Well, I have been having an issue w/ my floor drain in my laundry room. About a year ago my drain started to back up when ever my washer drained, not badly though. The water would just come up about an inch past the drain hole. Now as time has gone by, if I don't keep an eye on it, it floods my house. Now I've thought about going and getting a snake to clean out the clog that I assume is the problem. I have been using stuff like Drano, and it would make it drain a little faster, but it still backed up. I was told that I couldn't use a snake because my floor drain has some sort of flap that keeps gasses and odor from rising and that if I used that snake I could damage that flap. Is this true? And does it make a difference that my house is a slab, I don't have a basement. Also people tell me that there should be a trap at at the top of the drain that I should check, but I don't see one. Should I go and buy one, could that be the reason for the backing up of the drain? Please help me!! I would love to be able to do my laundry w/ ease. Thank you.

Hey mom,

Let me show you typical floor drain, (see image).

"I was told that i couldn't use a snake because my floor drain has some sort of flap that keeps gasses and odor from rising and that if I used that snake I could damage that flap. Is this true?"

No, as you can see, the floor drain has a built in trap with a water seal that traps gas and odors.

"And does it make a difference that my house is a slab, i dont have a basement."

No, all the buildings in my coastal area of Florida are slab houses and this is the floor drain that we use.

"people tell me that there should be a trap at at the top of the drain that i should check, but i dont see one. Should i go and buy one? "

WRONG! So far your advisers are batting a thousand. They have been wrong every time. The trap is that curvy thing connected to the drain.

Now that we have shot down all the misinformation you've been given let's address your problem.
First off, the clog's downstream from the trap not in the trap itself. The only reason the trap's involved is because it's the nearest low outlet the clog backs up into.
This clog consists of fiber matted together with grease. It can be reached one of three ways. You can send a snake down the floor drain. You can snake from the washer standpipe or we usually go on the roof and go down the washer vent pipe. The problem with the other two is the return bend of the traps can be a little difficult to work a snake around and when the snake is pulled out it's black with grease. This can really mess up a nice clean house. You may want to hire a plumber to do the job but if you wish to attempt it yourself I can walk you through the process.
Good luck, Tom

Wow, that was a quick response! Thank you very much. I guess I have one more question, it seems like my drain doesn't have that curve, unless its further done the pipe. Mine seems like it goes strait down quite a ways. I'm not sure that makes much of a difference, or if maybe I was asking about a different drain. I just want to make sure that the same instructions still apply. Thank you for such a quick response.

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Originally Posted by mommamoe

Wow, that was a quick response! Thank you very much. I guess I have one more question, it seems like my drain doesnt have that curve, unless its further done the pipe. Mine seems like it goes strait down quite a ways. I'm not sure that makes much of a difference, or if maybe i was asking about a different drain. I just want to make sure that the same instructions still apply. Thank you for such a quick response.

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All floor drains have traps. You just can't see it. Mechanical traps with a flap we4re4 outlawed decades ago. Besides, the problem's downstream from the floor drain in the washer drain. Regards, Tom