of laundry, I was in the backyard right outside my bathroom windows. There is this metal cap sitting loosely on some sort of pipe, about 6 inches in diameter. All of sudden I noticed water and looked like a paper towel coming up out of this pipe. Then later, the toilet started bubbling?

The first time this happened, I had roto rooter out and they said that they would not go up on my roof to root it out. They wanted to install a clean out in the front of my house for $800.00 before they would do anything. So my father-in-law and I rented a cable from Home Depot and went to the roof. We rooted the whole 50' or so and that thing came up clean. And the problem lasted about a day, no more than that.

Any ideas what this could be or how I can keep this from happening?

We snake most of our houses from roof vents down here. Of course most of our homes are one storied homes. What's yours?
How far from the house is the "pipe with a cap"? Your blockage is down dtream from that and if you could get it open you could snake the rest of the line from there,( the blockage is most likely at the city raiser at the street). Failing that I'd install a cleanout myself and save the 800$. If you're a handy householder I can walk you through the process. I'll need to know what material the sewer pipe's made of. Let me know. Tom

I found out some more info. That pipe outside my house looks like it must be the clean out. What it looks like is a cast iron cap about 6" in dia. In a rubber boot. Looking down that rubber pipe, about 2 feet down or so, it leads to a perpendicular pipe where the water flows through. I looked down it with a flash light as my wife flushed the toilets. I saw the refuse go right by every time. It was free flowing now, but this was what had backed up earlier when the washing machine was on. It sounds just like what you said. There must be something blocking between this and the street. The roto rooter guy just missed this I guess, and that was when I was new to the home, so I hadn't seen it either.

I'm curious why though, when I rooted down the vents on the roof the first time this happened, I did not get anything. The auger should have come out a little dirty right? But it was clean. Could the blockage be between this clean out and where the vents lead to and I was just on the wrong side of it?

I found out some more info. That pipe outside my house looks like it must be the clean out. What it looks like is a cast iron cap about 6" in dia. in a rubber boot. Looking down that rubber pipe, about 2 feet down or so, it leads to a perpendicular pipe where the water flows through. I looked down it with a flash light as my wife flushed the toilets. I saw the refuse go right by every time. It was free flowing now, but this was what had backed up earlier when the washing machine was on. It sounds just like what you said. There must be something blocking between this and the street. The roto rooter guy just missed this I guess, and that was when I was new to the home, so I hadn't seen it either.

I'm curious why though, when I rooted down the vents on the roof the first time this happened, I did not get anything. The auger should have come out a little dirty right? But it was clean. Could the blockage be between this clean out and where the vents lead to and I was just on the wrong side of it?

I don't think you put out enough cable to reach the clog when you came down the vent. Since the blockage was between the cleanout and the street and it's now flowing freely the clog musthave gone out to the city main. Glad you're back in business. Regards, tom

Thanks for your responses. It helps to have someone confirming these steps along the way. Keep up the info... thanks again...