Check out some similar questions!

bradm1966 · Apr 8, 2009, 05:51 AM

Hi, This past Sunday night, we had a horrible backup in our basement of raw sewage. I mean a geyser was coming out of our floor drain! We had a local sewer company come and run a snake through our line and he said it was tough to get through but he got through.

All of a sudden it started to come up again. He said it wasn't our line, that it was a blocked city main. The city then came out and sure enough, their main sewer line in the street in front of our house was blocked. They unblocked it with their high pressure truck.

We had the sewer company come back to our house the next day and run the snake again, and they said it went through OK.

My question is, should I be fearful of this happening again soon?

Can I keep a screw down plug in that floor drain with no worries? Or does it have to be open to prevent pressure buildup? And also, there is still a bad sewage smell coming from the floor drain where it came out. I poured a gallon of fresh water down the drain this morning, but there looks to be residue or whatnot down in the drain still. I am very fearful now that this could happen again. Someone said something about installing a check valve to prevent this from happening again? What do I do here, and from what I have said, should I not worry anymore? Thanks.

massplumber2008 · Apr 8, 2009, 05:58 AM

Hi Brad:

You may be able to purchase a floodguard... see image. You can Google this for more information. Install this into the floor drain and it should help if this happens again. Here, when backflow occurs the float ball lifts into the guard and stops backflow. They come in 2", 3" and 4" sizes.

To reduce the odor at the drain, pour a some bleach down the drain... that should help.

Let us know if you want to discuss more...

MARK

speedball1 · Apr 8, 2009, 06:21 AM

My question is, should I be fearful of this happening again soon?
Can I keep a screw down plug in that floor drain with no worries? Or does it have to be open to prevent pressure buildup? And also, there is still a bad sewage smell coming from the floor drain where it came out

I don't iknow what happened to Marks post but I think he's referring to a floor drain FlooidGuard,(see image) Check them out at:
Flood guards for floor drains - check valve to prevent flooding from FAMOUS PLUMBING SUPPLY Like Mark sez. Pour full strength bleach down the floor drain to chase away that stinky smell. Good luck, Tom
Sorry Mark, I was posting at the same time you were correcting your post

massplumber2008 · Apr 8, 2009, 06:23 AM

YUP! I had trouble posting the picture... thanks for the backup Tom... :)

Milo Dolezal · Apr 8, 2009, 07:10 PM

You got great advice from Mark and Tom...

As far as the smell goes: run LOTS of water through the drain. Put in hose and let it run for few minutes. Also Clean and disinfect around the drain. Use household detergent to wash the floor. Ventilate the area well. Smell will go away after day or so...

IMPORTANT: Also, make sure trap is constantly wet. No water in the trap will cause sewer smell to enter your house. If you don't use that drain too much - make it a habit to pour water into it once a week or so.