Clogged Pipe Help

[Twista]

So the main sewer in the basement floods the basement with water once you use the washing machine or the shower D: We did some poking and looking into the sewer and found globs of white sh!t. The only thing white that goes down the sewer is:

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9776/image0327jpg.jpg

or

http://dolcepress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/hand-cleaner.jpg

So :hmm: now were stuck with getting this crap out. No-one had any idea this crap would f up a house pipe system till now.

Any ideas how to dissolve this crap thats deep down in the system? Or should we call the experts?

:sigh: Guess ill wash my hands with the water holes outside after working on my car.. even in the 23 degree weather

 

[Analog]

The washing machine or shower is dumping a lot of water, which the pipes can't handle anymore, due to build up that reduces flow. I would use a caustic cleaner to get rid of the build-up. Its likely oils and grease.

 

[bobdole369]

Heat does it.

Otherwise - it itself is a degreaser, but it is coagulated. It's essentially fat so I bet some strong acid would eat right through it. Are you sure its gojo doing that? Perhaps its just solidified fat from bacon or steaks.

I would use a caustic cleaner

Or very basic. Jinx.

 

[DrPizza]

Hint: running hot water down the drain to rinse down grease merely moves the problem farther down the line, away from the sink. Eventually, it cools & clogs your drains.

 

[RU482]

I had slow floor drains. I went to Menards (Lowes, HomerDepot,ect) and got a gallon of "floor drain cleaner" that specifically mentions "do not put in sink or tub drains". All I know is the flow rate increased 2x through the drain. much advised...A++++, will do business with again

 

[tokie]

Maybe you should stop taking dumps/jerking off in the shower. There are better pipes for such things.

 

[nick1985]

Lay off the roast beef sandwiches

 

[Meghan54]

Hint: running hot water down the drain to rinse down grease merely moves the problem farther down the line, away from the sink. Eventually, it cools & clogs your drains.

QFT!


We handle grease from cooking the old school way....pour it off into a glass jar that'd be thrown away otherwise. We're using an empty spaghetti sauce jar right now. Very little grease ever gets poured down the drain.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I had an issue with cheap crappy face cloths producing lot of lint which ended up clogging my main sewer and when the next load drained it backed up. I got lucky and caught it on time but had I used the washroom or worse, waited till next morning and showered I would have had water all over my basement.

I had a bit of poop backup into the sump pit, and the laundry tub was not draining either. I knew at that point that the blockage was beyond the stack but probably not far off. I'm not sure how the sump pit is connected to the main sewer - in fact I never knew it WAS till then, figured it was just a storm drain.

What I did was pour some javex down the sump mostly to kill the smell/bacteria and I plunged away at the sink for a while. This was only making the water rise in the stack mind you, but over time the water movement did push out the clog, then running tons of water washed it out. I got my sewer camed the day after and they said it was all clear.

Now I'm paranoid. everytime I take a huge dump I go check downstairs to make sure it made it through lol.

Oh and if you tend to pour greasy substances down the drain, don't! the drain guy told me that is a big issue that he sees. People will use stuff like cooking oil then just dump it in the sink. Since water goes around what happens is it starts to accumulate around the pipe, making it smaller and smaller... nothing will make that wash away other then special pipe cleaning substances, or a special snake tool. Basically it's the same thing that happens to our arteries when we eat bad!