The Vent Stack on the roof is gurgling.

[egreen]

We've had slow moving drains and the basement floor drains have backed up and overflowed. The floor drains flooded a few minutes after I witnessed the toilet gurgle, bubble, and all the water drained out of the bowl. I had a plumber come out and clean all the sink drains (needed to be done anyways.) That solved the problem with slow drains. It did not solve the problem of having the floor drains back up. I called the same plumber and he snaked the cleanout outside. He used 160+ ft of the snake and there was some mud, but he never made it all the way to the city sewer.

The plumber is ignoring me now (small town, I'm on my own now.) I've read this forum and others as well as googling. I went on the roof to check the vent stack to see if it is blocked. It is making a gurgling sound, it looks clear, and no water is running in the house as far as I know.

Before I take the garden hose to the vent stack, should I? Or should I be looking for a different problem elsewhere. Clogged soil line between the house and the clean out?

 

[Reach4]

I would be concerned about the basement drains first. Will that floor drain take as much water as you can give it? I would hate to have you up on the roof with a garden hose and end up getting water out of your basement floor drain.

Ask your neighbors. Is there ever a sewer backup where other people's sewage backs up into basements after a big rain? How does the floor level of your basement drains compare to the neighbors? Don't be afraid to ask the local sewer department about this. Sewer backups are no fun. If the people down hill from you get backups and get their problem fixed, you would be next to receive the water they no longer accept. In such cases, there are often subsidies to help with a solution.

A blocked sewer is not fun either, but at least it is your sewage. I suggest a couple cheap basement watchdog or other flood alarms. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Basement-Watchdog-Battery-Operated-Water-Alarm-BWD-HWA/100038838 Place one by the floor drain. Place one in another spot that has been wet in the past. Let everybody in the house know to not use the plumbing if that alarm sounds, but to notify you immediately.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[egreen]

Thanks for the reply. Due to flooding in Colorado a few months ago there were sewer backups. The sewer department asked everyone around to not use laundry, and to not shower, and use toilets as little as possible. Other people in the area did have backups. That was a few months ago, and everything is normal now with the sewer department. The floor drains have done better since the plumber snaked from the clean out towards the sewer as far as the snake would go, though he reported the line was clean except for a "little mud." The floor drains will take as much as I can give it with no problem. Still water gurgles, bubbles and drains from toilets, and it's hard to flush the solids most of the time. I've used a toilet auger on all of them. The roof vent stack gurgling is constant from what I can tell. The toilets gurgling, and draining seems random.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

Did the plumber use a rodder machine with a head that is properly sized to the inside diameter of the main line? All of your symptoms point to a partially clogged main line, and only running a sewer tape down it will not be likely to resolve it.

 

[Houptee]

I get a few home magazines and in the back there is always an ad for a sewer jetter that you hook to any pressure washer and jet out your pipes.
Anyone ever try one?
http://www.cloghog.com/