Basement AC drain.. backed up

[brveagle]

Good afternoon gentlemen,

I have a question in which i hope will be an easy answer for you pros. My house (built 2007) has a basement with the ac condenser drain pipe set to flow through a drain in the floor. It appears to also be used as a drain for the hot water tank. Twice now it has backed up. My question, is where does it drain to? I have attached a picture. I have checked and it does not flow into my sump pump which is a few feet away. (It is 100% dry)

I usually shopvac the hole out which will lead to a gallon or three of water. All clean aka not sewer. Does this hole just drain through the foundation to the earth?

Thanks in advance for help.

 

[Slowgsr]

Youd have to scope it to know. Why dont you just drain to your sump pit.

 

[sands35]

Assuming that drain has a p-trap, it needs to be fed water now and then to keep the trap full and sewer gases out of the basement.

If it has backed up, you can put a snake down it. If you want to know where it goes, you will need to put a camera down it as Slowgsr said.

I can't remember if floor drains can tie into the foundation drain, but if they do, you should see the discharge in the sump.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

It should be tied into the house drain/sewer someplace.

 

[Slowgsr]

I agree this will absolutely not be tied into your sump, and has a p trap. You could try snaking it with a short snake,

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

You could probably just use a blow bag from the local box store connected to garden hose on bottom of water heater to clear it out,Dont **** the water out of the trap it keeps sewer gas and other bad stuff from coming out of the drain.

 

[cowboyjosh]

When was the house built? In the midwest and other places back in the day allot of floor drains drained into the sump pump, the garage floor drains drained no where but to a gravel bed a few feet down.

Now days the floor drain is tied into the sanitary sewer and thats pretty much a universal code nationwide. It might be an IRC code now.

 

[finn]

Is the trap filled with solid cement fines that got in when they finished the floor?

How far does a snake go when inserted into the trap?

 

[woodzy]

My house was completed last year and they ran this type of drain into the tile that goes around the footers. Since my septic system is higher than the basement floor, this is probably acceptable. I guess maybe it would be better if they ran it into a sump pit but if something happens, I can always go to a condensate pump to pump it where I need it.

On my last house, this line plugged and I decided to make a plug with an air fitting and use compressed air to blow it open. Well, that was a mistake - it must have went into the normal sewers drains in the house because when the slug let loose, the sink in the basement shot stuff out of the drain all over the place. That was a mess to clean up but after than it work great.

 

[brveagle]

Thanks for all the responses guys. Snaked it with few foot long hose i had. It appears the pea trap was clogged with mold and construction leftovers. I.e. Gravel and concrete chips. Mainly this thick sludgy mold. I will work on running some bleach down the drain periodically. I just want to insure this doesnt happen again.

Thanks again