Dropped some cut PVC into basement floor drain

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Nwoodard34

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So I was installing a flush pipe from my spin down filter into the basement floor drain this weekend and cut off a piece of PVC for the job. Due to my carelessness, the little piece I cut off rolled down into the drain.

This would be annoying but not terribly embarrassing. It happens right?

Well, if I am not the most careless person in the world, I don't know who is, because as I was finishing it up today I cut off another small piece and...you guessed it...kerplunk it went right down into the drain right behind its friend.

Yes I am ashamed. Feel free to publicly flog me for being a dumb dumb.

That said, I obviously need to figure out how to get these out as it is now mostly clogged (verrrrryyyy slow draining). The floor drain pipe is 2.5" PVC and the pieces I dropped in were 3/4" PVC each less than 1.5" long. It is about 10' from the main stack for the house, which is 3" PVC. We are on a septic if that matters.

Is the best play to use a snake and try to unjam them from the trap and let water carry them to the main? Get an auger and try to pull them back or bust them up (while somehow not destroying the PVC pipe itself)?

Please help once you are done laughing and feeling sorry for me. Thanks!
 

Reach4

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Start with a wet-dry vacuum cleaner. Maybe that sucks out the pieces. Maybe it just sucks out the water, and you will be able to see a piece to snag.

Does this floor drain have a cleanout plug on the side of the bowl, as many floor drains do?
 

Nwoodard34

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Alright guys yeah the shop vac was the right answer. Sucked them right out. Thanks for the help. To show my appreciation here is a pic of the pieces as well as my final result

20210511_192107.jpg


20210511_192849.jpg
 
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Nwoodard34

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Side note the PVC pieces weren't what was clogging up the drain. It still backs up if I open the spin down valve more than halfway and takes a while to drain back down.

Reach4 has mentioned a clean out plug attached. I am having trouble visualizing what that would look like for a floor drain but I don't believe there is one. Does that mean I can't snake it because of the trap? Maybe just plunge it really hard or reverse the shop vac to blow whatever is in there on down the pipe?
 

Reach4

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Reach4 has mentioned a clean out plug attached. I am having trouble visualizing what that would look like for a floor drain but I don't believe there is one.
Like this:
19499-70c7905bc7cf90192f1c06b6ba87890e.jpg

. Does that mean I can't snake it because of the trap? Maybe just plunge it really hard or reverse the shop vac to blow whatever is in there on down the pipe?

You could try a Brasscraft drain bladder or equivalent. Maybe a medium or small.

I would try running my RIDGID PowerSpin Plus #57043 snake, rotated by my variable speed reversible electric drill, down the drain. I ran through my lavatory drain, through the 1-1/4 trap, and took out the clog that was maybe 10 ft down. That snake is small and should pass through the floor cast iron drain trap as it rotates. However it might just pass thru through the clog too, and the clog can close behind it. So bigger is better, but that unit worked better than I expected for me.
 

Nwoodard34

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Like this:
19499-70c7905bc7cf90192f1c06b6ba87890e.jpg



You could try a Brasscraft drain bladder or equivalent. Maybe a medium or small.

I would try running my RIDGID PowerSpin Plus #57043 snake, rotated by my variable speed reversible electric drill, down the drain. I ran through my lavatory drain, through the 1-1/4 trap, and took out the clog that was maybe 10 ft down. That snake is small and should pass through the floor cast iron drain trap as it rotates. However it might just pass thru through the clog too, and the clog can close behind it. So bigger is better, but that unit worked better than I expected for me.

Nice ok, that makes sense but unfortunately my drain doesn't have the cleanout line. Wish it did though! I'll give the drain bladder a try. Appreciate the advice.
 

Bannerman

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You said this is a basement floor drain and also mentioned a septic system. A septic tank is usually not buried deep below ground level so the waste line that exits the home will be typically ~3-4' above the basement floor. Unless your basement is a walkout style with the septic tank located in the lower area outside the walkout section, I anticipate the basement floor drain will not discharge to the septic tank.

Your floor drain maybe discharging to a separate dry well or it could flow to a sump pit or similar that incorporates a sump pump to pump the drain water up to the waste line that flows into the septic tank.
 
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TonyaGilmore

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Start by using a wet-dry vacuum. Perhaps that removes the parts. Perhaps it simply suctions out the water, allowing you to see a piece to grab.
 
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