Hi, I am having trouble with my basement floor drain running slow and am looking for some advice. I have to assume that the current configuration is a poor design and am willing to redo whatever is necessary to get it right. Currently, the floor drain is a 4" cast iron drain. There is a 1 1/2" copper drain which basically just had and elbow at floor level and dumps into the top of the 4" drain. The copper drain is just below floor level and dumps into the top of the floor drain. (No traps on the copper drain) There are 3 lines that connect to that copper drain, a laundry tub, a line from the water softener, and a washing machine drain. This all worked fine at first but as the years have gone by it works slower and slower and backs up through the floor drain. The rest of the drains throughout the house work great, so I'm quite sure the problem is between the floor drain and the main sewer pipe. We have had it snaked out several times, but the interval between snake outs is becoming more and more frequent. Also, when the come to snake it out, they really have trouble doing it because of that 1 1/2 copper pipe that elbows right in the middle of the drain.
I am thinking of 2 possibilities for fixing; the problem and hope someone can tell me which is the best alternative or suggest something else.
Idea 1: Dig out the current drain at the trap and replace the trap with new PVC then tie into the existing cast iron drain that runs to the main drain. (hoping that the problem is primarily at the trap)
Idea 2: Run a new drain from the laundry tub, softener, and washing machine to the main drain separately and just bypass going to the floor drain. If I do this, I don't really know how or where I would put the trap and need some help in that.
Thanks for reading this lengthy description and thank you in advance for your help.

Off the top of my head it sounds like a majority of the blockage in the floor trap is sludge. The snake pushes through and pulls some solids out but the sludge just flows back in. You can try using an adapter like the one in this link (home depot has them)

Find Clog Buster, 1 1/2" x 3" and other Drain Openers at Aubuchon Hardware

Attach this to your garden hose and I would recommend using the washing machine hot water spigot for the supply water. This adapter will expand in floor drain and pressure should force sludge out of trap. There are also rams available and I have even been successful using a shop vac to do this as well. So there are a couple things to try.

If snaking the drain out doesn't do the trick I have to go with door #1.
The 1 1/2" copper pipe is a indirect waste and does not require a trap. If you went with door #2 you would have to trap each fixture individually.

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replace the trap with new PVC then tie into the existing cast iron drain that runs to the main drain. (hoping that the problem is primarily at the trap)

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You can check the trap but I believe the problem's in the old cast iron drain line. Washers dump a lot of fiber and grease in the line and cast iron is a great place for it to clog up in. If it were me, and I was already jacjhammering up the cement, I would follow the cast iron drain line over to the sewer main, convert to PVC and replace the floor drain and the drain line. Good luck, Tom

Thank you for your quick responses! The way that the copper 1 1/2" line dumps into the drain makes it very difficult to get anything into the 4" drain to snake it. If I were to pick door #1, what would be a better way to tie that indirect waste line into the floor drain? Also, should I incorporate a cleanout into the floor drain? Also, what will I run into when I get to the main drain and try to tie it in?
I would rate my level of do-it-yourself ablity to be pretty high, but don't want to get into a job where I cause more damage then I repair or costs me more in the long run than if I had just hired a professional in the first place.
Thank you again!

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The way that the copper 1 1/2" line dumps into the drain makes it very difficult to get anything into the 4" drain to snake it. If I were to pick door #1, what would be a better way to tie that indirect waste line into the floor drain?

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You may cut the copper pipe back to where it's comfortable for you to work on the drain. My Code allows you to cut it back to twice the diameter of the drain served. In your case 8 inches.

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should I incorporate a cleanout into the floor drain?

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You can but I don't think it's necessary.
You have a 4" floor drain. I assume the drain line to the main's the same size.
But even if it's not I would cut the floor back to the main and then cut the floor drain line off about three inches from the fitting that it's connected to. So we're left with the sewer main, and the fitting that picks up the floor drain, ( either a wye or a combination wye and eighth bend) with a 3" piece of cast iron sticking out of it. You may now convert to PVC using a Fernco Shielded Coupling,(see imsge) and run from there to the location of the new floor drain. Don't forget to prime the PVC fittings before you glue them in.
Good luck, Tom

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The way that the copper 1 1/2" line dumps into the drain makes it very difficult to get anything into the 4" drain to snake it. If I were to pick door #1, what would be a better way to tie that indirect waste line into the floor drain?

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You may cut the copper pipe back to where it's comfortable for you to work on the drain. My Code allows you to cut it back to twice the diameter of the drain served. In your case 8 inches.

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should I incorporate a cleanout into the floor drain?

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You can but I don't think it's necessary.
You have a 4" floor drain. I assume the drain line to the main's the same size.
But even if it's not I would cut the floor back to the main and then cut the floor drain line off about three inches from the fitting that it's connected to. So we're left with the sewer main, and the fitting that picks up the floor drain, ( either a wye or a combination wye and eighth bend) with a 3" piece of cast iron sticking out of it. You may now convert to PVC using a Fernco Shielded Coupling and run from there to the location of the new floor drain. Don't forget to prime the PVC fittings before you glue them in.
Good luck, Tom

Well I think I'm getting closer to tackling this project thanks to your suggestions. I will probably have to rent equipment to break up the concrete, any suggestion on the best thing to use for that?
I am still unclear about how I will tie that copper 1 1/2" drain pipe back into the floor drain when I go to put everything back together. What is the best way to tie it back into the floor drain? It runs about 1/2" or so under the existing concrete floor.
I'm getting closer thanks to your help.
Thank You again!

Hello Every Time I Do Wash Or Dish's Water Back's Up In My Basement.

Well I thought I would leave a message as to how it all worked out. I ended up renting a jackhammer and digging up the cement around the floor drain. (Jackhammer was the only way to go. I had never used one before and it really wasn't bad to use.) I removed the old 4” cast iron p trap that was really gunky and full of crap. Checked out the rest of the 4” line that ran to the main drain and it looked pretty good. Probably would have been best to replace that too but was a major problem for me just because of how hard it would have been for me to access it. I figured that after 35 years it really wasn't that bad and if I get another 35 years out of it, it will probably be someone else's problem by then! I did rent a large drain snake to clean out the pipe from the p trap to the drain but I am not really sure that was worth the money and effort. PLUS, I found out that one of those big drain snakes in someone's inexperienced hand (mine) can be quite dangerous!!
I replaced the 4” cast iron p trap with a 3” PVC trap. I kind of “rigged” the 1 ½” drain from the washing machine with a PVC elbow that can be removed so that in the future I can easily access the 3” trap if necessary. Hooked everything together with fernco couplings. I probably ended up spending about 8 hours and about $125.00 between the rentals and the parts but now the drain seems to be able to handle the washing machine with NO PROBLEM :) which makes my wife happy and in turn makes me VERY HAPPY! Thank you all for your help!!