How to Check a Floor Drain
- 1). Remove as much water from the basement as possible. Use a pump or a bucket and carry it out.
- 2). Find the access port in the floor drain. check to see if there is anything covering the drainage hole. If there is, remove the debris.
- 3). Remove the cover of the floor drain, called the strainer. Some strainers slide off, and others you remove with a screwdriver.
- 4). Remove the cleanout plug with a pipe wrench. The cleanout plug is found just below the strainer you just removed. Put the strainer and plug someplace safe where they won't get lost.
- 5). Rent a power auger at a home improvement store if you don't own one. Before you plug it in, make sure the switch is off.
- 6). Push the end of the snake into the pipe where you just removed the cleanout plug. Push the head in about 2 feet.
- 7). Turn the power auger on to the forward position. If you don't have an electric auger, turn the wheel clockwise, so it pushes the head through the pipe.
- 8). Keep feeding the snake through the pipe until you feel resistance or the motor slows down. Stop the motor and reverse the snake. Bring it back toward you about 2 feet. Stop the motor again and reverse the engine, pushing the snake back down the pipe. Continue with this forward-backward motion until the clog clears. You can continue on through the pipe to make sure there is nothing clogging the rest of the drain.
- 9). Remove the snake. Use old rags to wipe down the cable as you remove the snake from the drain. Be sure to have buckets handy to catch the debris that the snake head brings out of the drain.
- 10
Pour 3 or 4 five-gallon buckets of hot water down the drain. This will clear out the debris from the pipe loosened by the auger. If the water still drains slowly, repeat the snaking process. - 11
Rinse the cleanout plug, and then dry it with an old rag. Wrap the plug with special tape made to wrap around the threads of the plug. This will make it easier to remove the plug if you ever need to check the drain again. - 12
Wash the screen in soapy water, and replace.
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