Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Possible crack in sewer line	Mark128	05/06/03
I recently had a blocked sewer line so I rented a pipe snake to break up the blockage. Snake would only run about halfway out of the house due to a bend and cleanout half way. My concern now is that I have a sewer like smell as I come in to my family room and I am concerned that maybe the snake cracked the pipe. How can I check for this without cutting up the floor. (NOTE: The blockage was removed about a month ago and have not had a problem until today)
Answered By		Answered On
voiceguy2000		05/06/03
We have a downstairs guest shower that does not get used very often, and a smell comes up from the floor drain unless we run water periodically and keep the trap filled. You don' mention whether the drain pipe is above-ground in a crawl space or buried in the ground. If there is a crawl space, obviously a visual inspection might reveal a lot. If your construction was to code, any pipe that is under a poured slab should be something like cast iron (not clay) and therefore not especially susceptible to cracking. In more modern construction plastic might have been used. Is there any chance the blockage was simply pushed farther toward the street, and waste is backing up in the pipe? (A fluorescent dye test would answer this quickly.)

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