: Some questions about basement floor drains for my understanding...

Reply:
- What is the purpose of having basement floor drains if they can potentially back up and flood the basement?
>Under normal conditions they don't back up. Floor drains can save your personal property and mechanical heating/cooling/water heater units in the event of a water pipe break.

- Do basement floor drains have traps, or are they straight pipes to the main sewer line? The floor drain the City was trying to snake was practically full - you could see and smell the murky liquid splashing all over the place.
>According to plumbing code, floor drains are supposed to have traps and vents.

- Can they be used to auger the main line like a clean-out?
>In some cases yes, but not all the time. Usually a clean-out fitting or the house trap is used to snake the main line to the street.

Have a professional plumber check your system, nothing against city workers but you need an experienced individual to check this out for you.

e-plumber