check your check valves

as most of you know, i have had major plumbing issues for a few years now. and after much research, talking with expert plumbers (even having a few of them at my place), plus snaking my drains more times than i can even remember, we finally figured it out!

dad finally resorted to renting a video camera sewer snake so we could see what was going on down there (i apologize in advance for my lack of technical lingo).

basically, there is this section of pipe called the check valve, there in case the sewer backs up and starts coming back into the pipes. if that ever happens, this backflow valve will stop it from making its way into my place. the valve has two parts, and the back part (a rubber, circular piece) had somehow detached itself from the front piece. long story short, it was too big to get through the rest of the pipe, so it would just sit there, clogging up the drains!

once we figured that out, we had to tear up my floor and try to figure out where exactly that section of pipe was. then it was a simple walk down to ace hardware, buy the new parts, and put it together. i wish we could have figured this out a few years ago! it would have saved a lot of headaches, but better late than never!