My basement floor drain backed up at 11 PM on a Saturday

Was in the middle of finishing the laundry room when I heard gurgling. Next thing I know, gray water is creeping across the concrete. Turns out a wad of old paint chips and mortar had blocked the line for years. Spent Sunday with a shop vac and a drain snake in the dark. Anyone else deal with mystery clogs that show up at the worst possible time?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan6585d ago

Honestly, the shop vac trick saved me too after a late night backup from old mortar.

-1

jakewhite5d ago

logan658, did you use the shop vac with a wet-dry filter or just wing it with the regular one? Man, I feel you on that late night mess - I had a similar thing happen when I was trying to seal up some old pipes and the mortar just turned into soup. That vacuum trick is a lifesaver, but I swear I spent the next hour cleaning dried chunks out of the hose because I was too lazy to swap the bag. Solidarity on the backup nightmares though, nothing worse than realizing you're stuck with a half-dried puddle at midnight.

beth2764d ago

Wait you actually spent an hour cleaning dried chunks out of the hose instead of just swapping the bag? That's next level dedication, I would've just tossed the whole thing in the trash and bought a new one.