OT/ Help - Plumbing prob!

Nancy Howell · Dec 25, 2012

Ok, here it is Christmas morning, company coming, and one of the toilets decides to act up.

If flushed, the toilet overflows. Plunging doesn't seem to help. If left alone, water in the bowl drains completely. Water is clear, no smell.

When all the water drains out of the bowl, toilet makes a glugging sound. Other toilets are ok.

We are on a septic tank. Water to that toilet has been shut off.

Suggestions?

Gary from Muleshoe · Dec 25, 2012

Snake the drain, you have a build up in the line for that one.

flying belgian · Dec 25, 2012

Nancy. As long as you have other toilets to use today, leave it alone. Those projects always get more involved then you think.

Blackhole49 · Dec 25, 2012

If all the toilets are at the same level, there is something stuck in the fixture or line. Run a snake through it. My guess is a toilet auger will solve your problem. Are you missing a hair brush?

DH in Carolina · Dec 25, 2012

Something hung in trap of toilet such as wire from hanging toilet bowl cleaner. Try coat hanger down commode.

Zachary Hoyt · Dec 25, 2012

Sounds like you may have an object that has gotten down into the U bend or where the toilet bolts to the flange and gotten stuck. Could be someone dropped something in it, from what you said about it being clear water. It is not a huge job to pull the toilet if you have a wax seal on hand, less than an hour R+R. If you don't have one I doubt you can get one on Christmas. Other thing to try is sticking a small snake, like the ones electricians use, in there and see if you can feel anything blocking it. If you have lived a good life maybe you will be lucky enough that you can put a hook in the end of the snake and drag whatever it is out backwards. Alternately if there is a cleanout in the line below the toilet you can open that and snake from there. Best of luck.
Zach

Janicholson · Dec 25, 2012

Pour hot tap water in the bowl (not boiling or simmering) Then use the plunger as a suction device. Push it moserately as far down as it will go in the warm water, and pull up on it sharply. Don't jerk it out all the way, but do make quick snappy lifts on the handle. This suction pulls the blockage backward allowing it to be realigned!! Merry Christmas and good diving, Jim

Anonymous-0 · Dec 25, 2012

get a 5 gal pail and fill it with water and pour it in the toilet as fast as you can and try do get it right in the drain hole. when you flush a toilet you use 1 1/2 gal of water and that little does not move a lot of turds and plunging will not move with out a lot of water. [[[[try it it will work]]]]

SDE · Dec 25, 2012

You said that the plunger did not work on the problem. I would continue using the plunger. I have rarely had the plunger work immediately. You need the water level in the toilet to be above the top of the plunger for it to seal well enough to be able for it to provide max. force. If you put a hole in a piece of cardboard, and slide it over the plunger handle and the top of the toilet, you can push fast and not get the splash back of water.
Good Luck and Merry Christmas

EX 450 Owner · Dec 25, 2012

Flush the stool that is working ok and watch the pattern of how the water enters the rim of the bowl from the tank setting up a swirl that causes the rising water to “break the trap”.

Now check the one that is not flushing correctly if you are not getting good flow from the rim holes and a swirl pattern on the water entering the bowl you may need to take a piece of stiff wire (a piece of wire coat hanger works good) and clean out the rim holes.

Nancy Howell · Dec 25, 2012

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Since we still have two working toilets, we"ll probably leave it alone for today.

Never fails, especially with older homes like this, something that should be simple, winds up being a major issue.

Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas to all!

Bob UT · Dec 25, 2012

Another thought...is this toilet at the lowest level in house? Are the others on upper floor?
If so, your tank (and field) may be full.

LeonardWD45 · Dec 25, 2012

Nancy had this problem at the farm a couple of years ago. Ended up that the connection where the pipe that goes into the septic tank at the baffle was plugged. If you have a clean out in your sewer line between the lowest toilet and your septic tank run a hose down the line as far as it will go and turn water on full blast for a few minutes to break up the clog.

Hope that this helps.

Leonard

Hay_Man · Dec 25, 2012

Merry Christmas to ya'll over there. Sorry to hear of your blockage. Ours did that for a while. If there's a sink or tub in the same room, are they draining Ok? Our sink next to the toilet wouldn't drain when it started to act up. Seemed to have an air lock in it. I filled the sink with hot water and plungerd it real hard and finally got the toilet working again....Hasn't acted up any after that.........Good Luck!

MarkB_MI · Dec 25, 2012

Could it be a clogged vent stack?

Nancy Howell · Dec 25, 2012

Went to one of the other bathrooms and found a small amount of water around the base of that toilet.

As far as we know, septic tank has never been cleaned. Thinking that may be the cause.

Don"t think the field lines are full, been way too dry here.

SweetFeet · Dec 25, 2012

Nancy,
One time our toilet got so it would not flush properly... it turned out the plumbing vent that goes up through the roof was clogged. It was an old steel pipe. Plumber friend and my husband ended up replacing the venting pipe with a PVC pipe because they could not get it opened up.

JMOR · Dec 25, 2012

"If left alone, water in the bowl drains completely. "
That is a sure sign of paper, rag, etc. stuck in the trap and acting like a wick to siphon all the water out.

Hay_Man · Dec 25, 2012

Yep, ours has the vent problem, too. It goes "glug, glug, glug" when the sink or bathtub drains. I think that can cause an airlock and prevent draining properly.

Geo-TH,In · Dec 25, 2012

Nancy, As a landlord, I've found many things in the toilet causing a blockage. Just put an out of order sign on it. There could be all sorts of things causing your problem. Is this the first time it caused you a problem? Let's say the toilet has a small leak, water is dripping in the drain pipe, Jack frost caused the water to freeze over night. Hot water may help, use a 5 gallon bucket and add hot water slowly.

Depending on the size of the sewer pipe, if it isn't installed properly, water could be standing in the pipe. If it has too much pitch, you could leave solids in the pipe. If you think you can save money with a minimum flush toilet, solids won't make it all the way to the tank, you could have a problem too. Way too many things to list. If you don't have a clean out close, I would let things settle down and pull the toilet, where you may find gifts in the toilet. Good place to start a snake too. LOL.
George

37chief · Dec 25, 2012

Seams those problems always happen at night, or when company comes. I am on septic also. For some reason the line into my tank plugges, and I need to shove a water hose into the cleanout, at the tank to unplut it. You should start putting as little water as possible down the drain. You can also remove the cleanout cap, and let it drain out on the ground as a last resort. Have a merry Christmas even with the problem. Stan

Bob UT · Dec 25, 2012

Went to one of the other bathrooms and found a small amount of water around the base of that toilet.

Ah-ha...the plot thickens!!
this toilet on same level I assume. So you probably do have blockage in the line to the tank, or so it seems, causing water from toilet #1 to back-up to toilet #2.
Time for the snake lady.
Merry Christmas

notjustair · Dec 25, 2012

I had one act just like that. It was plugged at the joint where the vent joined in. The reason you are getting glugging is that it is not venting cause that's blocked. Your plug is probably a ways down the line.

PJH · Dec 25, 2012

Good luck with your toilet problem Nancy. You've gotten a lot of good advice. This is how Christmas memories are made. "Do you remember the year that the toilet plugged up on Christmas morning, and we had all the inlaws visiting, with more scheduled for dinner and you had to dig that hole in the back yard so the septic tank could overflow?" Linda and I have Christmas memories similar to that. Be thankful that you have another working toilet. Things could be much worse. Merry Christmas to you and James!

old popper · Dec 25, 2012

Just an idea. I've had this happen at my house in the past. (1 wife and 3 daughters) Small bottles, like fragrence bottles, will not flush through the trap because of air trapped in the bottle. They flush into but not out of the trap. If that is the case you have to pull the stool.

Dr. Walt · Dec 26, 2012

Did somebody flush a Kotex? That's a big NO-NO, those things will plug a toilet every time. Try running a straightened coat hanger through the drain hole / s-trap, if that doesn't open the s-trap you may have to pull the stool. The last time that I had to do that, I found a large Calcium build-up in the lower half of the s-trap that wasn't allowing the solid waste to go through into the drain pipe.

W_B · Dec 27, 2012

(quoted from post at 16:35:22 12/25/12) Could it be a clogged vent stack?

That's the first thing that came to my mind too.

OT/ Help - Plumbing prob!

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