Let me start with the problem, and then Ill provide some background.
I live in a typical suburban neighborhood of homes built in the mid-1950s. Every year or so, the city cleans out the main sewer line down the center of the street using some kind of long cable, probably a pressure sprayer. When they do this, my two first-floor toilets bubble and sputter some water all over the bathroom floors. No sewage comes up, just enough toilet water splash to be a nuisance but not a catastrophe. Its been happening annually for years.
Last month we finally replaced our sewer line connection in the front yard because tree roots were getting into the old clay pipe. We now have three sewer cleanouts in the front yard: one near the street, and two near the house. I told the plumber ahead of time about the sputtering toilets, and he put a "Sewer Popper" on one of the cleanouts near the house to hopefully stop the problem. He recommended that as a cheaper alternative to a more expensive backwater valve.
You know what happens next: the city did their annual cleaning a couple of days ago, and our toilets still sputtered water just like before.
I called the city the same day and they sent out the guys who were doing the sewer cleaning that very morning. They checked the line from the property line to the city pipe, and its clear. One of the city guys said they already use a lower PSI on their cleaning equipment in this area. I think he said 500 PSI rather than a number in the thousands.
He left the cap off the cleanout near the street and recommended leaving it that way, but he also said the cap was ALREADY loose and that its common to keep them that way. If the cap was already loose (I dont know for sure), then there was an air gap near the property line AND the Sewer Popper closer to the house, but sputtering still occurred when the city did their line maintenance.
I have not called the plumber who did the work yet. It was a decent chunk of money to replace the sewer line, and I was hoping to be rid of the sputtering problem in addition to just having a sewer line that would no longer clog up from tree roots.
What are my options? Here are some ideas I could think of, and Im interested in your opinions.
* Wait and see what happens next year with the cleanout for sure opened up near the street.
* Prop open the Sewer Popper with something to provide an air gap closer to the house. I read elsewhere on the web that its wrong to expect it to pop open just for air. Rising water is really necessary.
* Call the city back and see if there is more they could do. For example, if they opened a separate cleanout on their line while snaking the problematic one, maybe air would vent there rather than inside my house.
* Get a backwater valve installed.
Thanks for your help.
-Russ
I live in a typical suburban neighborhood of homes built in the mid-1950s. Every year or so, the city cleans out the main sewer line down the center of the street using some kind of long cable, probably a pressure sprayer. When they do this, my two first-floor toilets bubble and sputter some water all over the bathroom floors. No sewage comes up, just enough toilet water splash to be a nuisance but not a catastrophe. Its been happening annually for years.
Last month we finally replaced our sewer line connection in the front yard because tree roots were getting into the old clay pipe. We now have three sewer cleanouts in the front yard: one near the street, and two near the house. I told the plumber ahead of time about the sputtering toilets, and he put a "Sewer Popper" on one of the cleanouts near the house to hopefully stop the problem. He recommended that as a cheaper alternative to a more expensive backwater valve.
You know what happens next: the city did their annual cleaning a couple of days ago, and our toilets still sputtered water just like before.
I called the city the same day and they sent out the guys who were doing the sewer cleaning that very morning. They checked the line from the property line to the city pipe, and its clear. One of the city guys said they already use a lower PSI on their cleaning equipment in this area. I think he said 500 PSI rather than a number in the thousands.
He left the cap off the cleanout near the street and recommended leaving it that way, but he also said the cap was ALREADY loose and that its common to keep them that way. If the cap was already loose (I dont know for sure), then there was an air gap near the property line AND the Sewer Popper closer to the house, but sputtering still occurred when the city did their line maintenance.
I have not called the plumber who did the work yet. It was a decent chunk of money to replace the sewer line, and I was hoping to be rid of the sputtering problem in addition to just having a sewer line that would no longer clog up from tree roots.
What are my options? Here are some ideas I could think of, and Im interested in your opinions.
* Wait and see what happens next year with the cleanout for sure opened up near the street.
* Prop open the Sewer Popper with something to provide an air gap closer to the house. I read elsewhere on the web that its wrong to expect it to pop open just for air. Rising water is really necessary.
* Call the city back and see if there is more they could do. For example, if they opened a separate cleanout on their line while snaking the problematic one, maybe air would vent there rather than inside my house.
* Get a backwater valve installed.
Thanks for your help.
-Russ
