[honeydew]

We live in an older home, concrete foundation. The problem is an on going one now for 4 years! We think we have it fixed and then it is back again.
What happens is the toilets start bubbling and then the showers back up with water. This last week the house has flooded 3 times. We are at our witts end. We have snaked the line , used professional strenghth disolvers and also have use the hose with the bulb on the end. We live in the city limits and when it first happened 4 years ago the city came out and dug up the line in the back yard to find the clog. When they found it was on our side they were nice enough to flush out the lines and to put in 3 vent pipes so we sould tell if it happened again if it was on our side or there side of the street. One pipe is located at the back of the house where the master bedroom bath is located, this one is never full, then there in one in front of the house about 20 ft from the wall , this is the one my husband says is always to the top and is where he attempts to unclog the line. The last one is out by the street and it is clear. What is causing the continued backup and is it in the back of the house. My husband seems to think it is between the two front vents. Any advise would be appriecaieated.

 

[PipeGuy]

If there's no backup at the street-side cleanout pipe and a backup at the 'front' cleanout pipe then the obstruction is between the two.
There are any number of things that can cause recurring obstructions. Hire either a plumber or an 'underground utility contractor' that can do a closed circuit TV video inspection of the pipe. That's the only way to know exactly what is causing the problem without doing a lot of digging. Make sure you hire someone with the capability to produce a VCR tape of the inspection (preferably in color) and tell them that you want to take possession of the tape upon their completion of the inspection. That way, you can get a 'second opinion' about the nature of the problem if need be. If you tell me what part of the country you live in I might be able to steer you in the direction of a company that can do it.

 

[Teetorbilt]

Nothing like a color closeup of ackypuck in a pipe. Sorry, couldn't help myself. Used to have to analyse them in black and white, exciting stuff.

 

[wasdifferent]

Years ago, I had a very squeamish customer breathing down my neck as I snaked out her bathtub drain. I pulled a big black wad of goo out of the drain and she said "eeeeeeeyyyyyewww! Where did that come from?" So I said "It came from your tub". After about 10 seconds she said "eeeeeeeyyyyeww! What IS it?" So I said "I don't know, I wasn't here".

 

[DecksEtc]

ROTFLMFAO!!!

 

[Tomm Alsman]

The tape is probably the way to go. I'd venture a guess as to what you will find as either being a broken pipe with sand blocking most of the pathway, or tree roots. I hope it's roots because that is the easiest one to deal with. If it is roots, be sure to use a root killer that you can flush through about every six months after you have them proffessionally cut out because they will come back...especially evergreen's roots.