Please help! We live in a 1950's ranch home with a basement on a septic system. We have had plumbers out at least 5-7 times due to our washer discharge overflowing out of the standpipe. Each time they snaked the drains and were good for a few months. The drain slowly gets worse after its snaked out. It will start with a small amount of water out of the standpipe which flows to the floor drain and progress until, at the worst, having an inch of water backed up in our utility room. (this is also in the basement by the way). I just. Borrowed a friends hand snake and snaked our floor drain trying to save money. I don't know how long the snake is fr sure but I sent the whole thing down the drain. (it has a spade tip). We've had cameras in clean outs in our yard showing that the pipes seem to be flowing fine out there. We also have a toilet and sink in this room that I believe are tied together under the basemen floor. (I've plunged the toilet and the floor drain water goes up and down and the sink gurgles). Our plumber believes that we should jackhammer the floor up and replace all the plumbing with wider PVC. This is going to be fairly expensive and if it's not necessary we would rather not throw the money away.

This has occurred multiple times after it has rained a decent amount but I wouldn't think that rain should affect our drains because they go into a septic system.

The previous owner did mention something about having a sink hole in the backyard because of a collapsed tile but replaced it and we now have a PVC clean out pipe in our yard. (this is where the camera went in and viewed the basement toilet and sink water flowing freely) we also have another clean out just outside our foundation that I can see water flowing through from the master sink and kitchen sink without obstruction)

I also believe our standpipe might be a little small for our washer as we have an HE washer and the standpipe that it drains into is no more than 1 1/2 inches wide. When it overflows the fibers seem to be quite thick and when they harden I can see how it can clog a pipe...

Not sure if this matters or not but we have a fairly large family and are constantly doing laundry. We ha e a dishwasher and a garbage disposal in the upstairs kitchen sink. The previous owners also installed something I the septic tank to help it break up different matter in it which is wired into a separate breaker system in our detached garage.

Any advise or guidance? Sorry this is so long but in trying to et all info out to you in one shot.
Thanks for your time

In had the same problem. I also have a 50's house. Back then the pipes were only 1 1/2" and the washer pumps were not aas strong as today's washervpumpw which discharge with great force and volume,(Maytag comes to mind.)
The solution would be to connect the hose to the standpipe usinmg the connecters shown,(see image) or simply duct taping the hose to the pipe. This will force the discharge past the trap and out in the main. I did mine 10 years ago with no backups oe problrms. Good luck, Tom

Actually I was mistaken. Or house is from the 60s but I don't see that being a factor.

My concern with your idea is that water is coming up from our floor drain as well. It's black and smelly.

I tried to snake the washer drain pipe sPecifically but couldn't get the snake in more than 3-5 ft. Now when water is draini g out of our sink the floor drain water is rising and the toilet will not flush.

The one time this floor drain overflowed to the point of an inch of standing water, this is exactly what happened with the toilet and sink.

Massplumber,

Our standpipe and drain pipe are PVC all the way to the floor. So I'm not sure replacing only pipes above the concrete is possible as I assume the pipe will still have to be reduced to fit the pipe in the floor that connects to the floor drain. Right?

I am sure the pipes under the floor are original and therefore are not PVC. Makes sends we're only punching holes it the clog as it continues to come back shortly after being snaked.

Given the pipes are PVC tithe floor will it make a difference just replacing those?

No... sounds like you need to get in a real experienced drain cleaner that will take time and really work the drain pipe OR it may just be time to "bite the bullet" and replace the underground pipes!

Good luck!

Mark

PS: I deleted my first post after I read your second response about the floor drain backing up. My answer didn't make sense at all! :)

Who migh I be contacting that is better than a plumber? The last time they brought in a large machine they hooked their snake up to and cranked on th drain for awhile. Are there specialists out there that I might be able to find? Or is this still delaying the inevitable?

Are you feeling this is a problem under the floor or could it be outside the foundation? *holding breath and praying it's not as that would require jackhammer in up a patio and lots more $$$$ :S*

Hi again

In your case, I think you should call a few drain companies... small, local companies, not franchises... and see if they can use a drain camera to take pictures of your entire drain line, up to and including the entire drain line(s) to the street.

The nice thing about the drain camera is that it is usually something you can watch on a computer screen the drain guys use with the camera and then they leave you a DVD with all pictures and EXACT linear footage to where the issue/damage is... ;) See video below:



In this way, you can stop guessing and know exactly what you need to do!

Mark

Quote:

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tried to snake the washer drain pipe

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You're snaking from the wrong place,n Youb haven a partial blockage downstrean from the floor drain and that's where pou should snake from. I hold to my original post but to take care of that floor drain back up consider installing a Flood Guard,(see image) check them ou at, PlumbingSupply.com - Flood Guards For Floor Drains - check valves to prevent flooding

Our plumber used a camera attached to a small TV screen in our clear out. It was pretty neat. Not mobile but still neat.

That drain stop looks like a good investment once we get the problem taken care of to ensure no further flooding.

This is sounding to me that we will be making a mess of our basement floor in quick order.

I don't feel completely comfortable duct taping this just because the way the water is acti g it will either blow the tape off and/or come up from the floor drain of it is intact clogged after the washer line ties to the line out of the house.

If you have anymore input ideas or advise I am all ears. I am very thankfull for your time in responding to this post and the quick manner in which you did. If you were in my area, you would be considered for my business in this wonderful project to come

In 10 years the duct tape hasn't either leaked or blown apart. And the Flood Guard floor drain check valve will contain the backups. In place of Duct Tape you could use one of the fittings I've put up. But you go with what you're most comfortable with. Goodn luck, Tom

Can the water back up my sink drain or out of my toilet as they're both connected to the same pipe going out of the house. I believe, and this is just a guess, that the order goes: floor drain, washer tie in, sink tie in, toilet tie in, the. It goes out of the house.

Why don't you block off the floor drain, duct tape the hose and cycle the washer to find out? Your only other solution would be to open up the floor and increase the size of the washer drainage pipes and standpipe. If you're looking for the most inexpensive solution. I just gave it to you. Good luck, Tom

How do I go about swapping the floor drain out? Right now all we have is a metal screen that sits in the floor drain

To block off the floor drain simply remove the strainer and jam damp rags in the opening. You may now tape the hose and cycle the washer. If nothing backs up then you've solved your problem. Good luck, Tom

So here is where we are... Had 2 plumbers out and the problem is the following two parts. Part one out washer standpipe is too small and needs to be doubled in size above and below the basement floor second. The plumber eeled the floor drain the same as it has been done before and it worked to clear the drain and make the toilet and sink work better. ( we also had water trickling in where an old elevator depression was in the floor). We found that once this was eeled the water immediately stopped so our problem is outside as to why the floor drain backs up. Our washer is still dumping on the floor after this which appears to be solely because I the pipe size although all the lent it puts out has to contribute to the tile backing up.

We will be taking the floor up where the washer line travels all the way to where the line exits the foundation. Once that is open we will send a sewage camera out the tile to see what is going on causing the repeated clogs. The plumber doesn't think we have a collapsed tile ut maybe one that is slightly crooked or slightly compromised somehow. Sounds like we will be replacing our washer line with double the size of PVC and more than likely.digging our tile out for the whole septic line out to the tank. (approx 100'). Yay! (we also have another main septic line going out of the house which I sure will have to be done at some time as well. Just not now)

Just wanted to finalize my question I posted and let everyone know what we are doing.

Again I thank you guys for your timely responses and sharing your knowledge with a true novice. I'm just glad my dad is a veteran carpenter and has connections for equipment and also knows people who will help us do this on the side. I still hate to see what the numbers come back at but I feel confident we will have it done for much less than the plumbers were going to tackle it for

While that's not the cheapest repair it's certainly the best. Thanks for the update. Tom