Problems With Plugging An Unused Basement Floor Drain

You have a water trap under a floor drain laundry tub or wash basin that has dried out from lack of use.

Problems with plugging an unused basement floor drain.

A clogged drain line can cause a sewage flood. Although it may seem like it not all problems related to the backed up sewer line have to do with actual clogs and defected pipes. If the basement floor is lower than the spot where the main sewer line exits the home the floor drain could connect to a third type of drainage system a sewer pit with an ejector pump. At the very least a clogged main sewer drain pipe may cause wastewater and raw sewage to back up through a floor drain into the basement or floor of an hour home.

Washing machine drains can be plugged by removing the washing machine drain hose from the drain pipe and then placing the correct diameter plug in the drain pipe. What causes basement floor drain backing up. Water in any trap under unused drains will eventually evaporate. Solve that problem just by dumping a pitcherful of water into the drain to restore the trap water.

That would allow sewer gas to come up through the drain into the room. Figure 14 figure 14. If either of them becomes plugged or overloaded sewage backs up and flows out of the lowest available drain. If the drain runs to a sewer pit which is not the same as a sump pit it s permissible to drain a washing machine or sink in the floor drain.

An unused bathroom drain can begin to smell after a certain amount of time. This smell most often comes from tubs and sinks due to an unused plumbing trap or p trap. I have an old pvc sewer drain pipe that comes up out of a concrete slab floor. Floor drains are most often installed during original construction often in the utility area to drain away excess water in the basement.

Figure 15 figure 15. A big pipe carries waste from your house to the main sewer line under the street. If the main sewer drain is clogged it can eventually back up all of the drains in the house which is why such a clog can be so serious. Under the floor the other end of the pipe connects to other drain pipes in the house so before i cover the area with more carpeting i d like to seal that pipe off permanently to avoid any possible leakage in the future.

Plumbing traps are the u shaped dips in the pipe underneath the bathroom drain. The seal needs to be held in place using the method described for bracing floor drain seals.