Check out some similar questions!

Mike Hage · Jun 30, 2009, 10:38 PM

My house is 5 years old. The priming line for the floor drain is over flowing, and its pretty bad, especially when the toilets get flushed. It's a pretty big house so in the basement there are four main drain lines coming down to the floor with 3-4" test T's. i opened them and ran a 50 foot 5/8" snake but nothing has happened, it just got worse. Need some help please and thank you.

Milo Dolezal · Jul 1, 2009, 12:52 AM

What exactly do you call "priming line" ? Please, explain in different terms...

hkstroud · Jul 1, 2009, 04:22 AM

Yea, what's a priming line?

"it just got worse" sounds like you went through the blockage but didn't clear it. Did you look at the end of the snake to see if there was any thing to give you a hint on what the blockage is? Probably should have used a 60 ft snake. How far from your house to the street. Keep snaking, may need a bigger and longer snake. Look out side for a clean out stand pipe.

speedball1 · Jul 1, 2009, 04:52 AM

Originally Posted by Mike Hage

My house is 5 years old. the priming line for the floor drain is over flowing, and its pretty bad, especially when the toilets get flushed. its a pretty big house so in the basement there are four main drain lines coming down to the floor with 3-4" test T's. i opened them and ran a 50 foot 5/8" snake but nothing has happened, it just got worse. need some help please and thank you.

By "priming line" I assume that you mean "trap primer" and that the floor drain overflows when you flush a toilet. Right?
If that's correct then you have a blockage downstream from the floor drain.
You had the right idea in snaking the drains. Your only problem is you didn't get the clog.
Are you on a septic tank or city sewer? Have you opened up the house cleanout and checked to see if the line had standing water? Did you run a snake down the floor drain? Let's have more details. Tom

Mike Hage · Jul 1, 2009, 03:05 PM

Priming valve is the drain beside the hot water tank. I was told it's the one that is always full of water for the smell. Speedball named it trap primer. Nothing was caught on to the snake when I took it out. If I go outside what am I looking for? Its city sewer, and I did put a snake through all the floor drains. Thank you guys for all the answers, really appreciate it.

speedball1 · Jul 1, 2009, 03:21 PM

The house cleanout's located 18 to 24" out from the house foundation and brought to grade but please answer my question first. Did you run a snake down the floor drain? If not some floor drains have a cleanout plug located just under the strainer.(see image). Remove the strainer and cleanout plug and snake from that or send it down the drain. Put out at le4ast 35 feet of snake. That should get you past the house clean out. If that don't get it then probe around and locate the house cleanout. Open it up, flush a toilet and observe the action. You have a bloc kage, you just haven't run into it yet. Good luck, Tom

mygirlsdad77 · Jul 1, 2009, 03:39 PM

Tom has you pointed in the right direction. The floor drain itself is not the problem. You have a blockage in your main sewer line. If you can't find the cleanout outside of the house, or a cleanout inside the house, you can either snake the main vent from roof, or pull a toilet and auger from there. A measuring tape is going to be your best friend here. Measure from house to septic, or city sewer. If on septic, have someone stand out at the septic tank and listen for the snake as you auger. If on city sewer, just measure the distance out to the city and put in at least that much cable. Sometimes this requires a large auger with a lot of cable. Ive had to put in as much as 150' to clear stoppages(because installers didn't have the common sense to put in cleanouts every fifty to 100 feet, or any cleanouts for that matter). One thing is for sure, you have a blockage in your main sewer line, its up to you to decide if you want to handle a larger machine, or if you want to call in help. Good luck and please let us know how things work out.

Mike Hage · Jul 2, 2009, 09:51 PM

So I solved the problem finally. I got a longer and bigger snake from the home depot and it turned out that there was a cloth down the main drain (dont ask me how that got there). Well that was an experience. I really thank you guys for all the support and you taught me lots. Thanks again.

speedball1 · Jul 3, 2009, 04:00 AM

Thanks for the update Mike. Glad you got the problem solved. Tom

mygirlsdad77 · Jul 3, 2009, 11:28 AM

Yes, good job.