Snaking isssues - complex

19 years ago

I'm fairly experienced with snaking, but I have a problem with this one.

My sister's house is a Washington, DC rowhouse, about 100 yrs old. The small basement is finished, and there's no cleanout visible inside (probably in the wall behind the lavatory).

The shower drain (which is a common line with the lavatory and kitchen sink nearly) is very slow, and I have now snaked that line 45 ft. It backs up after 3-4 minutes of shower use, and using either sink at this time causes more backflow. Flushing the toilet at the same time, next to the lave (once), did not back it up any further.

I snaked through the lavatory and kitchen lines, since it was getting hung up on a tight bend down the shower drain. (Both sinks are close by.) So I figured it was this branch line, and going through any drain would do. But 45' should have taken care of it, since the house is no more than that front to back.

Any suggestions? I didn't think it was a main drain problem, since the toilet flush didn't affect it, but am I wrong?

BTW, although there's no main drain cleanout inside, the driveway drain, which is right out back (and close to this bathroom), dumps into a large cistern-type trap below the driveway surface - it's like 4'x4'x3' depth capacity. There's a 4" outlet near the top (as well as the driveway drain inlet to it) And when the main drain needed snaking a couple years ago, this trap was filled with sewage, so I suppose it is the back of the main drain. (Maybe this is where the main drain is supposed to be snaked? I had it sucked out by a septic clean-out service. The water in this trap is now "clean", so no evident backup into it.

Any ideas what to do next for this slow drain? I figure it's about 75 ft to the street, and there's one tree out there. Does this sound like a tree root problem? A vent problem? Or what?

Thanks much.

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Comments (4)

hendricus
19 years ago
I think you need a power auger to clean this. I have had drains cleaned with snakes befor and they clog up fairly soon. Cleaned the same line with Roto-Rooter and never a clog again. I think with a snake you are punching a small hole in the clogged area and it fills in really soon. With the power auger it takes the clog out to the side walls of the pipe. Saying all that, the next time I have to clean a drain and need the roto-rooter thing I will buy one, about two hundred bucks at the big box store for the small line model and that's about what Roto Rooter will charge for a service call.
coolvt
19 years ago
I think what hend. mentioned is probably correct. Since flushing the toilet doesn't make the problem any worse it's probably in the smaller line. And since you have snaked more than the length of the house, I would assume that you were into the main line. So, it sounds like you are going through the blockage in the small line, but not clearing it.
You didn't mention what the head was like on the snake you were using. There is a head that looks like a spiral spring. It's actually for retrieving stuck items. You might try something like that and see if you pull anything back.
If the pipe gets almost completely clogged in a small line that I can't snake, I use a device that hooks to a garden hose and get water power from a faucet. It shoots blasts of water and will normally unclog a small drain. The device is less than $5 at HD. Not sure if it will do much good if the line is partially open. I think you have to come up with something that does more than punch a hole through the blockage.
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homebound
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for the feedback.

The snakes all had the coiled spring on the end. These were the BrassCraft ones from HD. I used both 1/4" and 1/2" diameter ones (15', 25', and then 50' lengths) . The garden hose thing sounds like it's worth a shot next, but I might have to drop the traps on the sinks and cap the waste arms temporarily first.
coolvt
19 years ago
Well, a 1/2" snake should be big enough for a 1 1/2" pipe, but if it has a tiny end on it, it could still be just poking through the stoppage rather than moving anything.