I had a plumber come to clean out a blocked drain. Sewage was backing up into the bathroom and kitchen. The plumber used his snake through an outside access and broke it off. Part of the snake is still in my pipes and we are completely without sewage. The plumber states it is my responsibility to repair since I have older pipes. Is this correct? If so, any suggestions on how to proceed?

Hi Bill...

Well, I guess all will depend on what you find when you find the snake or the broken pipe that broke the snake... ya know?

If you determine that the snake simply broke off as a result of a bad snake (no break or roots in pipe) then you may have a strong argument to present in your favor. If, however, the cable broke off 'cause it got caught up at a break in the pipe they may have a pretty strong argument for you... ;)

I guess my first question is if you can get to the cable end that broke off... can you touch the broken cable or is it broken off down in the drain line? If you can touch the snake end you may be able to rig up a COME-A-LONG tool to TRY to pull the snake back out and see what happens... maybe?

Otherwise, you are probably going to need to dig down to where the cable end is and see what you find underground... if broken pipe then this is on you. If nothing but tissue and tampons clogging the drain then as I said, you need to talk to the owner and see how to resolve this amicably... :)

Back to you...

Mark

Let's get your line cleared first. If the end's sticking out then try Marks come along. If the cable's lost inside the pipe get another plumber out there and tell him to bring a retrieval Tip. (see image) The tip will auger into the cable and hopefully bring it back, If that doesn't do it the Marks correct. You'll have to measure out and dig down to see what it hung up on, Good, luck, Tom