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Pete Lamberty
09-22-2007, 12:16 PM
Hi Everyone,
I have a plumbing problem that I am not knowledgeable enough to figure out. I have an older house, built in 1928. We are hooked up to city sewers. In the back of the house we have what I will call a catch basin (see photo 3). Inside our house we have a drain in the floor that years ago we used to put a standpipe into (see photo 1, I don’t know how else to describe it.). Near this drain is our washing machine and dryer. The washing machine drains into a laundry sink (see photo 2) and I guess this drains into the catch basin and then out to the city sewer. Well just a few days ago I noticed that a minute or so after the washing machine empties into the sink some water starts coming up from the drain in the floor (see photo 1. After it comes up the floor drain it just goes into the sump pump). This has never happened before. I went out and looked inside the catch basin and there was no build up of water in it. So my question is, what is happening and should I call a plumber or a roto-router guy? I don’t know how the sink and the floor drain are hooked up. I feel that there must be a clog in the pipes somewhere between the catch basin and the sink, floor drain combination. Can anyone explain this? Also, unless this is very easy like dumping Drano into the sink, I will have to call someone in to fix it. But whom do I call, the plumber or the roto-router guy.
Thanks, Pete

Kyle Kraft
09-22-2007, 12:31 PM
Does the city sewer connect to the catch basin, go out under the basement slab, or out the basement at about noggin (head) level? I would tend to believe that the laundry sink is tied to the floor drain and then to the sump pump which should either pump it into the main sewer line to the street or into the "catch basin". Perhaps the sump pump is not tied to the sewer at all, and is only for incidental use with the floor drains.

Pete Lamberty
09-22-2007, 1:44 PM
The city sewer connects to the catch basin by running underneath the basement slab. The sump pump is only there to remove any water that seeps into the basement through floor/foundation cracks when it rains. The sump pump does not pump anything to the catch basin or city serwer, it has a long hose that runs to the back of the yard. The laundry sink and the floor drain are not connected to the sump pump. I hope this helps figure out this problem. Thanks for trying to figure out this situation, Kyle.

Kyle Kraft
09-22-2007, 2:50 PM
Pete,
So it sounds like the floor drain/sump pump system is completely separate from the washtub/catch basin/sewer system, right? To me, the only way wash water could come up through the floor drain would be if there was a hole in the floor drain trap, a hole in the washer drain, and a clog in the line to the sump pump between the hole in the floor drain trap and the sump pit. This would allow gray water to migrate from the hole in the washer drain through the soil under the slab and into the hole in the floor drain trap. The holes wouldn't be noticed until the line between the floor drain and the sump became clogged, possibly with eroded soil from under the slab. Whew, did you follow that?

David G Baker
09-22-2007, 3:41 PM
Pete,
When ever I have drainage problems I call Roto-Rooter. I do not call any other service because it has been my experience that Roto-Rooter has highly trained professionals that know and understand drainage systems where some of the other companies hire unskilled people that end up causing problems and in the long run costing much more than Roto-Rooter. Roto-Rooter is not cheap but they will get the job done.
I have no connection with Roto-Rooter other than having managed several apartment buildings in California and experienced all types of problems associated with other services.
If I had your problem I would check out the catch basin to see where the water is supposed to enter the basin and push a garden hose into the pipe to see how far it goes in or if it goes all the way into the basement area.
Sometimes that is all it takes. If you run into a clog, turn the water on to see if this helps.
Another option is a thing that fasten on to the end of a garden hose and is slid into the floor drain or sink drain. The thing is like a bladder that swells up and plugs the drain pipe when water pressure is added. The device shoots high pressure water down the pipe and many times this will take care of the problem. Check a local hardware store, they should have it.

Pete Lamberty
09-22-2007, 9:53 PM
The sump pump is not hooked up to the floor drain, sink or catch basin. It is completely seperate, we installed it ourselves in the 60's. All it's there for is to remove water that comes in when we have extremely rainy weather. I think the sink drain and the floor drain are somehow hooked up before they get to the catch basin. Not that I know anything, but thats what I think.

Wes Bischel
09-22-2007, 11:21 PM
Pete,
We had a similar issue with our house. Turns out the water had always been "backing up" to the drain, but the drain had a float ball to stop it. Well, the float ball had rotted out and didn't stop the water anymore (found the remains in the drain). I put a rubber compression stop in it and called it a day.

Don't know if that helps, but good luck.

Wes

Mark Hubler
09-23-2007, 3:20 PM
If you only have two drains in the Basement, here is what I would do. Most likely there is a clog in part of the Basement plumbing, some where past where the floor drain connects into the main plumbing. I would insert a bladder, powered by a hose, into the floor drain and use a plunger to cover the drain in the sink. Turn on the hose and keep the plunger over the sink drain; the water pressure will build up and blow out the clog. If your laundry faucet is like mine, it is threaded the same as a garden hose.

My other favorite is the "drain blaster". This blaster shoots water out the end and out the sides and some are narrow enough to fit through the drain cover. Mine can be attached directly to a hose, or there is a fitting with multiple threads and diameters for standard sink faucets. It is very handy for clearly plugged sinks and showers from hair clogs.

You could also try running a snake either through the Basement floor drain, or through the grade level clean-out.