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clear a sewer ling,
diy sewer line snake
HELP! My sewer line is clogged! - How to Snake a Sewer Line
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| My sewer line clean out |
There are a million disclaimers on this one folks! In all honesty, this post should be called “How we snaked ‘Our’ sewer line.” I can’t exactly tell you how to snake yours. I’ll tell you what we did and why it worked. Other than that I’d advise you to call a professional plumber if what worked for us isn’t working for you.
Disclaimer #2 – this is a job that is stinky and disgusting. Dress accordingly! There is an excellent chance that you’ll be standing in sewage! NO BARE FEET (or hands or eyes). Also, tie back your hair!
Grab your boots sister! You're going to need them!
Now, with that out of the way I’ll tell you what happened and how we fixed it!
Disclaimer #3 – I’m an information person. I like ALL the details of a story! As a result I tend to offer all the details to others. This story has LOTS of details. I’ll label each section so that you can skip to the information you want.
The source of our problem
My husband and I have 4 beautiful sons. Two of them are pretty grown up. Two of them a young enough to really wreck havoc in the house! Our “littles” are adventurous young lads who enjoy conducting LOTS of experiments including, but not limited to, flushing things down the toilet. To solve this problem we bought a so called “clog proof” toilet. Turns out, there’s no such thing as a clog proof toilet. The kids’ toilet is clog resistant, but certainly not clog proof (as the boys have proven on many occasions.)
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| There's NO SUCH THING as a clog proof toilet! |
The good news and bad news about “clog resistant” toilets.
Say your kid flushes say a Lincoln log down the toilet. The good news is that log may very well pass through the toilet. The bad news is that the log may get stuck somewhere else down the line.
That’s what happened at my house this week! Who knows how long “the littles” have been partaking in their latest flushing experiment. I never noticed a thing until water appeared in the basement.
The symptoms:
After my shower on Saturday I noticed a puddle of water in the basement. It wasn’t tons of water. Just a large-ish puddle. I cleaned it up and started the dishwasher. Half an hour later the puddle was back.
I spent the weekend trying to identify the source of what I thought was a leak. Sometimes we had puddles after baths, showers. Sometimes not.
Monday morning I started a load of laundry. When the wash was finished there was a sizable puddle on the basement floor near the sewer clean out. I knew immediately that the line was clogged!
Another symptom of a sewer line clog: If several water fixtures begin to drain slowly or over flow, you may have a sewer clog.
If one toilet overflows or one sink drains slowly there may be a problem with that fixture. If two or three fixtures begin to overflow or drain slowly at the same time, you have a bigger problem.
Troubleshooting:
We’ve had enough sewer line (main line) clogs before so I know what to look for. In our house if a puddle appears near the sewer line clean out after a small volume of water is used (toilet flush, hand washing) then as have a significant clog. If a puddle of water appears only after a large volume of water is used (shower, bath, washing machine use) then we have a relatively minor clog.
What’s causing the clog?
Truth is there’s really no way to know what caused the clog until it’s fixed. Just pray that it’s not tree roots. My method WILL NOT WORK on tree roots.
For the project you will need:
Boots, old or ratty clothes, sewer line snake, possibly a flash light, possibly your entire tool box to remove the sewer cap.
Ok, first you have to identify your sewer clean out and remove the cap. Our house was built in the 50’s and has a house trap. That means that instead of having a sewer line that goes right out to the street, there is an extra bend in the road. We removed the cap from the sewer line and house trap. Our caps are old, but came off without too much trouble. (They’ve been snaked A LOT) so we didn’t expect them to be too difficult.
Boots, old or ratty clothes, sewer line snake, possibly a flash light, possibly your entire tool box to remove the sewer cap.
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| Here's what you're looking for! |
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| House Trap and Sewer Line with caps removed |
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| House Trap |
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| Toilet Snake (Closet Auger) |
I started with the house trap. Because it’s a short U, I’d hoped that the clog would be found there and would be easy to fix. I used my closet auger (toilet snake) to try and clear the clog. I threaded the auger into the house trap and cranked the handle. The waste water standing in the pipe remained. I did, however, notice a Lincoln log and several plastic Easter eggs. Now I know what caused this clog!
With a gloved hand I removed the toys from the trap and kept snaking. The toys were gone, but the standing water remained. It was time for plan B.
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| Brass Craft Encased Sewer Rod aka Sewer Snake |
Next my husband removed the cap from the sewer line and slowly threaded in a 50 foot sewer snake. (I held the flash light). He pushed the snake into the line as far as it would go. When he hit an obstruction he worked the line back and forth until he was able to move past the clog. He worked the line into the pipe until he ran out of line.
Working in a back and forth motion, he slowly pulled the snake back out of the sewer line. It wasn’t until the snake was all the way out of the line that we noticed that the water level had gone done in the pipes. There was no standing water in the sewer line or in the house trap. SUCCESS!
Test your work:
To flush the line we filled the tub with water and let it out. Water did not back up into the house, so we knew the line was clear.
The Fix - Option #2
This year (2016) we discovered a second option that's been working VERY WELL for us. This option is less messy and works quickly. Earlier this year I purchase a Sewer Line Bladder. Honestly I didn't think it would work. It worked QUICKLY - thank goodness!
The Fix - Option #2
This year (2016) we discovered a second option that's been working VERY WELL for us. This option is less messy and works quickly. Earlier this year I purchase a Sewer Line Bladder. Honestly I didn't think it would work. It worked QUICKLY - thank goodness!
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| Sewer Bladder |
The bladder works by blasting a concentrated stream of water down the sewer line at the clog. For this method you will need an assistant, rubber gloves, garden hose and the bladder. These bladders come in several sizes. Make sure that you get the one that is designed for sewer lines. Mine cost about $19.00 at Home Depot.
With the bladder SECURELY attached to a garden hose thread the bladder and hose through the sewer clean out, down the sewer line as far as you can.
Have one person hold the hose in place. The second person should turn on the water slowly until it reaches full blast. Water will fill the bladder and cause it to expand and fit snugly against the sides of the sewer pipe. Once the bladder is fully expanded it will shoot a concentrated stream of water down the sewer line. The water will blast the obstruction out of the line.
Turn the water off and allow a few minutes for the water to drain from the bladder so that it shrinks back down to normal size. Slowly remove the bladder from the line.
In the spirit of full disclosure I was 100% certain that this method would not work. But I was desperate and $19 was not too much to risk. This is now my FAVORITE way to unclog the sewer.
Here's a a video to help you out.
The Cause of the Problem:
With the bladder SECURELY attached to a garden hose thread the bladder and hose through the sewer clean out, down the sewer line as far as you can.
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| Click this picture to make it larger |
Turn the water off and allow a few minutes for the water to drain from the bladder so that it shrinks back down to normal size. Slowly remove the bladder from the line.
In the spirit of full disclosure I was 100% certain that this method would not work. But I was desperate and $19 was not too much to risk. This is now my FAVORITE way to unclog the sewer.
Here's a a video to help you out.
The Cause of the Problem:
The head of our sewer snake was tangled with what looked like writing paper. I’m willing to bet that the boys flushed paper and toys down their toilet. (They are now grounded!!)
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| GROUNDED! |
The Clean Up:
We were thrilled to have fixed this problem ourselves, but the clean up was disgusting! I wish we could have hired someone for that part!
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| Disinfect EVERYTHING with water and a little bleach |
We used a garden hose and a big industrial broom to remove solid waste (toys, paper, etc) from the floor. Anything that fell in the sewer water was either disinfected with bleach water or thrown out. Once the big chunks of garbage and “do-do juice” (my husband’s word – not mine) were gone, I swept the floor again with bleach water. I added a splash of bleach to a bucket of water. Then dipped a clean broom into the water and swept the floor. Finally I disinfected the floor by mopping with bleach water.
The Cost
Most of the things we needed we already had at home. Closet auger, brooms and bucket. We purchased sewer line snake, goggles and gloves from home depot. Total cost $30
The cost to call Roto Rooter = $250!
What if this method didn’t work?
When to call in a professional:
If you feel uncomfortable at all – call a professional! If you can’t find the source of the problem or if you can’t clear the problem – Call a professional! I’m a DIY girl from the bottom of my heart, but I’m not willing to mess us the plumbing in my house just so I can say I did it myself!
Other tips!
When/If you need to call in a professional watch what he’s doing. Let the $200 bucks you spent on his visit be your personal diy class. Ask questions and gather as much information as you can. S/He’s there to help you out. Educate yourself.
Hopefully your kids will find non-plumbing related ways to entertain themselves. Until then – Good luck in your plumbing adventures!
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