Sewers
Sewer question...help needed....?
I have roto rooter coming tonight to unplug my main sewer line, because when I use any water in the house it backs up into the utility sink in the basement. The washing machine drains into this utility sink. We noticed after doing wash that the sump pump was going back on every 30 seconds and there was soapy water in the sump pump basin, but the basement floor was completely dry. The sump pump empties out in the backyard about 20 feet from the house. How would water get from the sewer into the sump pump basin? Could there be an overflow from the sewer that empties into the basin? Or is this a sign that there could be some sort of break in the sewer main near the house? Thanks in advance for the help. I am connected to the sewer, not a septic tank. I've read in a few postings on here that the sump pump line should be connected up to the sewer. Why is that? It seems that most homes in my area have their sump pumps draining into the backyard or street.
Public Comments
- Sounds like your septic tank is full, not a clogged drain line. I assume you have a septic tank because you said the sump pump dumps into the back yard. I do'nt know if Roto Rooter deals with septic tanks, but I think you're wasting time & $ getting the line snaked. The symptoms that you described are classic to a full septic tank. Hope thi was helpful, good luck!!
- i would bet u have a busted sewer pipe under the house that has caved in a bit or filled up with roots. by code, sump pumps cannot be connected to sewer line although it doesnt stop all from doing it anyways.
- There is a "perforated" drain pipe around the entire footer of the house wall, that perforated drain pipe is enclosed in pea gravel and it empties into the sump pump. And, The entire basement concrete floor is sitting on about 4 inches of pea gravel. So if your sewer line has a leak in it it could drain thru the pea gravel right into that drain pipe around the peremiter of the footer and dump into the sump. Why are you calling Roto Rooter. In your basement, you will see a "Y" with a cap on it and a square nut on top of that. It is in the "main stack" coming down from upstairs. Take a wrench and remove that cap. Take a look in there and see if that main sewer line, Which is always 4 inch diameter is blocked. It is very unusual for a 4 inch line to be blocked. Near impossible. You can also take a water hose and put it down there into that main line and turn it out and flush it out yourself. I suspect you clog might be right there just below that cap. Save yourself some money and take off that cap and take a look.
- my guess is you have a clay sewer line and it's either broken or at the least has cracked loose at a joint, not uncommon. It doesn't necessarily mean it has to be replaced unless it's causing damage to the foundation. or basement floor. It could be caused by tree roots, if it is this will become an ongoing problem for you. Replacing the line is the only fix for this. There is no overflow from the sewer, at least there isn't supposed to be, as I said I believe the line is open underground somewhere. Sump pumps get drained just about everywhere especially if they are installed and never inspected. IF, it is installed correctly it will drain into a sump discharge, this is a line run from the street when the house is built. It connects to the storm sewer. Older houses probably won't have one of these, but they can be installed. If it's tree roots, the roto rooter guy should pull some back with the auger and you'll know. Or it will end up being a huge ball of tampons, they will plug your line just as quickly.
