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    Traci M's Avatar
    Traci M Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Oct 15, 2006, 08:54 PM
    Floor Drain Issue
    Hi, I have a question and am in need of help! Please forgive my ignorance or terminology.

    I live in a home built in the mid-60s. There is a floor drain in the basement laundry room underneath the laundry tubs. It has always backed up occasionally since I've lived here. It's gotten much worse the last two years.

    My ex-husband showed me how to use a clog-buster type of thing (attached to the end of a garden hose) to 'flush water through and unclog anything'. He showed me that it doesn't go straight down into the drain but into a little pipe thing on the side of the drain. Does that make sense? He said it goes underneath the floor and into the pipes of an adjoining bathroom.? He is not the master plumber - so I'm just checking here.

    Anyway, I did the clog-buster thing and only 1/2 the rubber clog-buster came back out when I pulled the hose out. The next load of laundry proved the "clearing" did nothing.

    Please help!
    What next? :confused:
    darrel1953's Avatar
    darrel1953 Posts: 86, Reputation: 12
    Junior Member
    		  
    #2

    Oct 16, 2006, 10:55 PM
    Sounds like you need a plumber with a snake. Check out this article I wrote with a picture of a cleanout. Sounds like it may help. http://www.plumbinglessons.com/sup/cloggeddrain.htm
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
    		  
    #3

    Oct 17, 2006, 07:58 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by Traci M
    Hi, I have a question and am in need of help! Please forgive my ignorance or terminology.

    I live in a home built in the mid-60s. There is a floor drain in the basement laundry room underneath the laundry tubs. It has always backed up occasionally since I've lived here. It's gotten much worse the last two years.

    My ex-husband showed me how to use a clog-buster type of thing (attached to the end of a garden hose) to 'flush water thru and unclog anything'. He showed me that it doesn't go straight down into the drain but into a little pipe thing on the side of the drain. Does that make sense? He said it goes underneath the floor and into the pipes of an adjoining bathroom. ???? He is not the master plumber - so I'm just checking here.

    Anyway, I did the clog-buster thing and only 1/2 the rubber clog-buster came back out when I pulled the hose out. The next load of laundry proved the "clearing" did nothing.

    Please help!
    What next? :confused:
    Hi Traci,
    Your exhubby was correct.
    That little pipe thingy in the floor drain is called a cleanout,(see image). You may have to magnify the image. Clog busters work best when there is a total blockage. You will have to send a snake down the cleanout to clear the drain line. Darrel hit the nail on the head when he said,"Sounds like you need a plumber with a snake." good luck, Tom
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