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I had a slow drain earlier and now I have crap in my showers. The kitchen sink backed up last week and again yesterday. It may have been slow for a while but running the disposal seemed to make it work so we did nothing. I put some draino in last night but it backed up again after lunch today. I tried a plunger but nothing changed. The trap was clear but I could feel something squishy in the pipe after the trap. There is an access on the wall outside several feet away. I opened it and found a squishy mat of hair and grease. I picked out what I could but the drain still backed up. I got a 25ft auger from harbor freight and tried it at the sink connection and the access outside. I don't feel the squishy stuff after the trap anymore so I think it was pushed down. The auger reached past the access outside so I moved out there. The auger went in easily until about 10 or 12 feet. I worked it back and forth with some twisting. The helix came out with something like a white crayon inside. It was like wet modelling clay. There was some hair and black slime, too. Any idea what this was? I was able to get past it and get all 25ft in there for 2 out of 7 or 8 tries. I figured I put a hole in the clog and it will get us through the weekend. Should I have kept picking at this clog? This is our big chore day so the dishwasher and laundry were going and both showers backed up with black stuff. Did I move the clog from the kitchen branch to a shared branch? The plunger did not make the showers nasty. I don't really want to buy or rent a larger auger, is there anything I can try before calling a pro?
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Jul 11, 2022 03:31
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 09:55 |
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bred posted:I had a slow drain ... I had the house scoped and hydrojetted for $890. It was 1 guy from 9am-2pm and 2 more showed up with a camera from 12-2pm. The one guy got stuck on a iron cap behind my washer and had to cut it. They also cut through a plastic cap glued over my backyard cleanout. He told me to buy dollar plugs for both. They showed me nearly complete root obstruction on the camera. They said it was at the sewer saddle in the middle of the street. The camera said it was 76 feet away, is this number reliable? I see on google maps the sidewalk is 72 feet away line of sight so with depth and turns we might be at the sidewalk or my lawn which I think would be easier to fix. They said the biggest step in the pipes was 3/4" from ground movement. This was built in 1978 so that doesn't seem like a lot of movement. They can do lining as long as at least 60% of the pipe cross sections are shared. They're offering descaling for $2,500 or two liner options. First is to dig my lawn closest to the street, install up and downstream cleanouts, descale, and line for $11,300. The second is to dig to a buried cleanout near the house to line all the clay for $15,200. They'd line with a felt and epoxy sleeve installed with a balloon. This is about 30ft of clay pipe from my hose bib to the sidewalk, 55ft to the center of the street. The camera guys started saying all my issues are from the root ball. The first guy was saying the washer line was so clogged he didn't know how it's draining and I saw stuff floating out of the kitchen cleanout while jetting. I asked if I could have both a clog and a root ball and they assured me the house is all cleaned out and now the only problem is the root ball. They gave a lot of expensive examples of digging up street, blending asphalt, hotel for weeks, etc. from people that waited too long. I took a shower and it didn't back up at all. Before it would back up after 4 or 5 minutes so I think they cleared a clog. I was trying to figure it out while talking with them and tried to compare the shower head flow to the hydrojet flow. I now know the shower head is 2GPM and they said the hydrojet is 2.5GPM so I'd expect the hydrojet to backup, too. The hydrojet only backed up at the beginning of jetting the kitchen cleanout so I think the clog was there. It didn't backup when jetting the washer cleanout. The camera came after the kitchen jetting and they didn't mention seeing a clog. I think the clog might be gone but we're a little worried. For $10k I think I'll pay for another company to scope and give me their recommendations to confirm.
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Jul 13, 2022 01:10
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They said they needed a cutting tool. I think they said descaler that they can set to a diameter to skim the pipe surface. They brought a small hydrojet and a camera which is only for interior drain. Thanks for your data point, they were saying digging the street could be $50-75k. Here's the text from the water district: https://www.irwd.com/services/sewer quote:Often, the question arises – where does the responsibility of the customer begin and end and when does it become the responsibility of IRWD? The upper sewer lateral – the line leading from the residence to the edge of the property line – and the lower lateral, which connects into the sewer mainline, is the responsibility of the customer to maintain. In addition, customers are responsible for making any repairs to the upper lateral only. If repairs are needed on the lower lateral, that is the responsibility of IRWD. Thanks for the tip, now I'm thinking I can call the water district and get their opinion. The line measurement puts it very close to the property line so I want to trust the plumbers and hope the issue is in the street. I'll call them tomorrow.
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Jul 13, 2022 03:16
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Yooper posted:I'd start with the cutter. Ya that's how I'm leaning. The clay pipes were in good condition and mostly inline. The largest offset was 3/4 inch. We haven't had any backups since the hydrojet. The water district came out today and ran a cutting tool up and down the main line in the street and didn't get anything. He misunderstood and expected to find the root mass sitting in the pipe or catch some danglers but it was clean. He was hinting we should wait and see if we would back up again. The tech was sure I'm responsible for the lateral as removing roots from my tree is maintenance rather than repair. They have a camera truck coming tomorrow. It will run in the street, look in my hole but not go in. It may confirm the plumber's claim of roots at the saddle. Saddle is the wrong term but I forgot what the tech said. A neighbor down the street came out and mentioned he had a relining done for $6k a few months ago so I have that cheaper option. The stress is melting away. Some extra side drama: I ran the washer before putting in the dollar plugs and threw water in the garage. The plumber moved the dryer to get access and put the gas line back finger tight so the gas smell never went away. Then I ran the dryer and the lint duct blew off. He was just telling me about how there are cheaper outfits but you get what you pay for.
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Jul 14, 2022 01:16
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To me it looks like 1.5" PVC with the collar of a fitting glued to it and cut off. Is this a cleanout? Sink drain? Maybe a cap or elbow has been cut in half.
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Jan 18, 2023 00:38
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Shifty Pony posted:
Look at this valve's huge ball.
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Jan 29, 2023 05:21
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c355n4 posted:There is a bathroom on the other side of that wall. Good to know that is there I guess. How can I make it nicer or more finished looking? It stands proud of the drywall. I was in a similar situation recently. Mine was crusty and the plumber ended up breaking it out with a chisel. I browsed the plugs at the store and picked a lower profile brass one with a slot instead of the square boss. I filled the gap with mud and painted everything.
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Jul 4, 2023 00:39
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DrBouvenstein posted:Yeah, in the Fix it Fast thread I mentioned I did notice the other day the stopper for the rod wasn't screwed in tightly/correct and I fixed that, drain stopper still loose. Try adjusting the linkage so it doesn't go as high. Otherwise tighten up that connection. Maybe a bulge of tape would be enough. Or bend part of it to one side so it is riding along something.
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Feb 15, 2024 06:53
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 09:55 |
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DrBouvenstein posted:
My root ball was a bundle of very small roots. Nothing thicker than a coffee straw. It was like a coarse cotton ball or steel wool. Just enough to stop solids and let them build up. Rooter co showed it on a camera and said tree roots can reach 3x as far as the canopy so it could be any tree reaching into a small hole. The Water co had a camera that drives up and down the line in the street and can look at where the lateral connects. They can see downstream dangling roots if they reach that far. It was free but I had to wait a few days because the truck was busy elsewhere.
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Mar 24, 2024 16:53
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