Monroe Chat

It has been a pretty rainy summer here in Monroe. Each time that it has rained I have been getting water backing up through the floor drains in my basement. I am wondering if any of you out there know if I should be contacting the city about this or if I should try to get a plumber. So far the backup has only been enough water to be a pain but not to cause damage to anything. If anyone could help point me in the right direction I would be thankful.

cfg - Have you checked your sump pump ??? Do you have a sump pump ??? Several years ago ours stopped working, it was a minor fix but would 've been dreadful if we hadn't of addressed it at that time.

Dh just suggested that this would be your issue and therefore a plumber would be the next course of action.

Hope this helped!!

I would take a look at the sump first. Surprisingly, almost no one knows their sump has stopped working until the basement floods. There really is no "indicator" other than that.

HOWEVER--- if the water is coming up through the pipes, the sump has nothing to do with it. The sump mainly pumps water from around the foundation, not the sewer/plumbing system. You may even have a small clog/roots causing decreased flow. You may be calling a plumber....bummer

If you need a plumber, call Steve Wood. Awesome plumber, super nice guy. 284-1325. Charges by the hour.

jkmcelwain wrote:I would take a look at the sump first. Surprisingly, almost no one knows their sump has stopped working until the basement floods. There really is no "indicator" other than that.

HOWEVER--- if the water is coming up through the pipes, the sump has nothing to do with it. The sump mainly pumps water from around the foundation, not the sewer/plumbing system. You may even have a small clog/roots causing decreased flow. You may be calling a plumber....bummer

I agree the Sump and the floor drains are not tied together.(Or by code shouldnt be) Flush a toilet or run a load of laundry & when it spins out go to the floor drain and look and listen.....If its gurgling or rising theres an obstruction in the line. I had to have tree roots water jetted out of my line last year. Very Costly but saved me from removing & replacing the line.

Yeah roots are a drag. Hopefully it's something small enough that rotorooter or whomever can just snake it out. Good luck!

cfg wrote:It has been a pretty rainy summer here in Monroe. Each time that it has rained I have been getting water backing up through the floor drains in my basement. I am wondering if any of you out there know if I should be contacting the city about this or if I should try to get a plumber. So far the backup has only been enough water to be a pain but not to cause damage to anything. If anyone could help point me in the right direction I would be thankful.

Is your basement floor drain for local water (foundation/furnace/waterheater/ect.) or is it the main drain for you entire house? If you have a large pipe going through the wall, half way up the wall, it is local and probably goes into a storm drain? If it is a main drain, it becomes much more serious and imminent concern! The obstruction still needs to be addressed, but separating the two might make some sense of the problem.

It has only been backing up during rain and the water seems to only be runoff. I don't have a sump-pump I have someone coming to check it out tonight. Thanks for all your answers.

cfg wrote:It has only been backing up during rain and the water seems to only be runoff. I don't have a sump-pump I have someone coming to check it out tonight. Thanks for all your answers.

You have a basement without a sump pump? I didn't think a builder could do that?

~H*B*G~ wrote:

cfg wrote:It has only been backing up during rain and the water seems to only be runoff. I don't have a sump-pump I have someone coming to check it out tonight. Thanks for all your answers.

You have a basement without a sump pump? I didn't think a builder could do that?

I don't have one either! I had never seen one in old country till moving to OH, cause ya don't need one when built on stilts or wheels.

Sump pumps haven't always been code. In older homes they just had drainage pipes in place and hoped for the best. You can have them installed....but its a colossal mess. seriously.

My parents home is over 40 years old and they have always had 2 of them. I just assumed it was "part of the package" so to speak.

Prior to living here we didn't have a sump pump - I thought it was ingenious! LOL However, so understand the issues when they break or do not work .....

Were you able to resolve your problem cfg?

No resolution yet. The plumber could not find anything wrong with our pipes. Either water is coming up through the Sanitary Sewer (but the water is clear) or there is a crack somewhere in my foundation where water is getting in.