Main line odyssey

[Keith Welch]

Hi all, newb here. I have a long story about issues with my main drain line. Background: 50 year old house, cast iron drains. All drain lines lie under a slab. Main line goes to a sump. Sump is pumped to municipal sewer at street level. I have two issues. One is that I probably need to install a lining on the main line (about 75’) due to general loss of integrity. That is more of a chronic issue. Second issue is more acute. About 5’ upstream of the sump, there is a buildup of some sort of mineral deposit (my current theory is that it is from years of deposits from washing machine discharge). This buildup creates a little inconsistency that causes clogs to form periodically. Every 3-6 months or so I have to go in to the sump and send a snake up into the line to clear it out. I’m now 65 years old and pretty much done with this routine. I want to solve the problem once and for all. I fear that the only solution is to excavate this portion of the line. I tried to send a chain buster into the line to break up these deposits. But on top of everything else, there is a 90° elbow, just before where the line connects to the sump. So, maneuvering a snake with a chain buster on it up into that area is like wrestling with an alligator (working from inside a drain sump back up into the main line). It just won’t work. At least with the equipment that I have tried. I have run a camera up into this space and I tried to upload a video but it’s too large. I have a plumber scheduled to come do a video inspdction ($$$$) because they won’t accept my video, of course.
I’m looking for thoughtful input on any possible DIY solutions to this problem. I do have a clean out located just about where this anomaly is. But even that clean out is not easily accessible, and even if I can bust out this mess from there, there may be more of it upstream of the cleanout. I have a feeling that I am going to be excavating a portion of my garage floor and digging out the last 10 feet or so of my main line.
Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Geofd]

Have you tried a piece of PVC and a 45 ° to guide your snake into the drain

 

[Keith Welch]

Have you tried a piece of PVC and a 45 ° to guide your snake into the drain

I did not try that, but it’s a good suggestion. At this point I have given up and called a plumber to come and video the pipe. If there is a way to clear it, they should be able to do it. It will just be a matter of money. If they tell me it can’t be cleared and needs replacing, then I’ll probably do it myself, as I know that would cost a bundle. There is the real possibility that they will say, “we can try to clear it for you, but can’t guarantee that we’ll get it clean enough“. So then I’d be stuck with a decision to pay them a bunch of money to “try” and clear the pipe that might be futile. I can envision them saying that if they can’t get it cleared, they would apply the cost of trying to clear it to the replacement effort. That’s the way it always works. You can’t get anyone to commit to “yes we can get that cleaned out for you”. It’s always “maybe”.