Cleaning Drain Tiles

[Crystal C.]

I have an old Milwaukee house built in 1929. A such, the house was built with the old clay drain tiles and palmer valve system. There is seepage into the basement during seasonal downpours. A drain tile test was done and showed a 50% blockage in two of the tested sites and 75% at the third. The tiles are blocked with clay mud. The basement contractor of course wants to install interior drain tiles and a sump pump to the tune of $9,000.

I'm trying to get a gauge of who may have addressed the issue by getting the drain tiles cleaned out? Is it reasonable to expect a cleaning to open up mud clay from tiles this old? If so, any suggestions on how to safely DIY this cleaning?

[Andrew Millard]

@Crystal C.

90 year old system likely at end of life. As mentioned above grading and drainage is main thing to fix. I have one that we solved 90% of the issue just by changing some downspouts. but with a several inch rain storm there’s a lot of water in the basement, so we are getting interior drain tile and sump installed. Grading is poor and can’t be easily fixed due to proximity to other buildings.