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Is there anyway to find out the layout of the plumbing under my basement?

Having some plumbing issues of backup in the drain in the floor when using the washer. Had this issue before but from the kitchen sink is what made it overflow before (plumber for that time). I have a 25 foot snake and tried that and still some overflow. What to do now? I am trying to figure where all the pipes exactly go under the house before the street. Any suggestions would be great. Of course I am trying to save money. Oh and any thoughts of those pressure tools for $30 or so at the DIY stores? Thanks

Public Comments

  1. Try some of those foaming pipe cleaners. your snake might be poking a little hole in a larger clog. also, pipes usually have clean-out plugs. look for a pipe shaped like a K with a screw plug in one of the sides, this is an entry point for the snake, you might have a clog farther than 25 feet away from your drain.
  2. how old is your house? if it's old enough that you have cast iron or clayburg soil pipe, you are sort of screwed. They probably decayed underground and need to be replaced with PVC. You might check out in your yard. Some municipalities required a cleanout to be placed in the yard so you could access from the curb to the foundation
  3. check with the city,they should know where the pipes run.
  4. I would avoid any kind of chemicals. Your 25' snake is too short apparently. Go to Home Depot, they will rent you an electric snake with multiole heads 50' for about $40. for 4 hours. If your home is far from the street, go for the 100' one. The pressure things you are asking about are for small under the sink clogs and will not be effective on your main line. Yoda out
  5. One time I had a similar problem and I tried using the plunger on the toilet but it wouldn't work. So I went outside where the cleanout plug was. I used a plunger on the cleanout plug and that loosened the rest of the plug. The clog apparently was closer to the cleanout than it was to the toilet so the plunging force needed to be closer to the problem. So try that as a last resort before you go hunting for the plumbing pipes under the basement, maybe it will save you some trouble. Good luck!
  6. It sounds like you need to be rotor rootered all the way to the street. Other than that once it starts backing up you have serious plumbing issues, don't call back that same plumber.