Any plumbers I can ask a question please?

[Kevin54]

Cast iron is fine IF it is cast iron all the way. Normally the cast iron will only go outside the foundation then the rest of the way is tile, and that is where the problems usually lie. The fix today is run PVC which can give you a solid connection. I've never seen a sewer replacement use anything but PVC for years now.

And if you have **** trees around (Silver Maple, Willow) the roots will go a long ways to trash a sewer. In my case, it was my neighbors Silver Maple tree that screwed up my sewer. Her house was maybe 75' from my house, yet I had roots about 20' into the sewer from my basement drain, and my house was up on a hill from her house. A lot of municipalities restrict planting certain trees around because of the root system. Silver Maple and Willow being two of the biggest culprits, but then you also get into the Cottonwood, Poplar, and such, which are nothing but trash trees anyways.

And like I said above, I would start saving now for a future sewer repair. The OP can get by for a few years by having the sewer cut out once a year, but someday, the inevitable will come, and that is usually when it is colder than hell outside.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Garden hose will hit the bottom of the drain quick since it acts as a p trap. I have snaked it out before.

I'm checking back in after a few days.

Glad to see there is a P-trap in the drain. I know theres many basement floor drains out there that have none.

 

[krux]

I'm checking back in after a few days.

Glad to see there is a P-trap in the drain. I know theres many basement floor drains out there that have none.

Yea I am happy too. I have to change laundry sink out this weekend. Mine is literally decaying and falling apart I noticed in the drain. Darn concrete tubs.

 

[krux]

Update:

It is starting to back up again GRRRRRR.

I am having a different guy and check it out this time. I called so many different plumbing places and received so many different answers I didn't know who to believe. The last call I had with a plumber (which every time I talk to him) suggested maybe the pipe is collapsed under the house. However when I called his recommend friend he said no if it was collapsed it would backup all the time and you wouldn't go 3 months without having a problem, you would have a problem immediately with dirt and sand. I am starting to think maybe that plumber likes to put in new pipes and make a lot of money since this is the 3rd time he has said it when calling about different projects around the house.

So with that said he is going to come out and look at it. I found out that my kitchen and laundry is setup on a "branch" line which I am assuming is only 2 inches (That's what my vent pipe size is). I am wondering if this is the reason why it plugs and if this is the reason it plugs up so often. I use lint traps and trap all the food in the sink and do no use a garbage disposal.

Good news is that the new laundry tub is in since the old one was rotting away from being the original in the house from the 50's. I keep thinking of some decay might have been going into the pipes.

 

[FXDawg]

I'm sticking with the slightly under pitched or back pitched line theory myself.

 

[krux]

I put a one way valve in my ptrap. So far helped alot. The pipe was clean with no clogs. Senstive ptrap is what the plumber said

 

[SALIV8]

OP. Do you have a manhole cover in your backyard? If you do, open this up and see if your grease trap is full of grease, and then verify if your laundry/kitchen line is draining into this basin by running water and watching what happens.

My laundry sink is connected to my kitchen stack/drain line and gets filled up with grease every so many years and I have to have it rodded out, or do it myself (from this large basin/grease trap towards the kitchen stack/laundry tub discharge in the house. You can typically see the grease/kitchen line feeding into your backyard grease trap and then you will have the main line (in same basin slightly below the grease line) that connects to the city sewer system.

I have tenants that seem to use more grease than a restaurant I think. Lol

 

[FXDawg]

that sensitive p trap comment is new to me. I became a licensed plumber in 1988 and have never heard that term before. I guess I could see that as a possibility if it were the lead pipe style of trap. Lead is soft and could be thrown out of shape in any number ways. That could cause the trap to get blocked more often. Otherwise, the only thing that could effect one trap over another is venting. Not enough air to allow the flow to continue on a siphon and it creates a vacuum on the high side which stops the water from flowing as it should. Poor pitch could cause it too because the friction of the pipe can slow the slower moving waste more easily.

I'm really leaning toward a design/installation error.

 

[krux]

OP. Do you have a manhole cover in your backyard? If you do, open this up and see if your grease trap is full of grease, and then verify if your laundry/kitchen line is draining into this basin by running water and watching what happens.

My laundry sink is connected to my kitchen stack/drain line and gets filled up with grease every so many years and I have to have it rodded out, or do it myself (from this large basin/grease trap towards the kitchen stack/laundry tub discharge in the house. You can typically see the grease/kitchen line feeding into your backyard grease trap and then you will have the main line (in same basin slightly below the grease line) that connects to the city sewer system.

I have tenants that seem to use more grease than a restaurant I think. Lol

No man hole in my yard since that would be a good idea.

 

[krux]

that sensitive p trap comment is new to me. I became a licensed plumber in 1988 and have never heard that term before. I guess I could see that as a possibility if it were the lead pipe style of trap. Lead is soft and could be thrown out of shape in any number ways. That could cause the trap to get blocked more often. Otherwise, the only thing that could effect one trap over another is venting. Not enough air to allow the flow to continue on a siphon and it creates a vacuum on the high side which stops the water from flowing as it should. Poor pitch could cause it too because the friction of the pipe can slow the slower moving waste more easily.

I'm really leaning toward a design/installation error.

I believe the poor pitch. p trap is 30 feet away from main stack and the pipes run across the whole house so very little pitch. So far one way valve has helped.