In Houston, it is very common for the condensation drain of a Home Air Conditioner to tie into the drain line for a bathroom sink. Over time, this drain line can become plugged up withsoap, sludge, toothpaste caps, and algae from the A/C drain pipe. When the drain line under the sink p-trap gets blocked up from this, the water from the A/C condensation drain pipe takes the path of least resistance which flows upwards to the bathroom sink. When this happens, water fills up the sink until the stoppage can be unclogged by the use of a Snake/Cable.

A Cleanout is an opening on your home’s drainage system that allows a plumber to access and “Clean-out” your sewer system. There is usually either a 3 inch or 4 inch cleanout reserved for the home Sewer system and a 2 inch cleanout either underneath or on the back wall for the kitchen sink.

In many cases like this, if a cleanout is not available outside for the sewer, the plumber will need to pull up a toilet in order to run a Snake through the sewer. This can be problematic for several reasons. First, there is more labor and time involved with pulling and resetting a toilet than by accessing the sewer through an outside cleanout. Second, by pulling the toilet, there is a risk of sewage overflowing on to the floor. Lastly, the plumber has no control of which direction the Snake will go. The plumber is hoping that the Snake will follow the sewer to the stoppage and cause the pipes to drain. In some cases, the sewer may have fittings installed that can direct a Snake to exit out through a toilet drain and completely break a toilet on a separate side of the house. If the plumber has access to a Sewer Camera and a Locator, they can potentially locate the  outside sewer cleanout by running the camera through another drain such as the kitchen. This usually involves the plumber using a probing rod in combination with a shovel to uncover the buried cleanout, and then allow the plumber to run a properly sized Snake through the larger Sewer Cleanout.

Yes, although it may be possible that the other company’s employee did not know how to unclog the Stoppage. I have went behind many other plumbers that have quoted a complete sewer line replacement in the thousands of dollars only to have the line completely flowing for the customer by properly running the correctly sized Snake or Jetter through the cleanout. Many plumbers have not been taught the best practices or invested in the right equipment in order to clear tough drain. By The Book Plumbing wants to try every method possible for it’s customers first instead of giving up and recommending complete replacement of the sewer system.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, a “Belly” (or sag) is a commonly used plumbing term that describes a drainage pipe holding water. This happens frequently as a result of the pipe shifting and causing the pipe to no longer go downhill. When the sink, dishwasher, or disposal gets used, all of the food remnants and water travel down the pipe and slam into the belly. There, the sludge can build up into grease deposits and completely block up the drain pipe. It is true that the only PERMANENT fix to a Belly is to access, cut out the pipe, and reinstall the pipe to a correct slope, Jetting the line with a Sewer Jetter can help clean the line. In many cases, running a Jetter down the drain can blast away a good portion of the sludge out from your sewer and into the neighborhood sewer system. By cleaning your drain line this way, the belly is cleaned and starts the process of collecting sludge all over again. This can buy the homeowner time to look into fully replacing the failing kitchen drain, or return to re-jet the line as needed.

Flushable wipes are bad for both your Sewer and your neighborhood’s sewage system. Flushable wipes are bad for the sewer because they do not break down over time. For example, if you place a wad of toilet paper in a bowl filled with water and run your finger through the bowl, the toilet paper eventually begins to break apart. If a flushable wipe is used in the same test, the flushable wipe does not break down. This can cause a problem for you if you have a Belly in the sewer line. All of the wipes can sag to the bottom and eventually snowball into a larger stoppage that you’d need to have a Snake clear out. Alternatively, if the wipes pass through your sewer, they can eventually get clogged up in your Neighborhood’s sewage processing plant

This is a difficult question as there is a lot of variation between every plumbing company in their answer. By The Book Plumbing’s policy is that we do not warranty any drain call that is opened up by just using a Snake. HOWEVER, it is our policy to run a camera down the drain after unclogging a line so we can let the homeowner know what caused the drain stoppage. If it was caused by something simple as too much toilet paper or flushable wipes, then the Sewer Camera would show that the sewer appears clean after running a snake and a warranty would not be needed as the stoppage has been cleared from the drain. On the other hand, if a Hydro-Jet is run because there is a belly, roots, or grease in the drain, we do provide a one year warranty to the homeowner to return and Hydro-Jet the drain again once during that time period if it is necessary. We want to give our customers peac of mind that we stand behind our work and will return if there is an issue after running the Hydro-Jet down their line.

In Texas, we are restricted to toilets that either have a 1.28 Gallon Per Flush maximum, or a dual flush toilet that has a 1.6 and 1.0 Gallon Per Flush option. Because of these water restrictions in place, it is important to understand what makes a toilet flush great before spending your hard-earned money on an under-performing toilet. A toilet with a good flush should have at least a 3-inch flapper/flush tower or larger. Some toilets from American Standard have a dual-flapper system which has a very strong flush as well. Here is a good resource for comparing any toilets you are looking: https://www.map-testing.com/. This is an organization that tests the flushing capability of toilets by using Soy Bean Paste and Toilet Paper to simulate real life working conditions. According to their website, “Toilets with scores of 600 or better will provide you with excellent performance”. Having said that, we have found the Gerber Viper toilet has served our customers well. It is rated with a “Highly Recommended” 1000 MaP score. Gerber provides a 5-year warranty on parts, while By The Book Plumbing matches with a 5-year labor warranty as well.