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giutax · Jan 20, 2013, 08:10 AM

I have been having issues with my sewer getting backed up. It appears to be flush able wipes however I have a few questions.
Should there be standing water in the cleanout pipe at all?
I had to suck out the flushable wipes (at the cleanout) using a shop vac and then the water flows with no issues. My clean out pipe has mushroom type cap on it. I removed it and I can see water in it. About 2 feet away is another pipe that comes out which I removed the top. I can see running water between the mushroom cap pipe and the one I had to remove (it had square on the top) after I sucked up the wipes etc... I turned on all faucets and flushed toilets at the same time and it appears to me drain because I can see the water moving between the 2 pipes that come out of the ground.

Should there be standing water in the cleanout when there is no blockage?
It only backs up when the kids use the wipes which I am trying to stop.

massplumber2008 · Jan 20, 2013, 08:19 AM

Hi Guitax

In almost all cases, you should NOT see any water in a drain pipe when you remove the cap/cleanout cover. The only exception here would be if you had a whole house trap and in that case you could put a stick into the cleanout and shove it down about a foot (or more) into the trapway.

If you don't have the whole house trap then you have a PARTIAL BLOCKAGE and the drain line probably needs to be snaked to clean this up before it becomes a total blockage and an emergency for you, OK?

Good luck!

Mark

speedball1 · Jan 20, 2013, 08:25 AM

Hi giutax and welcome to The Plumbing Page at ANHD.com.

I have been having issues with my sewer getting backed up. It appears to be flush able wipes

I don't care what they tell you NOTHING should be flushed except human waste and toilet paper,

Should there be standing water in the cleanout when there is no blockage?

How deep is the standing water? Are you on city sewer or a septic tank?

It only backs up when the kids use the wipes which I am trying to stop.

Take control of your home. Toss out the wipes and don't buy any more. Good luck, Tom

giutax · Jan 20, 2013, 09:05 AM

I am on city water and sewer. There is about 4 -5 inches of water in the cleanout and I am not sure if I have a whole house trap.
The water line is just below where the sewer water comes out of the house.
It never goes above this line even when I run everything in the house ( Even if all Faucets,toilets and shower go off at the same time.) I did this as a test.
So I can see the running water out of the house into cleanout and then to the other pipe that is 2 feet away.
When the back up happens I can't see this running because it goes above the where the water comes out of the house and no water to the next pipe that's 2 feet away.

Thank you for the help.