Hello, my name is April. I recently purchased my house almost 2 years ago,(house is over 50 years old, I think) I learn 3 days into moving into my house that the basement flooded. It was due to a heavy rain fall but shortly after that the drains would back up in the basement, like the laundry room, bathtub anywhere with a drain. We used a snake the first time and went 100 feet out and the problem disappeared. Now almost 8 months later the problem has come back, worse. Every time water is ran it backs up in the basement. It consists of t-p and lint. My father in law had his done years ago and he said it could be the old clay pipes cracked and so the drain outside is no longer aligned. I am so scared I have no idea how to know and if I call a plumber I feel they will take me for all I am worth. How do I know, and the cost, time and if I can remedy through myself, please let me know.

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Originally Posted by april1831

Hello, my name is April. I recently purchased my house almost 2 years ago,(house is over 50 years old, i think) I learn 3 days into moving into my house that the basement flooded. it was due to a heavy rain fall but shortly after that the drains would back up in the basement, like the laundry room, bathtub anywhere with a drain. we used a snake the first time and went 100 feet out and the problem disappeared. now almost 8 months later the problem has come back, worse. every time water is ran it backs up in the basement. It consists of t-p and lint. my father in law had his done years ago and he said it could be the old clay pipes cracked and so the drain outside is no longer aligned. i am so scared i have no idea how to know and if i call a plumber i feel they will take me for all i am worth. how do i know, and the cost, time and if i can remedy thru myself, please let me know.

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Hi April,

Are you on a septic tank or city sewer? When you snaked out the line 8 months ago did it come back with roots on the end of the snake? How does your father in law know that your sewer pipes are terra-cotta, (clay) and not cast iron? Let me know the answer to my questions and I might just be able to help without costing you a fortune. Regards, Tom

Hi tom,
It is a city sewer line no septic, the opening of the drain in the basement is cast iron so I think so is the rest, but I was told since he lives 5 min. away that my pipes under the earth could be clay (? ) oh yes no tree problem! When we snaked it all that came out was tampons and condoms and paper no dirt (yuck). We don't flush that stuff is there anyway that our neighbors around us could tie into our line and cause a build up over this stuff (condoms etc) also again all that is surfacing in the drain now is tp and lint. Thanks for the help

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Originally Posted by april1831

is there anyway that our neighbors around us could tie into our line and cause a build up over this stuff

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Certainly - depending on how far out you snaked. If you snaked out of your territory and into the city's sewer line, odds are you'll find a lot of foreign crap.

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Originally Posted by PalmMP3

Certainly - depending on how far out you snaked. If you snaked out of your territory and into the city's sewer line, odds are you'll find a lot of foreign crap.

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Moshie opened up a new avenue of investigation. Let's play with it.

The fact that your basement drains flood every time there's a heavy rain coupled with your statement that you haven't flushed tampons and condoms leads me to only one conclusion. It's not that your neighbors are tied into your sewer, it's not that your snake went past the street raiser and brought back tampons and condoms. It's none of those. The only thing that adds up is that the city sewer main, due to a broken pipe of a open connection, is loading up with rain water and forcing the water plus the sewerage back up the street raiser that connects your sewer to the street main. When the water subsides it leaves the sewerage, tampons,condoms etc. behind as a clog that you, as a home owner must pay to have snaked put. There just isn't any other explanation. If there is I want to hear it. Contact your neighbors to see if they have the same problem or it may be that your house is on the lower end and gets all the backup. But one thing's for sure. I'd be having long talks with the Sanitation Derpartment. Please keep us in the loop on this. Good luck, Tom

Hey tom thanks so much for the advise. We rented a snake and it took 45 minutes for the line to open and the water level went down 6 inches or more. What we found this time baby wipes!! No condoms or tampons this time! But thank you again I will check with the local sanitation department to see what they can do for the future!
April

You got a baby?

If not, you've got grounds to ask them to pay for the expenses associated with the snake-out... (is that correct English?)

Make them fix it - NOW!

Good luck

Maybe Florida had the good sense to forbid sloppy practices years ago, but here and many other places there is a titanic problem of storm and sanitary sewers tied together. Could be the problem there.

I am fighting the problem with my church. It was built in the 50's, with several additions since. As far as I know, all the down spouts and toilets are tied to one drain. I have been going through the old blue prints trying to figure out where the sewers run. Recently found one showing a clean out on the upper side 25' out from the building. How deeply might it be buried? I know the drains are put in before the grading, but how close to the surface do they aim at? Of course having a blue print showing a clean out may be different from having a clean out. If I find it, it would be a good start at separating the down spouts. Besides flooding, if it rains hard enough, the city could come by anytime and force disconnecting the down spouts.