Conclusion?? to yesterdays plumbing adventure
So if you recall yesterday I had a little plumbing emergency that I had to rush home and take care of. I stopped by Lowes on the way back to see what they had in the way of drain cleaner for a main line, and was directed to an employee who is/was also a plumber. After some questioning he determined that it is definitely roots that had grown back into the main again and that no amount of chemical would get it unstuck. Damn. He suggested that I could rent a snaking machine with a root cutting bit for ~$100 from a tool rental shop, but that I may want to have a professional come and do it again because roots are a huge pain in the ass and the potential to damage my own pipes is high with them.
So I got his recommendation on a plumber, and we got in touch with some people he knew at Mr. Rooter. I'm glad I did, though the findings make my stomach churn. The first thing they did was go down the main with a camera snake; I watched as the snack dropped underwater, went dark, pushed through "something" into a very slowly draining pipe, then adventured down past two more veils of roots before hitting the main sewer. Then they took their root cutter snake to it and spent a good amount of time pushing and pulling that through, and once more inspected it with the camera.
Water. There was still water. Closer to the sewer the pipes were dry as a bone. The grease and roots were gone but there was still standing water near the house. From what we could see there was no damage to the pipes other than at the joints where the roots pushed in, but with all the water in one section of pipe we couldn't be sure it wasn't damaged. At the least the pipe was listing in the wrong direction, and essentially causing a trap somewhere between my house and the main sewer. This is clearly the main problem and why I've now had to have plumbers come twice in the last year and a half to clear out clogs in the main. Any grease / oil / solids that drop down into the main and aren't immediately washed away sit in this pool and gather against the walls. In the meantime they recommended we use a lot of water for any activity and avoid flushing any material we don't have to (which we never have anyway).
To repair the real problem they are going to have to dig up the main in my yard and lay new pipe. They gave me a quote for $5,000. I have been torn up since. I am capable of doing it right now, but it would be rough and probably cost me more in the long run than waiting on it and taking care of it at a future date. A part of me wants to just get it done, while another says this isn't the most pressing of issues yet/now, and that I should budget to take care of it at a future date rather than busting open emergency funds.
Anyway, for now the house is flushing fine and if last year is any precedent, should continue to do so for at least another year.
So I got his recommendation on a plumber, and we got in touch with some people he knew at Mr. Rooter. I'm glad I did, though the findings make my stomach churn. The first thing they did was go down the main with a camera snake; I watched as the snack dropped underwater, went dark, pushed through "something" into a very slowly draining pipe, then adventured down past two more veils of roots before hitting the main sewer. Then they took their root cutter snake to it and spent a good amount of time pushing and pulling that through, and once more inspected it with the camera.
Water. There was still water. Closer to the sewer the pipes were dry as a bone. The grease and roots were gone but there was still standing water near the house. From what we could see there was no damage to the pipes other than at the joints where the roots pushed in, but with all the water in one section of pipe we couldn't be sure it wasn't damaged. At the least the pipe was listing in the wrong direction, and essentially causing a trap somewhere between my house and the main sewer. This is clearly the main problem and why I've now had to have plumbers come twice in the last year and a half to clear out clogs in the main. Any grease / oil / solids that drop down into the main and aren't immediately washed away sit in this pool and gather against the walls. In the meantime they recommended we use a lot of water for any activity and avoid flushing any material we don't have to (which we never have anyway).
To repair the real problem they are going to have to dig up the main in my yard and lay new pipe. They gave me a quote for $5,000. I have been torn up since. I am capable of doing it right now, but it would be rough and probably cost me more in the long run than waiting on it and taking care of it at a future date. A part of me wants to just get it done, while another says this isn't the most pressing of issues yet/now, and that I should budget to take care of it at a future date rather than busting open emergency funds.
Anyway, for now the house is flushing fine and if last year is any precedent, should continue to do so for at least another year.