I have a basement drain that quickly overflows, then very slowly drains, when water from the washing machine discharges into it or when water is run in the kitchen sink. The line from the kitchen sink runs pretty much straight down to the basement, then turns in the general direction of the drain (a few feet away) as it goes under the poured cement basement floor. The clog must be just past where the kitchen line joins the main line from the drain. The total distance from the kitchen drain to where the clog seems to be is 15-18'. None of the other plumbing, which is downstream, is affected.
This is a 90-year-old house, and there is no clean-out plug in the open drain. The drain has a trap, but I haven't been able to get a manual 1/4" snake through it (and was worried about getting it bound up in the pipe). What do you think is the best way to approach this? If I use an electric snake running from the kitchen, it has to be narrow enough for the 1.5" line there, but the clog is in a 3-4" main line. Or should I try to run an electric snake directly into the drain and try to get it through the trap? What size/kind of snake do I need? Are there any non-snake alternatives (a clog buster or a hose, for example)?
Thanks for any ideas!
This is a 90-year-old house, and there is no clean-out plug in the open drain. The drain has a trap, but I haven't been able to get a manual 1/4" snake through it (and was worried about getting it bound up in the pipe). What do you think is the best way to approach this? If I use an electric snake running from the kitchen, it has to be narrow enough for the 1.5" line there, but the clog is in a 3-4" main line. Or should I try to run an electric snake directly into the drain and try to get it through the trap? What size/kind of snake do I need? Are there any non-snake alternatives (a clog buster or a hose, for example)?
Thanks for any ideas!