JD MO
New Member
I've been having an on again off again issue with a drain and have been searching forums to see if I can find someone with a similar issue but haven't had any luck since I think its a fairly unique situation.
I have two sewer line connections in my house. The house was expanded 20 years ago so I believe they may have added the new sewer line then. The primary sewer line has all but one drain line on it so all bathrooms and the washer/dryer drain to the main sewer line in the garage. The kitchen drain (and dishwasher) drain into a line about 15 feet away, in the basement (pictured). Apologies for the mediocre pictures but it was tough to get the right angle.
In the first picture the pvc vertical pipe on the left is the drain pipe from the kitchen. The pipe on the right (connected to the p trap) is open on the top and is the one causing me problems. I'm assuming its some sort of vent pipe as there's no other venting on this line. What happens is that sometimes if the kitchen drain gets slow (like if the disposal had put a lot down there) the water will overflow from that vent pipe into the basement. Its particularly a problem if the dishwasher runs and sends a lot of waster down the drain. Since its lower than the drain, even with the p trap that seems to be its point of exit.
I've had a professional come in and look at it but he seemed inexperienced and over his head. His only suggestions were to snake the line and that "maybe the gradient of the horizontal pipe is the problem". He didn't seem confident in that answer and I don't think that would fully fix things. Snaking the line bought time but any time the drain slows its a potential to happen. We'll go months without it happening and then it will happen again.
I'm assuming I can't cap it (I'm assuming a vent pipe is needed). Also if you look at the second and third pictures you'll see clear tubing as the A/C condensate pump and dehumidifier drain into there. I'm not sure if those draining into there pose an issue. I think another part of the problem is that its a three inch pipe but not sure how big a factor that is. I've kicked around a lot of ideas (changing to 4 inch pipe, extending the p trap or drain pipe to force it to travel a longer distance) but I'm only a DIYer so have no idea if they would do anything. Part of me just wants to disconnect the drain from this sewer line and connect it to the other one but not sure that's necessary or best. I have no problem hiring a pro to do whatever needs to be done but after the first bad experience I wanted to try to get some ideas before calling one.
So anyone have any suggestions on a more permanent fix? Appreciate any guidance anyone could offer. Thank you.
I have two sewer line connections in my house. The house was expanded 20 years ago so I believe they may have added the new sewer line then. The primary sewer line has all but one drain line on it so all bathrooms and the washer/dryer drain to the main sewer line in the garage. The kitchen drain (and dishwasher) drain into a line about 15 feet away, in the basement (pictured). Apologies for the mediocre pictures but it was tough to get the right angle.
In the first picture the pvc vertical pipe on the left is the drain pipe from the kitchen. The pipe on the right (connected to the p trap) is open on the top and is the one causing me problems. I'm assuming its some sort of vent pipe as there's no other venting on this line. What happens is that sometimes if the kitchen drain gets slow (like if the disposal had put a lot down there) the water will overflow from that vent pipe into the basement. Its particularly a problem if the dishwasher runs and sends a lot of waster down the drain. Since its lower than the drain, even with the p trap that seems to be its point of exit.
I've had a professional come in and look at it but he seemed inexperienced and over his head. His only suggestions were to snake the line and that "maybe the gradient of the horizontal pipe is the problem". He didn't seem confident in that answer and I don't think that would fully fix things. Snaking the line bought time but any time the drain slows its a potential to happen. We'll go months without it happening and then it will happen again.
I'm assuming I can't cap it (I'm assuming a vent pipe is needed). Also if you look at the second and third pictures you'll see clear tubing as the A/C condensate pump and dehumidifier drain into there. I'm not sure if those draining into there pose an issue. I think another part of the problem is that its a three inch pipe but not sure how big a factor that is. I've kicked around a lot of ideas (changing to 4 inch pipe, extending the p trap or drain pipe to force it to travel a longer distance) but I'm only a DIYer so have no idea if they would do anything. Part of me just wants to disconnect the drain from this sewer line and connect it to the other one but not sure that's necessary or best. I have no problem hiring a pro to do whatever needs to be done but after the first bad experience I wanted to try to get some ideas before calling one.
So anyone have any suggestions on a more permanent fix? Appreciate any guidance anyone could offer. Thank you.