gurgling sound in the alley drain

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,491
92
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now that the weather is getting warmer, i finally went out and started cleaning the back yard.
i just noticed the drain in the alley is making this gurgling sound whenever wife is washing the dishes in the kitchen:
you can clearly hear it at 0:14.
this never happened in the years before. what changed?
 

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,033
545
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Probably a partial blockage somewhere even though the water isn't backing up. Snake it out.
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,890
642
126
It seems awfully odd that waste water from your home is flowing through piping with a crock that has a grate on it. What happens when you flush a toilet?

AFAIK, in residential housing there is no such thing as graywater and blackwater but what do I know?
 

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,033
545
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I believe in some municipalities you dump storm water (ie from gutters) into the sewer. Given there is a large cast iron pipe in the photo I would guess this is one of those areas.
 

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,491
92
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Probably a partial blockage somewhere even though the water isn't backing up. Snake it out.
snake worked! long story:
today, it was raining and the water did not go down the pipe as seen in the video, or at least the water was not going down fast enough. water leaked in the basement and the only way i knew was i got an alert from the zwave water sensor. of course i did not know anything yet when i got the alert. the water sensor was placed next to the water heater and initially thought the water heater had leaked or something.
went down to the basement and i saw water flowing freely out of the wall where the kitchen pipe ends and where the metal pipe from outside would meet. their junction is somewhere outside, beyond the wall that i saw water flowing in. when i went outside, i saw a big puddle around the metal drain, as seen in the video. thanks to your advice, i went to get an auger from Home Depot. couldnt believe there was a line to go in and a longer line to check out! anywho, i was able to snake the metal pipe clear, for now. too bad i could not grab onto whatever was clogging the pipe and pull it out. i didnt feel any resistance when i was thrusting the snake in either

should i try liquid Draino or am i done for now?
thank you!
 

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,033
545
126
Never use draino. Get a longer snake or call a plumber to use a big snake to get it all the way to the street. At least it won't be an emergency rate on a holiday or something.

Call it preventative maintenance.

Curious what city you live in.
 

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,491
92
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i live in center city philadelphia. the house is very old. probably no regulations back then for sewage and storm to be on separate pipes.

why not use something like Draino? i used that stuff on the 2nd floor bathroom sink 1 year ago to clear a clog. removed the trap did not help but Draino worked.

i did see HD was selling a longer 25ft snake. it can be connected to a standard drill for $400! wow. will see if they have it for rent.
 
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