Plumbing question, back up after sewer cleared, coincidence?
Your guess seems quite reasonable. So very very sorry this happened to you. Maybe you need a different plumber to get an assessment of what happened. Yikes!
Probably caused by plumber's work but does not mean plumber is at fault, legally or on principle.
If they used a rotary cutter to clear it then probably not.
If they used high pressure to blow out the clog, then its a good chance they caused it. Any open drains downstream needed to be capped and secured or you will have a blowout like you described.
The drain cover probably blew off while they were clearing the clog, or possibly they didn't cover it back up once they were done and the sewage come out.
Sorry about that, that must have been a wreck.
I am not a plumber, only a handy homeowner.
Kurt
40 ft. of "snake" on a power drill was used. Drain cover blew out two days after the clog was cleared.
Do you have any paperwork from the original plumber guaranteeing his work? I assume there was a second plumber -- will he give a professional opinion in writing as to what the cause of the blow out was due to? I'm sorry this happened to you -- I've been in your shoes and it literally stinks!
spontaneous said:
First and second plumber both came from the same company.
Oh.....sucko......I'm supposing the second guy would not give his opinion as to the cause. Maybe some of the MOL-resident plumbers can give a general opinion as to what the cause might have been?
jerseyjack said:
40 ft. of "snake" on a power drill was used. Drain cover blew out two days after the clog was cleared.
There's a mystery. Where did the pressure come from that blew off the drain cover ? The venting should prevent that from happening.
Unless the drain cover was not on secure and the drain backed up a second time.
The thing is, the first plumber showed me water flowing freely in the sewer line when the cap was off. He also opened the town manhole cover and showed me the water unrestrictedly flowing through that.
yes, it sounds like a second clog developed, the only question is whether it was caused by something the snake loosened or by a new obstruction, and that we can't know.
I guess there is no connection with the previous days work. Often deluge of water blows of sewer. For the buildup in drains clean the P-trap and pour baking soda which is an effective solution. Different clogs need to be treated in for cleaning in different ways, else it might result in far reaching damage. Check for few simple drain cleaning tips in this article http://www.brothersplumbing.ca/blog/unclog-drain/6-ways-unclog-drain/ . But if the drain has the characteristic of sulfurous smell that comes from a sewer , it implies the vents could be blocked and the negative pressure has pulled water out of drain. This would require you go up the roof to fix it. Ventilation allows air into pipes thereby preventing p-traps from emptying. Typically all the vents finally terminate in a single opening on the roof, thus ensure that there are no debris like leaves . Climb your roof, pull away the debris, spray water into the vent opening and clear the vent with an augur if the water backs up.
Thanks for your input. Answer was that there are three "bellies" breaks in the sewer line. It is going to be completely replaced from the house to the town's line. House is 90 years old and the line was likely made of fired clay. --- diagnosed by video camera at a cost of $250.00
Sewer line (ours, not the city) had a clog backing up every pipe in the house, plumber called on Christmas day. Clog fixed.
Next day drain in basement blows the cover off, poop and used toilet paper all over the basement. I'm told "pressure backed up and forced the cover off."
Is this something that could have been caused by the work by the plumber the previous day (maybe he was rushing because it was Christmas day and did something wrong) ? Or was it just an unlucky coincidence? My feeling is that if this was caused by the plumber, we shouldn't be forced to pay for the very expensive clean up.