Odd plumbing problem

[DoggyDaddy]

Probably unrelated, but I once had a buddy who suddenly had problems with the toilet in one of his bathrooms clogging up. Every time he cleared it, it would clog again. I said "How old is your daughter now?" He said 13. I suggested he have a talk with her about disposing of feminine products. Sure enough, that was it.

Had to have that talk with DoggyMama's daughter when she was living with us for awhile and I had to have a plumber come out and snake the line to our septic tank. The "feminine hygiene" producers and wipe makers really should stop putting "flushable" on their packaging. They're not flushable. Well, they may "flush" but they're not made to be flushable.

 

[ultra...good]

Weather down in the 10's or below can wreak havoc on sewer systems. I notice the shower drain slowing a bit when really cold. It opens up to normal after some hot water has been in the line. The house is almost 130 years old and I have no idea when it was connected to the city sewer system. No issues with clogging or backups. Just slow when cold.

It does? Please do explain how. I own several buildings and sewer lines in the cold (-30) have never been a problem.

 

[Alpo]

So....you are the landlord. Of course you never have problems....LOL. Lots of properties in the old sections of the city. Hmmm?

 

[femurphy77]

It does? Please do explain how. I own several buildings and sewer lines in the cold (-30) have never been a problem.

I'd guess that being an older house the building standards weren't well developed and they didn't dig their lines deep enough.

 

[churchmouse]

I'd guess that being an older house the building standards weren't well developed and they didn't dig their lines deep enough.

This or it is exposed in the crawl in some fashion.

 

[ultra...good]

So....you are the landlord. Of course you never have problems....LOL. Lots of properties in the old sections of the city. Hmmm?

You did not answer my question, but I will humor you and answer yours. I am the landlord. While I have had many problems with sewer lines, none were ever related to cold weather. Only one of my properties is less then 100 years old, most over 120 years.

So again, how does cold weather wreak havoc on sewer lines?

 

[ultra...good]

I'd guess that being an older house the building standards weren't well developed and they didn't dig their lines deep enough.

Without tipping off the dog man, sewer lines are drain lines. If they are properly pitched, the water keeps moving. Moving water will not freeze, under most (exposed) circumstances. Water supply lines are another story. The water only moves when people are using water, hence the reason municipalities ask customers to leave water supplies at a slow drip when it is really cold outside.

 

[churchmouse]

Without tipping off the dog man, sewer lines are drain lines. If they are properly pitched, the water keeps moving. Moving water will not freeze, under most (exposed) circumstances. Water supply lines are another story. The water only moves when people are using water, hence the reason municipalities ask customers to leave water supplies at a slow drip when it is really cold outside.

I have seen this issue in older buildings but we could never figure it out. Also never spent much time trying. But I have seen it.

 

[Alpo]

In my case, the sewer line is located adjacent to a window well in the basement. There are only two of us in the home and we don't have a significant amount of water flow on that side of the home. There is another stack and exit on the other side of the house that is not near a window well and does not seem to exhibit any reduced flow.

Sewer gases also tend to be warmer than the surrounding air and will "rise" along the lines when temperatures are cold. We don't experience much, if any, gas penetration into the house, but it is apparent in the alley where the trunk line runs.

 

[BGDave]

Only on INGO will folks get in a twist over poop pipes. I know a lady that has to put RV antifreeze in her tub drain on really frigid days.

And yes, garden tub, outside wall.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Only on INGO will folks get in a twist over poop pipes. I know a lady that has to put RV antifreeze in her tub drain on really frigid days.

And yes, garden tub, outside wall.

And only on INGO will someone that has never had a particular, very specific malfunction challenge someone who does. As if all things in life are exactly identical. SMH

 

[ditcherman]

Without tipping off the dog man, sewer lines are drain lines. If they are properly pitched, the water keeps moving. Moving water will not freeze, under most (exposed) circumstances. Water supply lines are another story. The water only moves when people are using water, hence the reason municipalities ask customers to leave water supplies at a slow drip when it is really cold outside.

This. As a guy with millions of feet of "drain"* line installed above the frost line, properly graded drain lines do not freeze. The main drain leaving my house comes out even with the top of the ground (under a deck) because of the depth of the original septic tank. Traps could freeze, which may be the case in the tub example above. Also blocked lines could freeze, obviously, but not properly pitched lines.

*I quoted drain lines above because farm field drain line physics is no different than sewer, just less slope and less poop, hopefully.

 

[femurphy77]

Without tipping off the dog man, sewer lines are drain lines. If they are properly pitched, the water keeps moving. Moving water will not freeze, under most (exposed) circumstances. Water supply lines are another story. The water only moves when people are using water, hence the reason municipalities ask customers to leave water supplies at a slow drip when it is really cold outside.

This is why I'm an electrician and not a plumber. That and I've never opened a junction box and found it full of

 

[BGDave]

This is why I'm an electrician and not a plumber. That and I've never opened a junction box and found it full of

Not a plumber or an electrician but......Darnedest electrical thing I ever saw was a mouse that got in my Daughters AC condenser and stuck his head through the tiniest hole near the start capacitor. Well, he did a Ted Bundy and stayed juicy long enough to burn the wire off. Easy repair, but what are the chances ?

 

[Alpo]

This. As a guy with millions of feet of "drain"* line installed above the frost line, properly graded drain lines do not freeze. The main drain leaving my house comes out even with the top of the ground (under a deck) because of the depth of the original septic tank. Traps could freeze, which may be the case in the tub example above. Also blocked lines could freeze, obviously, but not properly pitched lines.

*I quoted drain lines above because farm field drain line physics is no different than sewer, just less slope and less poop, hopefully.

A quick query of google for " Can sewer lines freeze " returned 14.9 million results.

 

[Cameramonkey]

A quick query of google for " Can sewer lines freeze " returned 14.9 million results.

And this tells us what? That the question has been asked almost 15 million times.

So how many of those returns are yes and how many are no, smarty pants?

 

[Alpo]

And this tells us what? That the question has been asked almost 15 million times.

So how many of those returns are yes and how many are no, smarty pants?

The fellas above use physics and farm mechanics to say it shouldn't happen. I observe that there are quite a few folks who use the internet to ask about why their sewer lines are freezing and there are also a number of plumbing professionals who provide recommendations on frozen sewer lines and prevention.

So, my response isn't suggesting that YOU use google. It's to show the fellas who think it can't happen that it does. Quite frequently as a matter of fact.

 

[ditcherman]

A quick query of google for " Can sewer lines freeze " returned 14.9 million results.

Ok, 14.9 million* either followed with “no” or “if” as in if certain conditions exist. Like leaving your water dripping to keep a pressure line from freezing can put a small amount of slow moving water without much energy on its own to overcome the colder temp of the pipe and maybe freeze.
Point is, “nothing” can’t freeze, (or if it does we’re not going to worry about it) and there is supposed to be “nothing” in a sewer line, i.e. properly graded. Traps are a possibility with their “not nothing” in them.
*yes I read them all

 

[Alpo]

How much bacon fat you run through your drain tiles, bub?

 

[Cameramonkey]

How much bacon fat you run through your drain tiles, bub?

So you are naturally abrasive and argumentative. Noted. I thought it was just a political thing for you.