Okay, I'll admit that I have no ideas about plumbing. We've owned this house, for 5 years now, and we did have to have our drain rooted out, a couple of years ago!
The problem with the drain in the laundry room didn't start all of a sudden. It'd been going on for some time, but when we washed, there was always only a bit of water that would come up. We weren't happy with that, but we could deal with that! Once our plumber friend came this week and put the machine through the entire main line, then, the drain in the laundry room really started backing up water! I don't know whether we have a system made of clay or not! We were thinking about two possible work-arounds, until we broke up the fllor and checked to see what was going on underneath! We tried to put a standpipe in today, to see if that would decrease the pressure in the drain and not cause it to back up, but that didn't work! So, our next option is to run a long flexible hose from the washing machine, open up the main drain line, and put the hose down there, so it drains out, instead of coming back up through the laundry room drain! I really don't relish the thought of having to hit the local laundromat, to do clothes for our family of three; however, do any of you see any advantages to uncapping the main drain in our furnace room and putting a hose down there that will drain the water from the washer, for the meantime? We've got to do something here, but I don't know what else! Claudia ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Kennedy To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 6:18 PM Subject: [Bulk] Re: [BlindHandyMan] Very Upset Here! If he could run a power auger or snake for 8 feet and then it stopped there is a real problem. Especially if he was able to clear roots along the main drain line. Has this become an issue over time or was it a sudden stop. By the sounds of things if roots and such had to be cleared you have a rather old system, possibly one made from clay. That will probably need replacing in the not so distant future. But I'm sure your friend has already told you this. As for the laundry room drain, there aren't a lot of options. It's possible you could get a smaller auger or snake to fit through and wear away at the blockage. But it's also possible the drain gave way to some sort of pressure and it has collapsed. It would take a bit of guessing to go eight feet and try to dig up the drain line. You'd almost have to start at the beginning to be able to track it under ground. Beyond that, the idea of trying to find another line to tap into sounds like a good one. A laundry drain only needs to be 2 inches in diameter. It can be larger of course but no smaller. I know that is code in my state anyway. Wish there was better news. ----- Original Message ----- From: Claudia To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 1:46 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Very Upset Here! Hello, I am a new poster, and I have the following problem and sure could use any ideas, on the subject! Thanks. However, we have a major problem on our hands! We've been having difficulty, when washing clothes lately. When we wash, there is a drain underneath the basins, where the hose from the washing machine empties into! That has been backing up, as of late. So, we called a friend who is a plumber, for one of our neighboring cities, and he came out to try to solve our problem! He ran a machine through the main water line, of course, getting out grass and roots, as there are trees, as part of our property! That line was now clean, and water traveled through that, without any problems. However, when he went to put the machine through the drain right underneath the wash basins, he couldn't get it past eight feet; something is stuck there, and he couldn't get it to go any further! His thought was that we might have to break up the floor, to see why that drain is stuck and possibly replace pipe! I don't know much about plumbing, but this doesn't seem to be sewer water or anything like that; I think the water from our kitchen sinks and bathrooms drains into the main water line, so I'm thinking that that isn't the problem! If any of you know of a handyman list to send this to, please let me know! Thanks. Claudia Join either of my groups; the first is for visually-impaired women, while the other is for people wishing to discuss homemaking issues. [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
