# Sludge Blockages



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Well yesterday I was called out to a Cemetery, their office has two backed up water closets. They have an outside 6" clean out within 2' from the building and it was dry. So easy peasy I thought.... 2 hours later rodding with every cutter I own (eel sludge buster, Spartan paddle blade, duck tape and rag plus countless others) The line would not open 100 % I did get a surge which did plug the line down stream, but it was still plugged under the building. The sludge buster blade was pulling out gobs of TP, diaper wipes and other debris tightly packed with every pass I made.

The line is 40' from the clean out to the base of the water closets, and I have a gut feeling the blockage is only about 10 feet in but the remainder of the 30' of the line is packed so tight with crap and paper.

So it looks like its time to take the Jetter out of winter storage and keep it on the truck. Heading back there tomorrow morning to jet the line if it didn't blow itself open over the weekend.


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## buffaloPlumber (Jun 26, 2012)

I've had two this weekend same situation. However I do not own a jetter but my buddy with one is loving it.


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## JAraiza (May 7, 2012)

Had one the other day too where I thought I would need a jetter last resort. After running a jetter with no luck ended opening up the line with a flush bag. Their is more to my story but couldn't believe it took more then 3 days.


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## buffaloPlumber (Jun 26, 2012)

3 days is an awful long fight. Glad you got it open but I would have tried a bladder bag far before I considered jetting an option.


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## 4Aces Plumbing (Aug 26, 2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNT0fr1Rz8Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Was working with a guy I used for drain cleaning before I got my machines, there was about 95 linear feet of pipe, with 12 foot of head. He had run through about 9 times before this.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Well I was right, 30' of the pipe was packed full of sludge The jetter went in the first 10' and I was no longer getting water flow, so I pulled back a few inches and watched the water flow with the waste that has the consistency of day old oatmeal. Once it ran clear I went in another foot and the water stopped flowing, pulled back a few inches and watched the oatmeal flow by till clear. Repeated this about 18 more times before the line finally blew open. Then the blockage traveled down line 100 feet away and clogged about 10 foot from the septic tank.


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## saysflushable (Jun 15, 2009)

4Aces Plumbing said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNT0fr1Rz8Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player
> 
> Was working with a guy I used for drain cleaning before I got my machines, there was about 95 linear feet of pipe, with 12 foot of head. He had run through about 9 times before this.


 OOOHHHHH I hate when it gets out of control like that!!!!!!! Tell him it was kind of cowardly he didn't keep the camera on it:laughing:.

I hope a floor drain was close to wash it down

great video


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

saysflushable said:


> OOOHHHHH I hate when it gets out of control like that!!!!!!! Tell him it was kind of cowardly he didn't keep the camera on it:laughing:.
> 
> I hope a floor drain was close to wash it down
> 
> great video













I would have stepped on the clean out with my boot to keep all the poop water in the pipe.....:laughing:


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## 4Aces Plumbing (Aug 26, 2011)

saysflushable said:


> Tell him it was kind of cowardly he didn't keep the camera on it


Ok, I told myself. :laughing: I was the one shooting video while he ran the machine. :jester:


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## SSP (Dec 14, 2013)

bahahaha thats MINT, thanks for that ! I was involved once in something similar, but at the same time not even close to the same level of oh sh!t you have there!

11 storey office building downtown, no blockages or anything that extreme but the guys had to do a tie in in he basement to a 6" DWV line and the solution these geniuses i used to work for was to put signs on the washrooms on all floors asking politely not to use toilets between 11:30-12:00 and sure enough after cutting the pipe and removing the piece the guys on the 10' ladder heard it coming and tried to fumble the piece back in, but no such luck... they both took a terd torpedo head on... one guy caught it in the chest filling his carhart pockets with pissy poopy water and the other guy got the remnants all over his head as he tried getting down the ladder but was directly under the cut... i would of gladly lost my job at the time to get a video of that ... didn't even have smart phones back then tho


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

K60 should have handled that.

edit: nevermid. mis read that


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Protech said:


> K60 should have handled that.
> 
> edit: nevermid. mis read that


I wouldn't put a K-60 on my truck unless I needed a paper weight. K-1500 or Rothenberger R-750 if I want a sectional machine. The 7/8" cable is not up to the job for the long 6" runs we have here. 

I used to run around with the R-750 (2hp motor capable of spinning 1¼" and 7/8) and two rands with five sections of the 7/8" cable. Thought it was best thing since sliced bread. Then one day I was rodding a main from a stack clean out and the rod got hung up. After fighting it for a few hours slowly getting the cable to pull out running it on forward and then reverse, the cutter head popped out of the clean out while 75' of cable was still in the line. The cable turned around on itself in the 6" line when it hit the blockage. Ever since then the 150' of 7/8" cable been sitting in a garage only used once in a blue moon for 4" building drains.


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