Basement drain backup

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KFurdin

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Hi There - Hoping someone can help me determine what my problem is before calling Roto Rooter. When the washing machine (located in the basement) drains the water out, the basement drain backs up with muddy water containing pieces of dirt. Is this is a tell-tale sign of a cracked or broken pipe? Any solutions I can try myself before giving Roto Rooter a call?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 

Reach4

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It usually indicates a clogged sewer line.

Does that drain backup when you use much water from sinks or bathtub or toilets upstairs also? If not, the blockage may be in the vicinity of the washer and floor drain rather than outside of the house. Calling a sewer rodding person makes sense.
 

SHR

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Clogged sewer line. Call a professional other than Roto-Rooter. They are franchises and many of the franchisees do not run reputable operations.

Just this past Saturday I ran a camera and then a snake through a new customer's main sewer line to clear a minor root intrusion that had caused a clog. Roto-Rooter had been in her house and their "tech" ran a snake out a ways and claimed her sewer line was broken and had fallen out of alignment. He would have to replace the line in order to clear her line. He quoted her the bargain price of $14,000 for the job. Luckily my new customer was referred to me for a second opinion. Even luckier for her her line had miraculously healed itself and only the relatively minor root intrusion was left in the line. Unfortunately in my area this has been the norm rather than the exception. Many customers have told me the same Roto-Rooter story verbatim. The "techs" have a script they follow. Roto-Rooter has even had to pay out thousands of dollars in settlements as a result of losing court cases regarding their dis-honest sales tactics.

There are many honest, hard working and reasonably priced plumbers/drain cleaners out there. Ask your friends and neighbors for recommendations. I recommend staying far away from the RR company though.
 
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