I know without seeing it this is guessing, but maybe you can help me make sense of my basement drains.

I have 2 floor drains and a sump pit in my basement, the sanitary sewer and cleanout is above these about 3' exiting the foundation. There is also a walkout door that has also has a drain lower than the regular sewer.

The sump was added recently I believe. The drain outside by the walkout has a cleanout. The two interior do not have cleanouts. All 3 have standing water in them but I do not know if that have traps since I assume this goes to the storm sewer.

I pretty sure the smaller of the interior drains to the sump... the larger one I am not sure, its a 3' hole, I have capped it with a test plug.

I have no idea really whats going on, other than the fact I have the one in the walkout unrestricted, the largest one is capped with a test cap but has water in it and the smaller one is catching condensate which drains to my sump pit but it too has standing water in it.

So my questions,

when the floor drains are below the sanitary sewer exit, does that mean these drain to the storm sewer or my sump pit?

if they are tied to the storm sewer, would they backup from storm runoff? Or does my sump take care of that?

All 3 of these drain openings have standing water in it that suggest maybe they are trapped?

Im confused, I wished I could have one of you guys here to see what I am talking about and I am new to owning a basement so I am unfamiliar about how this works.



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They would not connect to a storm sewer, especially if you have sump. They also obviously cannot connect to the sanitary sewer since it is higher then them Do you have a pump in the basin? They should all connect to the basin and that can be checked by pouring water in to the drains and watching the basin.

They could be connected to the sanitary sewer. I have seen several houses where it used to be plumbed to a septic and the floor drains went to the gray water line. After the area got city sewer, they tied the lines together out in the yard.

There is a pump in the basin.

whether its connected to the sump pit, storm sewer or the sanitary sewer.... am I doing something wrong by plugging one of them with a test plug?

HJ mentioned they should all connect to the basin... and the only reason I am questioning that is that the sump basin appears to be newish where these drains look very old.



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Test each one. Get a bucket of water and pour a gallon or so of water in each drain and see if it runs into the pit. My biggest concern about blocking off a drain like that has to do with the concrete. Does the ground slope to the drain? If you block it off and a water line breaks, will the water run to another area easily, or will it make a pond?

The largest one, 3", is actually sticking out of the ground about 3"! That's the one I have capped. When I found it it was under a shelving unit the previous owner made and it had an old tshirt stuffed in it.

Cant really tell if the concrete slopes to the smaller of the two drains.

Does the fact that there is standing water in them suggest they have traps? And if they were going to a storm sewer, they likely wouldn't be trapped correct?

I would find it more likely that the 3" is not a drain, but a cleanout instead. The fact that it holds water is a whole different issue. Almost all floor drains are trapped, regardless of where they run. The most common drain that appears to be untapped are those in outside stairwells, but they usually contain a running trap inside the building where they can't freeze.

OK maybe we are getting somewhere. If that 3' is a cleanout, do the drain tile / storm sewer usually have a cleanout accessible like that from inside the property?

And if it is a cleanout, does it mean the drain tile is clogged since there is water in it?

Another piece to the puzzle.

Poured a bucket down the 3' pipe, and indeed it flows to the sump pump. That means both floor drains are connected to the sump pit and not the sewer.

So is the largest hole likely a cleanout for the storm sewer?

And there was stagnant water in the bottom of it... plunging it makes the water rise and fall and in turn dumps water into the sump.



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