Life's little lessons #4784

Reality wins over misplaced hope once again.

This Friday evening's relaxation was interrupted with a plumbing issue. When enough water goes into the sink where the washing machine drains, water will start coming out at the base of the wall behind the sink. (this wall exit point is at least 1 foot from the floor drain the sink pours into)

I ripped out carpeting to figure out where the leak was, get rid of the smell and mold potential -- what a fun way to spend a Friday night -- moving 200 pound appliances and hacking smelly wet carpet into chunks small enough to carry out... :-(

Called a local plumbing company with a reputable name. Plumber arrived and decided that snaking the drain should fix the problem. My brain was on vacation. What part of removing a clog will cause water to not leak from the drain system? I didn't think that clearly. Plumber snaked the drain, pulled out smelly gunky glob of goo with fibrous matter including roots, and ran water down - water flowed much more freely so he problem declared fixed. I paid the bill and he left.

Fast forward 20 minutes -- I have reinstalled the sink (free-standing plastic utility sink with only a drain connection) and run water into it and guess what? Yup, water comes out from the same place as before.

Yes folks, removing a clog from a pipe does not actually *fix* a leak in said pipe, in spite of assurances and hopes to the contrary. Reality wins.

Next step, jackhammers. Yes, this the recommendation of the same technician from the same company, who hasn't actually verified the actual cause of the leak, merely his assurances that this will lead to a fix, and the problem will be just a foot "or so" from the drain, in a specific direction through a concrete basement wall and floor.

I do not have that confident happy feeling.

Looks like I may be spending the intervening evenings tearing out some more wall materials to see if I can actually find the point of origin of the leaking water to get at least some confidence in the diagnosis.

Would someone tell me again why I bought a house that is over 70 years old? ;)

rootie