Hello,

I've recently encountered very slow draining drains and backups while running the washing machine. I had Roto Rooter come out and snake the drain. They ran a retriever head down the main line (had to go through toliet, no outside or basement cleanouts) and found clumps of baby wipes (guilty as charged). After 3 x passes with the snake they ran out 105ft got quite a few wipes and gave up. I hired another company to come in and snake the line, they wanted to jet the line for 2500 dollars, which I found absurd. The 3rd company brought their jet but decided he wanted to get a feel for the line so he snaked it with a 3 inch head. At roughly 80ft he hit a blockage that he could not penetrate with the 3 inch head or the 3 inch half head. The head did show signs of being shiny.

He recommended excavation and pipe replacement. They sent out the locator to see exactly where the blockage was. The camera couldn't see anything as the pipe was full of water, however, he decided to run his smaller snake down the pipe (75ft) and also was able to retrieve wipes from the line. Upon feeding the camera down again, he hit a blockage at 80 ft, he rammed the blockage with the camera head and got the line to gurgle but not drain. He recommended an outside cleanout (located pipe at 4ft in ground) and running the snake again from the outside.

My question to the experts, do you feel there is value in installing a cleanout and snaking the line again? I'm going to be moving in 2 months and would like to avoid line replacement if possible as it's so close to the street. Additionally, is there any value in running a snake down without a head on it and trying to drain all the wipes out?

Thanks,
Tom

Their heads must not be very good, because mine will tear through stuff like that and open the line.

isn't there a pipe in the basement you could put a cleanout into ?
why dig 4 feet down?

1) I really love an outside c/o....worth every penny...2)Stop using baby wipes,there the worst thing you can put down the drain,(I know they say flushable but there not)


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But what if the pipe is slipped? The head isn't going to go through that? Is there any value in running a snake without a head on it to fish them out?

As for the basement cleanout, it's a dugout basement with roughly 1 ft of pipe exposed. I suppose I could install a new plumbing setup in the basement but still have the issue of having an inside cleanout.



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You've paid for 3 contractors and you are still on the hook to reveal any defects in the wasteline before you sell the property. Why not do it right and have peace of mind. You can always send the plumbing bill to the baby wipe manufacturer who said they were flushables.

Best Wishes

i would put a "Y" into that one foot of exposed pipe below the house.
put a 45 into it and run an extension to the outside edge of the house.
a sewer cleaner can then insert a big a$$ snake from outside and clean the pipe.
they can also insert a water snake from outside should that be more effective.

A snake without a head on it is like putting your finger in a bowl of Jell-O. All it does is make a small hole for the snake and then closes as soon as the snake is removed.

I have Kohler Wellworth toilets in 3 bathrooms. I flush baby wipes down the drain each time I sit on the toilet and have never had a problem. My point is if you have a properly sloped drain and your toilet is working as designed, baby wipes can be flushed. I would not flush more than two of them at a time though. Some will argue with me on this but I still maintain that if ABS or PVC drain lines are used, it will not be a problem. Maybe older Cast Iron Pipes that aren't as smooth as plastic could be a problem. Low flush toilets can add to the challenge of flushing baby wipes.



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Your kicking those baby wipes down the road and someone will have to pay for it....took 6 months for (mrs Nohub) to break her addiction to them.

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Update, my excavation contractor/plumber was able to dig today. We found a failed repair (pvc bellied) under the street where the city ran a water main eons ago and they agreed to absorb the cost of the repairs