I apologize for the length of this post...
I bought my house (built in 1938) 2 months ago and have been having sewage problems that no one seems to be able (or willing) to figure out. On Saturday I went down to my basement while my wife was showering upstairs and saw water coming up from the floor drain, flooding the basement/office. The water receeded fairly quickly after my wife turned off the shower but not before ruining the carpet in my office. This drain has been a problem because the washing machine drains into it faster than the drain can handle. I "solved" this problem by diverting the washing machine into the utility sink which then drains into the floor drain via the cleanout in the floor drain. (The sink was already plumbed like this.) This slows the flow down enough that the drain can handle it.
I called a plumber out (couldn't come until Monday). He snaked the basement drain, didn't find anything, couldn't recreate the problem, and basicaly told me there was no problem.
Then, on Wednesday, I flushed the toilet and went down to the basement. A few minutes later I heard a rushing sound accompanied by a gurgle. I went over to the utility sink and there was sewer gas rushing out of the drain. It wasn't just seeping out, it rushing out in a very strong and audible way. The water in the p-trap of the floor drain was gurgling. Later I discovered that the toilet had also been gurgling, apparently quite violently. The lid and seat were wet (lid was down) but the floor wasn't, so I know it didn't overflow.
I called a different plumber and told him the story. He said he could put a p-trap in the utility sink to stop the gas but that was all he was willing to do. (I can & will do this myself.)
Some other facts that I think are important: The toilet backs up about once a week and often smells of sewer gas regardless of how clean it is. Both events happened after a heavy rain which is somewhat rare here in SE Idaho. I have run water down the stack thinking it was clogged but I could hear the water run all the way into the main sewer line.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this? I can't recreate the problems which makes it difficult to convience the "pros" that there is any problem at all. Any suggestions are much appreciated.
I bought my house (built in 1938) 2 months ago and have been having sewage problems that no one seems to be able (or willing) to figure out. On Saturday I went down to my basement while my wife was showering upstairs and saw water coming up from the floor drain, flooding the basement/office. The water receeded fairly quickly after my wife turned off the shower but not before ruining the carpet in my office. This drain has been a problem because the washing machine drains into it faster than the drain can handle. I "solved" this problem by diverting the washing machine into the utility sink which then drains into the floor drain via the cleanout in the floor drain. (The sink was already plumbed like this.) This slows the flow down enough that the drain can handle it.
I called a plumber out (couldn't come until Monday). He snaked the basement drain, didn't find anything, couldn't recreate the problem, and basicaly told me there was no problem.
Then, on Wednesday, I flushed the toilet and went down to the basement. A few minutes later I heard a rushing sound accompanied by a gurgle. I went over to the utility sink and there was sewer gas rushing out of the drain. It wasn't just seeping out, it rushing out in a very strong and audible way. The water in the p-trap of the floor drain was gurgling. Later I discovered that the toilet had also been gurgling, apparently quite violently. The lid and seat were wet (lid was down) but the floor wasn't, so I know it didn't overflow.
I called a different plumber and told him the story. He said he could put a p-trap in the utility sink to stop the gas but that was all he was willing to do. (I can & will do this myself.)
Some other facts that I think are important: The toilet backs up about once a week and often smells of sewer gas regardless of how clean it is. Both events happened after a heavy rain which is somewhat rare here in SE Idaho. I have run water down the stack thinking it was clogged but I could hear the water run all the way into the main sewer line.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this? I can't recreate the problems which makes it difficult to convience the "pros" that there is any problem at all. Any suggestions are much appreciated.