 | Help! Clogged drain in basement |
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Question: The basement has water in it but there hasn't been any rain! It's just limited to a particular area of the basement (like the center of the basement). My brother seems to think that the drain is clogged and that the water that runs thru the pipes has nowhere to go so that makes the drain back up with water. tried using a plunger but it kept getting stuck in the drain hole. My brother's next suggestion - Draino or something similar. Right now besides water, there's a lot of gunk down there too. Has anyone had similar problems? What did you do to solve? The guy who does repairs on the house can't seem to reached. Also since I'm on the subject - can anyone tell me about plumbers snake - do they work (I guess they do work) but where is it possible to get one? The smell of course is terrible and the water is quite dirty so I'm assuming that this is water backed up from somewhere!
Answer: I had a similar problem with the floor drain in my basement not far from my shop. It didn't fill up with water but it wouldn't take water either. I went to the hardware store and found a material which is essentially pure sulfuric acid which did a great job of clearing the drain. Since I am a retired chemist, I had a good idea of what I was using and knew the necessity of following the precautions on the bottle. It comes in a 2 quart and a one gallon size. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE THIS WITH DRANO OR ANY OTHER DRAIN CLEANER! Wear rubber gloves and rinse the bottle thoroughly before discarding. For use in floor drains it is necessary to remove the slotted cover plate before pouring the material. The instructions also tell you to cover the drain after the material is put in as there could be some relatively violent reactions. I just set a 2 gallon bucket upside down over the opening. It will also cause a foul smell in the basement for awhile but it will dissipate afterwhile. Make certain to follow the instructions regarding the clear water rinse. It sure did clear my drain pipe effectively.
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