Plumbing Question 84
Question:
Somewhere in my drain system there is a clog. We ran an auger through both toilet drains and the laundry drain. It didn’t seem to help anything. We checked the cleanout valve and there is no water in it. So it’s somewhere between the house and there. What could possibly clog that and not the toilet?
Answer:
Concentrate on snaking the entire secondary line from the washer to the main sewer. In most homes that is about 75 feet of pipe. In a typical house the secondary line starts at the wash machine, connects to the kitchen line, then goes to the downstairs main bathroom where it connects to the bathroom sink and tub/shower drain. From there, they connect to the toilet which is the main outlet to the sewer or septic tank. The main is probably clear if the toilets are flushing with no problem. If the wash machine or kitchen lines are blocked, the 2″ secondary line is blocked at some point BEFORE it ties into the main.