Clearing blockage in line with the vent.

[tbayav8er]

Hi Everyone,

I suspect some lint from my washing machine has caused a blockage in the drain stack/vent. When we use the kitchen sink/dishwasher upstairs, or the washing machine downstairs (all of these things connect to the same drain stack), water starts backing up into the laundry tub. I've attached some pictures. Unfortunately, the previous owners spray foamed over all of the plumbing fixtures in the basement, so it's difficult to access anything from the basement. I bought a drain auger from the hardware store, hoping I could take the P-trap off near the main stack, and clear the blockage, but due to the couple of twists and turns the auger has to go through, I found it almost impossible to clear the blockage from that way. I can also access that stack from under the kitchen sink, but all of the plumbing joints are glued together. I've attached a picture of the type of auger I bought. Would feeding this auger through the vent in the roof to try to clear the blockage be the best bet? I've attached a number of pictures so you can see the situation.

 

[Jeff Handy]

That drain snake is ok for skinny drains like under a sink, or right in your laundry stand pipe.

But it is probably only 15 feet, and your clog could be twenty or thirty feet away.

That skinny snake also is no good for any drain lines bigger than two inches diameter.

Your laundry drain probably goes to three inches, then up to four.

A plumber might want to pull off a toilet and run a heavier, longer snake in from there.

Or maybe they will spot a cleanout plug somewhere, to access the drain line in the basement.

You should probably call a pro to rod the main sewer from the house to the street, and maybe also rod out the drains in the house.

It sounds like a bigger job than a little hand spinner snake can handle.

 

[tbayav8er]

That drain snake is ok for skinny drains like under a sink, or right in your laundry stand pipe.

But it is probably only 15 feet, and your clog could be twenty or thirty feet away.

That skinny snake also is no good for any drain lines bigger than two inches diameter.

Your laundry drain probably goes to three inches, then up to four.

A plumber might want to pull off a toilet and run a heavier, longer snake in from there.

Or maybe they will spot a cleanout plug somewhere, to access the drain line in the basement.

You should probably call a pro to rod the main sewer from the house to the street, and maybe also rod out the drains in the house.

It sounds like a bigger job than a little hand spinner snake can handle.

Thanks for the reply! There seems to be 2 stacks in my basement. One for the upstairs bathroom, and a 2nd one for the upstairs kitchen, and laundry downstairs. The bigger one for the upstairs bathroom has no issues. When I run the water for the upstairs bathroom, nothing downstairs backs up. The snake I bought is 25 feet long. Just trying to see if there's anyway I can fix it myself without having to spend much.

 

[Jeff Handy]

You can try getting the snake to go down the laundry standpipe and find a clog.
But everything is glued, you would have to cut off the trap then repair it.

Or take apart the trap under the laundry sink and go from there.
Or go into the cleanout that I think I see capped off under there.

Snaking is often difficult, you can always try it yourself, but it takes practice and skill, and the proper equipment and experience.