Reply To: Home Ownership

Other thing you should do is follow the drain pipe down all the way – until it leaves the house. Understand the whole layout. What ties in where. See where all the other drains (toilets showers appliances) tie in to the main drain header. Sometimes pipes back up NOT because they are plugged themselves but build up from other sources plug the main line or a downstream feeder (maybe only partially) and if the drain you have backing up is upstream of that – it could be restricted enough to back up when flows are high.

That happened to me – dishwasher backed up a lot. At first I thought it was insufficient venting on the drain line… replaced a burp valve – not fixed. Turned out the drain line in the floor was plugged going to the main drain header. I had a plumber tear up the floor and pull it. A three inch diameter drain pipe had less than one inch opening remaining – rest was deposits and corrosion. Cost less to fix than I expected too – only about $600. I thought tearing up my basement would be a lot worse but two guys did it in about 4 hours. My basement isn’t finished so no additional cost.

Point is trace the lines – understand how the flows go – you will likely find your ‘pinch point’ after you do that.

Good luck.