The day my basement floor drain overflowed and I learned a hard lesson

I live in an old house over near Oak Park, and last spring after a big rain, my basement floor drain just gushed up dirty water. It flooded the whole storage area, ruined a bunch of my grandpa's tools I had stacked on the floor. I called a plumber and he charged me $400 just to snake the line, said it was tree roots and old clay pipes. Now I get a camera inspection done every two years and I keep everything up on shelves, no matter how much of a hassle it is. Has anyone else had to deal with a backed up main line in an older home?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunah861mo ago

Get a sump pump with a battery backup installed if you don't already have one. That extra rain we've been getting will keep testing those old clay pipes. Also check with your village about any sewer line insurance programs, they're usually cheap and cover this exact mess.

cora5621mo ago

Yeah my sump pump went out last spring during a bad storm and I learned the hard way lol @lunah86 is right about the battery backup thing, I got one after that mess and it saved me twice already. Also roto-rooter snaked our main line for $200 and it cleared out years of gunk that was backing up.