I was running the washing machine the other night and all of a sudden both my tub and shower started backing up. As the washer was in the spin cycle and getting rid of all its water, the shower and tub continued to fill with water.

I shut the washer off and let things slowly drain until the next morning, most of the water had receded, but I was pretty sure the clog was still there. I tried some drain cleaner, but it did not work. But during the process, it was obvious that the clog was quite a ways down the line. After letting the drain cleaner work for some time and after beginning to flush with hot water, it took a good five to ten minutes for the length of the drain line to fill up and for me to figure out that the clog was still there.

After that, I started snaking from the shower drain (the lowest drain in the house and the first to back up). I snaked with a 25 foot 1/4" snake and never reached the obstruction. I then progressed to a 50 foot snake, still never reached the clog. When snaking, I only hit two elbows, one about 18" down and another a few inches after that. I called the utility to see if they could give me any insight on where my cleanout might be located and if they thought the clog might be on their line.

After talking with the utility they told me that my line connects with the house behind me, so since the neighbors are not complaining it's probably on my part of the line and still my responsibility.

Well, I did some measuring, from the drain on one side of the house to the furthest drain on the other side is only about 35 feet. So, I'm pretty confident that the snake is going in the right direction, i.e. towards the main line, or otherwise I would have hit another elbow. From my shower drain where I'm putting the snake in to my property line is only about 45 feet, so I'm wondering what other possibilities might be feasible. Should I call the utility back and insist that they check the lines?

I've tried locating the cleanout on the side of the house where the utility said it should be, but I haven't had any luck. Even if I did find it, it would probably be close to the shower drain and wouldn't get me much closer to the clog. Or maybe it's time to buy a longer snake? Any tips on finding the sewage line in the ground? Due to the sand that came up in the water that backed up gives me the awful feeling that there is a breach in the sewer line.

Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. I really don't feel like calling a professional unless I have to. I work in irrigation plumbing, but don't have a ton of experience in residential.

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by lespedeza

I was running the washing machine the other night and all of a sudden both my tub and shower started backing up. As the washer was in the spin cycle and getting rid of all its water, the shower and tub continued to fill with water.

I shut the washer off and let things slowly drain until the next morning, most of the water had receded, but I was pretty sure the clog was still there. I tried some drain cleaner, but it did not work. But during the process, it was obvious that the clog was quite a ways down the line. After letting the drain cleaner work for some time and after beginning to flush with hot water, it took a good five to ten minutes for the length of the drain line to fill up and for me to figure out that the clog was still there.

After that, I started snaking from the shower drain (the lowest drain in the house and the first to back up). I snaked with a 25 foot 1/4" snake and never reached the obstruction. I then progressed to a 50 foot snake, still never reached the clog. When snaking, I only hit two elbows, one about 18" down and another a few inches after that. I called the utility to see if they could give me any insight on where my cleanout might be located and if they thought the clog might be on their line.

After talking with the utility they told me that my line connects with the house behind me, so since the neighbors are not complaining it's probably on my part of the line and still my responsibility.

Well, I did some measuring, from the drain on one side of the house to the furthest drain on the other side is only about 35 feet. So, I'm pretty confident that the snake is going in the right direction, i.e., towards the main line, or otherwise I would have hit another elbow. From my shower drain where I'm putting the snake in to my property line is only about 45 feet, so I'm wondering what other possibilities might be feasible. Should I call the utility back and insist that they check the lines?

I've tried locating the cleanout on the side of the house where the utility said it should be, but I haven't had any luck. Even if I did find it, it would probably be close to the shower drain and wouldn't get me much closer to the clog. Or maybe it's time to buy a longer snake? Any tips on finding the sewage line in the ground? Due to the sand that came up in the water that backed up gives me the awful feeling that there is a breach in the sewer line.

Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. I really don't feel like calling a professional unless I have to. I work in irrigation plumbing, but don't have a ton of experience in residential.

Thanks.

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My brother in law had this problem, he had to get about 100 feet to finally get through the blockage because it was out that far.

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Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. I really don't feel like calling a professional unless I have to. I work in irrigation plumbing, but don't have a ton of experience in residential. I snaked with a 25 foot 1/4" snake and never reached the obstruction. I then progressed to a 50 foot snake, still never reached the clog

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You're attempting to snake a 4" sewer line with a 1/4" cable? Go down and rent a sewer machine and if you can't locate a cleanout go down the closet roof vent to the street. Your snake is too small and not long enough. Good luck, Tom

How far is it to the city sewer riser? You clog can be that far out. Follow Speedball1's advice and rent a machine with enough snake to reach the street.

Thanks for all your replies, I appreciate the advice in helping to resolve this problem.

Once I find the cleanout, I'll work on getting the equipment worthy of the job. Related to locating the cleanout, I've dug adjacent to the house directly below and to both sides of the roof vent, but I still didn't find it. I live in FL, house was built in '78 and it's a slab. Am I looking in the wrong place for the cleanout? Is it possible that the drain pipe would run under the slab towards the back of the house or does it almost always head away from the house where the roof vent is?

Also, do you think that the sand in the water is indicative of a broken sewer line? Or could it just be part of the clog?

The reason why I thought fifty feet was enough is because I measured from the shower drain where I insert the snake to the back of my property where my sewer line supposedly should connect with my neighbors (according to utility co. records). With the 3/8" 50' snake, I hit two elbows and after that there is absolutely no resistance.

I'll keep on working on finding the cleanout, but any additional insight would help. Thanks again for the assistance.

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Once I find the cleanout, I'll work on getting the equipment worthy of the job. Related to locating the cleanout, I've dug adjacent to the house directly below and to both sides of the roof vent, but I still didn't find it. I live in FL, house was built in '78 and it's a slab. Am I looking in the wrong place for the cleanout? Is it possible that the drain pipe would run under the slab towards the back of the house or does it almost always head away from the house where the roof vent is?

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You're in luck. I'm a Florida plumber that's worked the West Coast from Tampa down To Fort Myers. We are required to install a house cleanout on the street side, ( It always is on the side where the sewer exits the house on the way to the street) not over 18" off the foundation and bring it up to grade. Time might have covered it up but it should be close to the surface if you probe for it. Ask your neighbor where his is. If you're connected to his then yours will be on the same side as his. Good luck, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

You're in luck. I'm a Florida plumber that's worked the West Coast from Tampa down To Fort Myers. We are required to install a house cleanout on the street side, ( It always is on the side where the sewer exits the house on the way to the street) not over 18" off the foundation and bring it up to grade. Time might have covered it up but it should be close to the surface if you probe for it. Ask your neighbor where his is. If you're connected to his then yours will be on the same side as his. good luck, Tom

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Tom

Thanks for the advice. I probed basically the entire side of the house (18" from the slab in a 3"x3" grid pattern) and got frustrated. I then decided to call a local plumber to see if he'd be willing to give me some additional insight. Here's what I found out. When the houses in my neighborhood were built, code did not require installation of a cleanout. He did tell me that a lot of the houses have a test-T, but not all of them. Normal location would be on side of the house where the sewer tap is about 12" down. Well, I've dug 12" down, a width of about 12" along the sewer side of the house along the entire length of where all the plumbing connections are and I didn't find any evidence of any test-T or any sewer lines.

So, my follow-up question is, can I snake through my toilet and reach the clog? I've pulled the toilet, I snaked it fifty feet with a 3/4" flat tape and still haven't hit anything. If I rent a sewer machine, is it safe to go through the toilet connection? I just have an awful feeling that I'm going to dig up half the yard before finding this test-T that may or may not exist. Also, there is a possibility that it's underneath the slab that was poured for the AC compressor. The compressor slab is directly in front of my shower connection.

Thanks again for your help.

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So, my follow-up question is, can I snake through my toilet and reach the clog? I've pulled the toilet, I snaked it fifty feet with a 3/4" flat tape and still haven't hit anything. If I rent a sewer machine, is it safe to go through the toilet connection?

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Yes you may. We pull a toilet and snake from the closet bend as a last resort. It's not so bad going in but pulling out a black gunk covered cable in a enclosed space leaves you with a lot of cleanup to be done. To be sure I get the clog I fill the pipe up and when the water whooshes out I know I've got the blockage. Good luck, Tom PS. What area of Florida do you live in?

Tom, thanks again for the additional information.

I'm in Labelle, about 30 miles east of Ft. Myers along SR 80. I used to live in Venice and grew up in Tampa, so more or less the same neck of the woods as you.

Any other hints or things I should look for when I'm using the machine? The water's at the drain right now, but will fill it again if need be.

Thanks again!

Tom, just get in your red two seater and drive over there.

Well, the sewer machine did the trick. Thanks for all your advice.

I'm now a little worried about what I found... roots and feminine hygiene products. The crazy thing is that I live alone and I can assure you any guests haven't been flushing things down the toilet. I had about 80 feet of cable out when I hit the obstruction and it took quite a bit of torque to break things loose. The good news is that things are going down, at least for now.

I guess now it's really time to talk to the utility to find out where the sewer tap is so I can repair things properly instead of just relying on a temporary fix.

Thanks again for all the help.

Roots are never a good sign. Once they have an opening to get inside they like to expand and open the seam further. You can use Rootx or go to the lawn and garden store and buy copper sulpite. Put tis stuff down your drain twice a year and you may hold that tree at bay.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Roots are never a good sign. Once they have an opening to get inside they like to expand and open the seam further. You can use Rootx or go to the lawn and garden store and buy copper sulpite. Put tis stuff down your drain twice a year and you may hold that tree at bay.

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Ballenger, I will definitely try that. The quantity of roots leads me to believe that the breach might already be substantial, but will try this approach and monitor things closely. I'll post a picture of the roots later today and maybe you can give me some more thoughts.

Thanks.

A hairline crack or bad seam will allow a hair sized root inside. Once a root is in the line they swell and grow like crazy because they have lots of food. Feed them copper sulphite and their environment will kill them.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Tom, just get in your red two seater and drive over there.

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On my way and the color's white.

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I then decided to call a local plumber to see if he'd be willing to give me some additional insight. Here's what I found out. When the houses in my neighborhood were built, code did not require installation of a cleanout.

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HORSE HOCKEY!! You fall under The Stardard Plumbing Code and as far back as 1973,(your place was built in 1978) chapter7, section 704.2 in that book, uinder the heading "Location", reads, " Cleanouts, shall be not more then 50 feet apart in horizontal drainage lines of 4 inch diameter or less.
Section 704.3 reads, " Cleanouts, when installed on a underground drain, ( this applies directly to you), shall be extended to or above the finished grade directly above the clean out tee."
iOur local codes mandate that we install a house cleanout on the street side, ( It always is on the side where the sewer exits the house on the way to the street) not over 18" off the foundation and bring it up to grade.
If your house was built to code and passed ny a plumbing inspector then you have a clean-out installed somewhere. As for those roots, RootX or Robics Foaming Root Killer that contain Dichlobrnic are two products you could try.
A less expensive way would be to call around to garden supply stores and ask for fine grain Copper Sulphate. Put a 1/2 pound in your toilet and flush it down. Repeat in 6 months. I see where you have punched through the clog. Did you locate the clean-out or did you have to pull the toilet?
Tom

Thought it was red with chrome horns but at least I got the number of seats right. That's OK since I can't spell Copper sulphate either.

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Originally Posted by speedball1

If your house was built to code and passed ny a plumbing inspector then you have a clean-out installed somewhere. I see where you have punched through the clog. Did you locate the clean-out or did you have to pull the toilet?

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From what the plumber said and hearing the frustration in his voice, I have a feeling that these houses were not built to code back in the late 1970's. This place is still the boonies, so I can only imagine what it was like almost thirty years ago. Never found the clean out, but after seeing which way the cable entered the toilet drain, it looks like I was looking on the wrong side of the house. It appears that the sewer lines go under the house, hook up with the plumbing on the opposite side and then exit from under the foundation. Going through the toilet worked fine. After being a tilesetter for years, toilets is one aspect of plumbing that I've gotten pretty good at.

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Originally Posted by speedball1

As for those roots, RootX or Robics Foaming Root Killer that contain Dichlobrnic are two products you could try.
A less expensive way would be to call around to garden supply stores and ask for fine grain Copper Sulphate. Put a 1/2 pound in your toilet and flush it down. Repeat in 6 months.

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Will definitely take your advice on the chemical treatment of the roots. Thanks for the info.

Here's a pic of the roots.

http://www.altiplanobowlers.com/images/roots.JPG

You guys are a great help. All the assistance is greatly appreciated.

That is one crap load of roots, sorry about the pun. Use the copper twice a year to prevent regrowth.