Warning: my basement floor drain backup turned into a 3 day plumbing lesson

Last Thursday, my basement drain started backing up after a heavy rain in Cincinnati. I spent $45 on a basic drain snake from Harbor Freight, but it just pushed the clog deeper. The real fix was renting a 50 foot power auger for a day, which showed me the main line had a small root break about 30 feet out. Has anyone else had to deal with a surprise root issue that far from the house?

4 comments

4 Comments

kelly6381mo ago

Heard a friend's sewer line got wrecked by a neighbor's willow tree.

violah431mo ago

Yeah that "small root break 30 feet out" thing is so typical. It's like problems always hide just far enough to make the easy fix useless.

vera_lewis21mo ago

Totally get what you mean about the easy fix being useless. I had that exact thing happen with a slow drain last year. I ended up renting a sewer camera from the hardware store for a day to actually see where the break was. It cost way less than a plumber and showed me the whole line so I could fix the right spot.

ninaowens4d ago

Wow, I always thought those cameras were just for pros! That totally changes how I'd handle a clog.