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jandjwash · Dec 13, 2011, 12:12 PM

Hi all,

I've read some related articles about the problem I'm having, but haven't really sought what I'm looking. My problem:

It is a sewage drain issue, started Sunday when we started the laundry. The toilet started to bubble from the bowl and overflowed. The bathtub started gurgling and brown smelly water rose from the drain. The bathroom sink started spurting the same smelly water and the kitchen sinks only gurgled. A few seconds after all this happened, the drain from the washing machine spurted water all over the place.

This morning, I went to the basement and used a 50 foot snake... not sure how much was used, but I didn't even have an arm's length of snake left to play with. I did hit something, although I'm not sure if it was the problem or a bend in the piping. Afterwards, I came back upstairs and turned on the washing machine again and I checked the toilet to see if it would flush... which it did just fine. Everything was fine for about 15 minutes and all the drains started their gurgling again.

Luckily, we can get about 5 flushes from the toilet before sewage pops back up to say "hi". I figured that it could be a full septic tank, but when I called City Hall this morning, and verified that this house does not have a septic tank, I totally ran out of ideas. Could anybody give me any help or ideas?

speedball1 · Dec 13, 2011, 01:46 PM

You had the right idea just the wrong snake. How far is it from your house to the curb? You have a blockage OK but you just haven't reached it yet.

we can get about 5 flushes from the toilet before sewage pops back up to say "hi".

This tells me that the clog's way down the line if you can fill up the line with 5 flushes before it backs up./ I think your snake hit the blockage and pushed it farther on down the line. Bet you'll find your clog out at the curb at the city raiser. Go after it with a longer sewer snake. Good luck, Tom

jandjwash · Dec 28, 2011, 02:48 PM

Thanks for the help, Tom. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. My neighbor came over and tried to help me a little bit too. We snaked the roof vent, and we even went to the trap out in the back yard. Once opened, he said there was water in there and there shouldn't have been. This was last week. A few days ago, after I snaked the washing machine vent, I hit something, tried to get it twisted in the snake (no luck), and all of a sudden, something gave way (maybe could've been a bend in the piping), and the toilet and everything worked good for a day or two. Boy was I happy, but unfortunately, today, I was washing dishes and all water stopped draining. So I immediately went outside to the trap and opened it. It seemed like the water in there had a slow trickle to it... I mean it was barely moving. After that, I came back inside and snaked the washing machine vent, still no luck.

Would you happen to know how much a plumber might charge for this?

Thanks so much, Tom!

Sorry, forgot to answer one question you had. Our house is about 35-45 yards from the alley. I'm not quite sure what the city raiser is, but since the trap was back there, I figured that's where I should estimate the distance.

Thanks!

speedball1 · Dec 28, 2011, 03:20 PM

I don't know the labor costs in your area but I can tell you this. It will be a lot cheaper if you rent a sewer machine and do the job yourself.
Your problem is that you're attempting to snake a 135' line with a 50 foot snake. From all indications your clog is way out there. Perhaps at the city raiser. If your snake comes back with roots you may have to dig up the raiser and redo the connection. Good luck, Tom

mygirlsdad77 · Dec 28, 2011, 05:35 PM

I agree with Tom completely. I will only add, that at this point, you should be snaking with a large diameter cable (at least an inch cable with at least a three inch bit) from the cleanout in the back yard. Its clear to Tom and I that the blockage is outside the home, so snaking from the outside cleanout is really the best way to approach this. I also agree that you can do this yourself and save money, however, since there is an outside cleanout, if you do decide to hire in a pro, it will most likely cost you less since access to an outside cleanout is a big time saver. Do know however, that there really is know way to know how much it will cost, as you just never know what they will run across. I certainly think you should give it a go yourself first, and if worse comes to worst, call in the big dogs. Good luck, and please let us know how things turn out. Lee.

ballengerb1 · Dec 28, 2011, 06:32 PM

I agree and it may be time or a pro. I do this stuff everyday out had to hire a pro. I did not have enough snake.

mygirlsdad77 · Dec 28, 2011, 06:39 PM

Wow, you really hit the nail on the head ball. We have 150 foot of cable on hand, and have even had to go to our competition to borrow more cable on certain jobs. I tell you, when you get out there a couple hundred feet, there aren't to many machines that like to turn that kind of cable, and boy, its fun to pull it back. Ive actually put out three hundred feet of cable, and boy were my arms sore the next day.

jandjwash · Jan 3, 2012, 11:50 AM

Thanks so much for all yalls' help on this. I mentioned my neighbor before, he used to be into plumbing a long time ago, and this morning he came over with this crazy long cable with a large bit on it, and snaked again for me. I'm not sure how long it was, but it was way longer than the one we got. But, unfortunately, problem's still there.

I'm still trying to figure out what the raiser is though. I'll Google it in a second to see if I can find it. Worse come to worse, I suppose we can handle hiring a plumber as long as it won't cost more than $500. Before that happens though, there's a church member who's into plumbing also, he said he'd come over sometime this week and see what he can. I'll definitely keep you guys posted on what happens.

Thanks so much again guys!

mygirlsdad77 · Jan 3, 2012, 05:38 PM

Thanks for the update, looking forward to the next one.

Milo Dolezal · Jan 4, 2012, 08:36 AM

In addition to above advices...
You are not saying what diameter cable you are using. Anything less than 3/4" is at this distance more-less useless. After about 100' the machine will loose its torque. If the blockage is that far away, you won't have enough power to cut through it. That's why we have Clean Outs every 75'. If you are using small cable at such a distance than it will pierce the blockage and as you pull it out opening will immediately enclose again. Maybe you should consider installing new Clean Out ( or two ) and cut through the blockage it with power. Back to you. Milo

speedball1 · Jan 4, 2012, 03:08 PM

I'm still trying to figure out what the raiser is

The city raiser is the pipe located at the curb that the city extends up from then main so you can connect your sewer line to it. This is where I think you'll find your problem. Some of the raiser connections were sealed with cement that over the years has shrunk allowing roots to enter. That would be my best guess. Good luck, Tom