Dealing With Tough Floor Drain Jobs

Contracting professionals share thoughts on the proper cable configuration for reaching from drains into laterals with potential blockages

Question:

When you clean a floor drain and into the 4-inch main line, what is the strongest cable that will pass through the trap but give you the most torque if you encounter a tough blockage in the 4-inch pipe? 

Answers:

What do you do if you run your cable through the floor drain (1 1/2- or 2-inch pipe) and into the lateral a (4-inch pipe) and the blockage is a ball of roots? Now you can’t get the cable wrapped in roots back through the smaller drain line. In my opinion, going through the smaller line to clean the lateral is a bad idea.

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Ideally, you want a 4-inch cleanout to clean a 4-inch line, but that’s obviously not the case here. You really can’t clean a 4-inch line through a floor drain, unless you know for sure there are no roots or other hard stoppages downstream.

For example, I have a burger joint that calls me about every three or four months. No roots, all grease. The entire mainline is only about 20 feet long to the grease pit. The problem is that the largest access in the kitchen is a 3-inch floor sink. Outside is a one-way cleanout.

Ideally, they need to install a 4-inch, two-way cleanout to enable cleaning back on the line. As it stands, the best I can do is a 1/2-inch cable with a small blade. Honestly, I’m surprised the drain lasts as long as it does between cleanings. They won’t pay for a two-way cleanout or for a jetter, so they get a minimum warranty.

As for your situation, what size is the trap? Are you using an open-wind cable or closed? You need to know these things first.

Question (cont.):

For sure I’m not going very far into the 4-inch line. The floor drains I’m asking about are what I call 1950s vintage: 3-inch grate but on the other side of the trap is usually 2-inch pipe. If I recall correctly, a maximum of 10 feet of 2-inch pipe was allowed before it had to terminate into a 4-inch pipe. I use 5/8-inch open-wind cable. It feels good in the hand, but I think it could feel better.

I have 1/2-inch tight-wind inner core loaded in an Electric Eel Model N, but I haven’t tried it. I’m considering Electric Eel Dual-matic 5/8-inch (open-wind and small inner core). It is intended for the Model N but could be nice in a RIDGID K-50, too.

Answer:

The main thing here is to not get hung up and stuck. That’s very easy to do when working through an access that is only half the size of the problem pipe, especially if there are heavy roots. Given the access size, you’re not likely to get much of a cutter through the trap. An open-wind cable can typically negotiate the trap and turns easier than a closed-wind and is good for softer stoppages. Although I prefer to use closed-wind cable due to the ability to really torque down on roots and harder stoppages..

It’s best to not force the cable too much in a situation like this. Take it slow and easy and you’ll be OK. Pull back the cable and inspect it to see possibly what you’re dealing with downstream. If you’re unable to at least get it open and draining with either a cable or jetter, then your customer needs to make a decision on a repair.



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