We purchased our 60-year-old house (our first home!) around a year ago. About 2 months ago we noticed the 2nd-floor tub barely draining. A few days later, the drain in the floor of the basement flooded after we took a shower. We are lucky enough to have a plumber friend (who lives far away) in town that afternoon. He suspected tree roots so he spent 3+ hours rooting out our main line. It worked like a charm. Now, 2 months later, our friend is unavailable and our drain is backing up again! Flushing toilets is not a problem. Long showers can create a problem if lots of water has been used in the house. But, mostly, in the last week it ALWAYS floods when we do laundry. During the rinse cycle, the laundry machine dumps the water into the utility sink, the sink fills. Upon the utility sink draining, the drain in the floor of the basement floods. My husband and I take turns standing on-guard with the shop vac. Will super-duper unclogging solutions work? WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Thanks!

Okay, I have my 3 year old house with copper piping. Since I've had it, I've had an off and on ticking sound coming from somewhere. The plumber couldn't locate, stating it's up in the walls somewhere and they'd have to open it up to find it, thinking it's thermal expansion somewhere. In the meantime, I have yet to locate it, although it sounds to be loudest down near the water heater. I turned the valve above the hotwater heater probably 1/2 way, and it doesn't seem to affect the water flow except slightly. Now this has made the ticking less noticable. My questions: Could this valve be causing the sound itself? Any other ideas of the source of the sound? Thanks for any info you can muster!