slow drywell

[George]

We have an older house. The cellar drain goes off to a (presumed) drywell somewhere. All that goes down there is a couple of loads of laundry a week. (We have a screen over the drain to catch lint from the wash.) This drain has been gradually slowing down. It still drains, just kind of slowly: if I slow the flow from the washtub, the drain can keep up.

A snake initially got some roots out, but now just occasional mud. The snake gets far enough to be out past the cellar wall. It seems to be running into something solid, as best I can tell. I ran a hose (with a pressure nozzle) down, to no avail. Digging up the drywell would be expensive.

I'd be interested in anyone's experience/ideas WRT this situation.

TIA, George

[Bob]

You can try a Drain King

They are great, but I doubt if they will solve your problem. You can rent a power snake from your local rental place, or hire a plumber who has one. Sometime roots inside a pipe can seem very solid, and sometimes roots can crush a pipe. A good plumber can tell you if it has to be dug up.

[hallerb]

You can always mix rocksalt and hot water, to kill tree roots in any drain, but probably not a septic system!

Dry wellls always gradually fill up with crud:(

Can you temporarily dump it thru a hose outside, or down the septic just untill its fixed?

[Goedjn]

You're probably going to have to do it anyway.

[yellowbirddog]

You need to get your washer hooked up to a properly-designed septic system or sewer.

In the mean time, you could have the washer dump water on the ground outside in an area away from your house that won't cause problems in the way of killing nice plants, erosion, etc.

[buffalobill]

the sewer cleaning plumbers seem to do a wonderful job, much better than any snaking i ever did. in buffalo ny we use and recommend Aquajet: Aquajet Sewer Service Corp [phone]

402 Vulcan St Buffalo, NY