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mrjiggy · Aug 28, 2016, 03:23 PM

Greetings,

My sewer main is clogged. The traps are all indoors in the basement. I watched Bob Vilas YouTube tutorial on how to check the traps to see blockage and add main line cleaner if necessary. He recommended unscrewing the cap about a inch every 15 minutes to "relieve all pressure". I did that... it was like a unexpected violent volcano of the most vile liquid you can imagine squirting everywhere until I managed to get the cap back on. After a 2 hour shower bleach and using every possible thing that said antibacterial in my house, I decided Bob Vila ruined my life, haha.

In any case I have a plumber coming over tomorrow to snake the trap and main line. My huge concern is when he opens that cap all the water and waste will flood into my basement. Creating a unsanitary mess that will take hours to clean and ruin everything down there. Lord knows I don't want to clean that nastiness again. Keeping it open for under ten seconds flooded half the basement with waste, now imagine it being kept open.

My Question is there any way tool method or idea on how to make sure that doesn't happen? Perhaps snake the drain from the closest toilet just to allow enough water to escape to relieve the pressure so it won't explode? Please any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you so much!

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ma0641 · Aug 28, 2016, 03:52 PM

The plumber may try going down the main stack, from the roof or through the toilet. Make sure you explain what you did!!

Milo Dolezal · Aug 29, 2016, 09:45 AM

With an hour or so, see if the water level drops down. Sometimes it does.

Plumber can remove toilet, and snake the sewer through the toilet inlet.

Anyway, once the sewer is functional again, remove that Cast Iron running trap and Sanitary Tee and replace it with PVC pipe and fittings. As it is, it may be a big part of the sewer flow problem.

Also, see if you can install Clean Out outside the house. So next time this happens, you don't have to snake it from the inside of the house, releasing sewage into your basement

Back to you

Milo