Quite suddenly last week, the drain for the washer stopped working. The dishwasher seems slow too. The sinks work but slowly. Putting Drano down did not help. I have read elsewhere that this is indicative of a large clog that sink-water, which is not of a high volume, can go through, but the volume of the appliances overwhelms it. Do I use a snake? If so, how? Right now I have tried blasting it with the garden hose, running it to the washer drain outlet. This has not helped much.
The system in this part of the house is greywater that drains into an orchard. If there is a clogged pipe out there how would I find it? My 72-year old mother is all for us--and she means us--digging up the whole outside works. I say there has to be a better way.

Discharging gray water in the orchard is the same as having a open cesspool. You should at least have a dry well. If your house is vented rent a sewer snake and send it diown the kitchen sink roof vent. Put out enough snake to reach the base and 20 feet more. Good luck, Yom