Ask Me Help Desk - Floor Drain Backing up

Hello, I know nothing about plumbing so bear with me. My husband and I bought our house a year ago and ever since we moved in we have had a problem with the floor drain in the laundry room backing up into the laundry room and our downstairs Jacuzzi and toilet. What comes out is a pulpy watery mixture and it is NOT pleasant smell. We have had our drain snaked all the way out to the street. When the guy snaked it he said that we have a pipe that is not quite level with the street pipe so there is a short connector and that seems to be where all of the problems are occurring. How do we take care of this with out spending an arm and a leg on new plumbing and snaking every 6 months? We are new home owners and are pretty strapped for cash. ANYTHING you can tell us with help. Thanks so much!

Let's stop that stinky floor drain dead in it's tracks with a Flood-Guard,(see image) They install in your floor drain and act like a check valve. Water will drain but it won''t back up. Check them out at; Flood guards for floor drains - check valve to prevent flooding from FAMOUS PLUMBING SUPPLY
This will take care of replacing the pipe and snakingit out so often.
Good luck, Tom

Tom, great product.. Only thing is, they said it also backs up into tub and toilet. So I think it may be time to send a camera down the main drain, locate problem area, and... oh I hate to say it,, save up for a backhoe. Only way to fix reacurring problem is to dig,, or you may want to look into relining. Never done it myself, but I'm sure tom can give you some info on it. Ive heard its kind of spendy, but so is digging. Good luck and please let us know how things work out.

Lee

Missed that! Thanks Lee!

No problem Tom.. Ive missed more in my short time here than you have most likely missed in your entire time here.

Can you give the asker a good site to look at for relining. Do you agree that its either relining or dig up in the future? I just don't see any way around it. IF sewer needs to be augered every six months, its time to get the problem fixed, or it will nickel and dime you to death.

Hi guys! Thanks for the info. My Husband and I basically used some Draino in the floor drain, toilet, and tub. Then we plungered the heck out of all of them. So far so good but I know that eventually we will have to find a permanent solution. While the black flood guard thingy only will take care of the floor drain we may get that to prevent further flooding in the laundry room- that was a MESS!! Thanks so much for all your help. Any info you can share about relining would be great!

Tom is dead on about the floor drain flood guard. At least with this installed the sewege will back up into toilet and tub instead of flooding the floor area. Just make sure to keep an eye on the tub and toilet, as they will eventually overflow too. As I said before, I'm of no help with the relining(hope to get into it someday, or at least witness it). I think Tom could give you further info on it( I hope).

Glad things are draining smoothy for now. But like you said, you know its going to be a bigger fix than draino in the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

No problem Tom..
Can you give the asker a good site to look at for relining. Do you agree that its either relining or dig up in the future? I just dont see any way around it. IF sewer needs to be augered every six months, its time to get the problem fixed, or it will nickle and dime you to death.

Let me explain a bit more about my drainage problem and how I repaired it. 54 year old house. The builder used sub standard cast iron in the drainage. The 4" house main was completely ate up on the bottom of the pipe , blocked with roots and welling up in my living room floor. I was sure that the main had broke in two and I would have to jack hammer up the floor and tunnel under the foundation to transition to PVC, pick up the back bath and move the main outside the house but I had to know what was going on under the slab so a friend suggested running a camera down there. There was no distinct break in the main, however,it was completely ate up on the bottom. That's when Rooter Man of Sarasota and Gulf Coast Florida suggested relining the main, (see image). It took a day to clear the roots and pressure jet clean the main. Next day they came back and relined the main with epoxy. I now have a sewer main that will out last me, (50 year guarantee) and the best part is that I didn't have to, tear up my house and the cost was under half of what I figured to take the main outside around the house. Another bonus was that it was done without tearing up or disturbing my house. When they were finished I kept a piece of the epoxy liner to check it out. It was white and had the same thickness of Schedule#40 PVC.
I was amazed at the equipment RooterMan had outside my place. The equipment he had cost upwards of $100,000.00. Hi tech stuff that took a technician to run it. There were 3 men and 2 trucks to do the job. And it was completed in two days. Lottsa difference from the old days when I went out on a sewer call with a Ridged K-60 Sewer Machine and a ladder to get to the roof vent. I just wanted to point out that there's another option besides replacing drainage that the years have ruined. If your pipes are a candidate for a reline job I strongly suggest you look into it before you decide to replace the drainage pipes. I did and saved a bundle in addition to keeping my home intact. Just thought I would share that with you all. Regards and thank you for rating my answer, Tom