Floor Drain in My Brownstone Basement
Dehumidifying my brownstone basement right now by running dehumidifier hose into pump. Pumping water up the chute and out to the backyard. Nice because we didn’t have to cut into any pipes and we have no sinks or other open drains in the basement except for an old floor drain at the front (street-side) of…
Dehumidifying my brownstone basement right now by running dehumidifier hose into pump. Pumping water up the chute and out to the backyard. Nice because we didn’t have to cut into any pipes and we have no sinks or other open drains in the basement except for an old floor drain at the front (street-side) of the basement. Come winter, my little method won’t work, so I’m eyeing the floor drain. Think it’s probably hopelessly clogged? 100+ y.o. house. Would a camera inspection be worth it?I’m guessing it runs to the storm sewer, but have no idea. Any thoughts?
BHS – if drains on basement floor would be connected to the sewer we would hear a lot of stories about flooded basement when the sewer backs up.
I was going to say the same thing as invisible… you may not need to dehumidify in winter.
I run my dehumidifier hose in my basement directly to sewer pipe
The drains in my cellar are dry wells. We have a somewhat higher laundry sink that drains into the sewer line though.
We had problems with moisture and my husband dug out the drain with a pick ax and then made a boy-scout type drain by loosening the packed fill, removing a little, replacing it with pebbles and sand in some particular order I can’t remember and putting back the drain and cementing it in place. He also broke up the bottom of the chute in front and in back and added gravel. It’s pretty good now.
Just a caveat. Had a drain in basement floor (hidden by prior owner’s permanent raised floor) that backed up when we had heavy rain. A valve where the line solved the “backdraft ” problem, but perhaps something to be aware of depending on where your house is.
I’m not convinced that smeyer is correct that most basement floor drains are dry wells. Mine connect to the sewer.
unless your sewer line is lower than most most basement floor drains are dry wells. what you need to do is open up one of the vents on the sewer line and run it into there….
I’d bet it runs into the main sewer. A perfect place to drain your hose. However, remember that in the winter humidity isn’t usually a problem.
why do you think it’s clogged? how about pouring some clean water in there and seeing if it drains out?