Sewer/Drain Problem.. Advice Wanted!!


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Old 01-21-09, 04:53 PM
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Question Sewer/Drain Problem.. Advice Wanted!!

Hi...

My house was built in the 50's and there is no septic tank, I have a large tree in my back yard which I have had to deal with getting the line(s) snaked once a year to combat the root penetration into clay line. I have maintained this for the last three years of owning the home.
Last week, I had a back up in my laundry room drain downstairs that and had them come out to snake the lines and they cleaned the sanitary sewer to the city main and also cleaned the kitchen waste branch from kitchen stack base to main clean outs (this is taken right from the work order.) The problem seemed to happen somewhere in and around running the dishwasher and there was also speculation due to what appeared to be some food in the back up that this was disposal related as well.
So everything was fine until this morning, went down there, again after the dishwasher had ran and it was backed up down there again. Mind you we have run the dishwasher plenty since the first back up, so I have no idea if it is a coincidence or not.
Anyway, guy came back out today and snaked the laundry room floor drain to open the kitchen and laundry branch, the blockage was said to be caused by the disposal.
So my questions are this:
1. Based on the above mentioned info from the work orders did the guy today snake a line that hadn't been done last time?
2. Does this mean I should look into a new garbage disposal as it is possible the debri isnt getting ground up properly?
3. We do our best to not put a lot down the disposal but it definitely gets used, is there any type of maintainance (drain type cleaner) that could help the problem?

I do not believe this is root relatedespecially now that he mentioned the disposal as a possible culprit. Nothing else, toilets, sinks etc have caused any issues.

Any advice/commentary would be much appreciated
Thanks
 
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Old 01-21-09, 05:28 PM
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I am not a plumber so this is just my idea based on what I have seen with old pipes such as yours.
There may be a low spot in your drain line where solids such as your food waste is collecting and that leads to a stopped up line.
This can be confirmed with a camera that the snake man may have.
 
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Old 01-21-09, 05:48 PM
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it sounds as if they ddint do a very good job or go from the right spot the first time on the sink line but if you are having to have the line cleaned once a year or more and it is a clay line you may want to start a replacement fund and or get a video inspection done of the line. if you get the inspection make sure you are there to watch as they do it and immediately give you a tape/dvd of it
 
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Old 01-21-09, 06:30 PM
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the one I get cleaned once a year is differnt than this issue I believe. Not being a plumber, as best I understand it this is all internal as opposed to the once a year job that goes out under my back yard by to the area of the tree.
I guess my concern is in not knowing if this is being caused by a bad disposal in combo with some not so clean lines
 
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Old 01-21-09, 07:27 PM
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your lines need replaced, the tree roots are causing the line to progressively collapse and will only get worse if left alone, the roots coming in are also allowing untreated water to escape and contaminate the shallow groundwater in the area.

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies.
 
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Old 01-21-09, 10:42 PM
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Originally Posted by cmishh
the one I get cleaned once a year is differnt than this issue I believe. Not being a plumber, as best I understand it this is all internal as opposed to the once a year job that goes out under my back yard by to the area of the tree.
I guess my concern is in not knowing if this is being caused by a bad disposal in combo with some not so clean lines
i know. i said the kitchen line was not cleaned properly or from the right spot the first time. this second cleaning if done properly should give you long trouble free operation unless the disposal is a factor
 
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Old 01-21-09, 10:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Speedwrench
your lines need replaced, the tree roots are causing the line to progressively collapse and will only get worse if left alone, the roots coming in are also allowing untreated water to escape and contaminate the shallow groundwater in the area.
now how can you say that it needs replaced? it might not be that bad but replacement may be something to plan for in the future. a camera inspection should be done before jumping to any conclusions about replacing.

what will contaminate shallow ground water? teh effluent? one it would have to find its way to the ground water and 2 it would be filtered by the time it got to a water source unless they have wells and then the sewer line should be far enough away from that also
 
 

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