Plumbing question

Gather App
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I would start by eliminating the easiest problems first. There is a lot of good input in this thread. The post by Tadd68 is a possibility, and a good place to start. Next would be the roof vent. I would stand back and observe it for a while, bees have been known to nest in vents. If your water pressure is low, it could cause a problem activating the flush kit properly. Do you have copper or galvanized supply lines? If none of these work, pull the toilet and run a snake thru it. Do you have plastic or cast waste lines? Cast is bad about rusting and collapsing. If none of these work, I hate to say it, time to call a plumber. Find one that has a camera system they can run thru the pipes, and they can see any collapses or reason for the clog. Also check your outside clean-outs. A few years ago, we had a problem with ours, the mower hay chopped off the square top part, leaving a hole. Snakes, chipmunks and who knows what else got into the drain and caused it, took a while to rod it out Good luck, hope you get it fixed.
 
blume357 said:
I could be wrong but your "no odors" worries me... every roof vent I'd sniffed had an odor... that's part of their function.... I'm just having a hard time seeing the vent completely blocked air tight... I guess we'll know which end is plugged soon, I hope?

Should not tell this... but working on a roof ... too much trouble to get down when you got to pee... there is. perfect place to relieve yourself....
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I didn't understand, I did not go up on the roof. 76 years old no business up there. And as far as the Pee comment, I hope you are in a very secluded area,
 
Another trick is to have multiple 5 gallon beckets ready. Then pour them in as fast as they will drain. Trying to keep the bowl filled. That steady flow is better than the intermittent flow from flushing.

The blockage cant be too far or too bad or the shower would back up.
 
C
Joey said:
I would start by eliminating the easiest problems first. There is a lot of good input in this thread. The post by Tadd68 is a possibility, and a good place to start. Next would be the roof vent. I would stand back and observe it for a while, bees have been known to nest in vents. If your water pressure is low, it could cause a problem activating the flush kit properly. Do you have copper or galvanized supply lines? If none of these work, pull the toilet and run a snake thru it. Do you have plastic or cast waste lines? Cast is bad about rusting and collapsing. If none of these work, I hate to say it, time to call a plumber. Find one that has a camera system they can run thru the pipes, and they can see any collapses or reason for the clog. Also check your outside clean-outs. A few years ago, we had a problem with ours, the mower hay chopped off the square top part, leaving a hole. Snakes, chipmunks and who knows what else got into the drain and caused it, took a while to rod it out Good luck, hope you get it fixed.
Click to expand...
Copper in PVC out. Pressure is good fills the tank. Pull the john and see where that leads. Oh, the toilet closest to the septic tank flushes properly.
 
MaxMan said:
C

Copper in PVC out. Pressure is good fills the tank. Pull the john and see where that leads. Oh, the toilet closest to the septic tank flushes properly.
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well now, if that's the case it's time to upgrade to a whole new house . . . . . that would be some wife's solution 😖
 
blume357 said:
I could be wrong but your "no odors" worries me... every roof vent I'd sniffed had an odor... that's part of their function.... I'm just having a hard time seeing the vent completely blocked air tight... I guess we'll know which end is plugged soon, I hope?

Should not tell this... but working on a roof ... too much trouble to get down when you got to pee... there is. perfect place to relieve yourself....
Click to expand...

Thinking he meant no odors inside the house, but I could be wrong 🤷‍♂️
 
Dan in MI said:
The vent pipe on the roof, also known as the stink pipe, should smell up on the roof. It is a direct vent for the drain system. It's where all the sewer gasses escape.
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Right. Someone asked whether there was odor "inside the house"

I believe the response was no, there is no odor in the house.

Not sure where the disconnect came from 🤷‍♂️
 
MaxMan said:
Roof vent all clear. No odors.
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The above is how I miss interpreted.... the only way I know to make sure the roof vents are clear is to go up on the roof and snake from that direction... I assumed that since you had done this you should have gotten a smell up there.... looking up at the vents from the ground does not tell you anything.. even a drone really won't. Except for folks here mentioning it could be the vent I've never heard of this being the problem, but then I'm not a plumber.

Now, since above you mentioned that the toilet closer to the septic is still working good I think you just need to snake it... either through the toilet or with it removed....
 
blume357 said:
The above is how I miss interpreted.... the only way I know to make sure the roof vents are clear is to go up on the roof and snake from that direction... I assumed that since you had done this you should have gotten a smell up there.... looking up at the vents from the ground does not tell you anything.. even a drone really won't. Except for folks here mentioning it could be the vent I've never heard of this being the problem, but then I'm not a plumber.

Now, since above you mentioned that the toilet closer to the septic is still working good I think you just need to snake it... either through the toilet or with it removed....
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If you have someone that could go to the roof & run water from a hose through the vent pipe that would likely clear it. If that is the problem.
 
blume357 said:
The above is how I miss interpreted.... the only way I know to make sure the roof vents are clear is to go up on the roof and snake from that direction... I assumed that since you had done this you should have gotten a smell up there.... looking up at the vents from the ground does not tell you anything.. even a drone really won't. Except for folks here mentioning it could be the vent I've never heard of this being the problem, but then I'm not a plumber.

Now, since above you mentioned that the toilet closer to the septic is still working good I think you just need to snake it... either through the toilet or with it removed....
Click to expand...
Blume, thank you. Hope you are getting better. I have looked at your broken ankle thread, and its given me some pause on the ankle replacement surgery. Different I know. But while still mostly mobile, not sure I want to go that way.
 
How old is your toilet? It might just be clogged with lime deposits especially since you are on a well. I am also on a well. When there is nothing but water in the bowl, stick your fingers down into the hole at the back of the bowl. Lime deposits can build up and that hole just keeps getting smaller and smaller. I had that happen with my toilet. I removed the toilet and removed the tank from it. That leaves you with the big hole in the top of the bowl. Here is what I did. I purchased a length of chain. It was that stuff that the links were like sheet metal and each one was folded over the last link. That makes it pretty rough. I pushed the chain down the big hole and pulled it out of the hole at the back of the bowl. I then purchased some lye in a can and heated up some water and poured the lye into the water. I filled the bowl with this and grabbed each end of the chain and used it like a rasp. I ran it back and forth and when I emptied the bowl out and ran clean water through it I could feel that the flush hole at the bottom of the bowl had indeed opened up. I reinstalled the toilet and it worked as it should. It's quite a process but it worked.

A few years later, the hole started to get smaller. But, rather go through that process again, I just bought a new toilet. That must have been like ten years ago and it's still working fine.

Be care when using lye in hot water. I first mixed it in an aluminum pot and it ate a hole in the pot. It's nasty stuff. Rubber gloves and eye goggles are appropriate.
 
Unless it's something like a somewhat slow drain, I WOULD NOT use chemicals. Period. These usually only work on the shallow traps and don't do much downline. It's too difficult to get them undiluted into a downline clog. And then you have to deal with the caustic and corrosive junk when you eventually snake it.

Plunger would be the first stop. Using hydraulics to try to force whatever out.

Next step depends on how it happened.

Did someone try to flush a bunch of crap (not really crap but paper or something that might foul the lines. Rephrase clog the lines. Stuff like tampax, napkins, or a shiiteload of toilet paper. No matter how proud a logger you might have just plain crap won't do it) ? Did it happen suddenly or over time. Do the OTHER drains (shower, bathtub, other toilets) drain just fine ?

IF other drains are draining fine it's something local (if ALL drains are affected you've probably got a busted drain outside of the house or root growth through it and need more help than trying to troubleshoot yourself). There are some enhanced hydraulic plungers you can get (including those with CO2 cartridges). That'd be the second step.

If it's suddenly and the other drains are draining fine then I'd try a local snake through the toilet itself. Without removing it. See if that makes any progress.

If it doesn't then I'd remove the toilet and snake the line. A small snake may or may not work.

Like has been said I doubt it's a vent. Unless you have weird plumbing. Our country house was built in 1974 and has no real vents; we get the swoosh from the downstairs drains when the upstairs is flushed as air rushes in (it's a later gen fast flush kinda toilet) at the common connection in the basement to the septic.

Our TX house has a kitchen drain that's the bane of my existence. I've tried just about everything. Started with Chemicals (didn't work), went to plungers then to the CO2 cartridge plungers (sealing off disposal and blasting) eventually to snake. The only thing that worked was the snake. Wife's asian and although we strain the sinks cooks alot with rice and other gelatin type stuff. I usually have to snake it about once a year (it has a cutout above the drain connection). Not fun work but the way it is. Last time I snaked it it took two attempts over two days (the latter getting all 25 feet through) with alot of hot water through the drain in the day in between.

Once clear, ALOT of very hot (close to boiling) water can help to get the grease out. A snake followed by hot water infusions I've found to be the best way to clear greasy crap out of the drain.

I really wish I found a drain cleaner that's devoid of sulfuric acid, Lye or potassium hydroxide, or other caustic/corrosive stuff that won't eat PVC (perhaps some type of surfactant which dissolves grease but isn't dangerous and corrosive).

Good luck !
 
MaxMan said:
About 12 years. WE have rust not much in lime deposits. Thank you..
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You may not think there is any buildup in that toilette because you can't see that flush hole.

Go to one of the big box hardware stores and stick your hand down one of their new toilettes and feel the size of the flush hole. Then go home and do the same in your toilette. I'll bet you'll feel that the hole is a lot smaller. Twelve years is time for a lot of stuff to accumulate.
 
Depending on the quality of the sewer line to the septic tank and if they compacted the backfill in the septic dugout where the line crosses this 1’-2’ section of fill, the lane into the tank may have started sagging and even actually pulled out of the tank. In 22 years of owning a septic service company I ran into this several times a year. When this happens you can pump the tank and even see the inlet baffle but still have sagging or broken inlet line which does not allow material to enter a tank.
 
My two cents. If this is the only drain in the house you are having problems with, and the septic tank has been pumped, my bet will be a compromised Wax ring with roots that have gotten between the pipe and the slab and have grown into the pipe causing it to drain slowly.
It hse been said other times, everybody has an opinion.
 
We have three toilets at my housr; two being newer low flow water savers and number three an older water guzzler. Number three has never been a problem and the low flow in the main bathroom is working just fine. The one that services the TV room though is also new and that whole system back there has been a problem since we bought the house back in 1979. That room was an add on by the previous owner and he messed up in more ways than one,. First, when he connected to the main sewer line the joints were both at tight 90 degree angles. That section clogs up real easy so one must be careful on how much paper it can handle. Problem got worse with the new low flow. Jus t flushing it is no problem and when the tank refills, the water level in the owl comesp as well. Within hours, that bowl drais ut untl only the small deeper section old any water. I have no idea what causes this to happen but if I have to use it I have to flush it before doing so. So much for saving water.
PJ
 
"And as far as the Pee comment, I hope you are in a very secluded area,"
For some of us P'in off the porch is common place. IMHO, if the old ladies living in the house 1/4 mile up the road want to watch me P off my deck that fine with me but I'd like to know what kind of binos they have cause they must be good.
 
Mobuck. I grew up on a farm and it was 'normal' for us guys to pee in the yard or woods...
I've spent the last 40+ years here in town and going to different folks houses and I still won't ask to use someone's bathroom...
I'm their servant and I don't think it is appropriate... but that's just me... and yes the plumbing vent use is kind of limited... you do learn to look around not only when on the roof but behind or beside the house... now not only do you have neighbors right next door but cameras everywhere....

Goodly number of years ago Dateline NBC did a segment on chimney sweep scams and they had a hidden camera on the TV antennae over the chimney and caught one sweep peeing behind it on the roof and many of my compatriots criticized this... I had to say I had done it way more than once.... will stain light shingles for a while and you do need to see where the runoff is going.... "lessons learned".
 
My daughter kept having her sewer plug. I got it open again and watched the flush. That jet in the bottom was not putting out anything. Mine at home had a good water jet at the bottom. So we put her in a new toilet and never had another problem after that. I think hers was so old it didn't even have that water at the bottom. That's a really important part of the flush.
 
You sure there isn't something stuck in the toilet it self? I have grandkids that love to flush toys. A matchbox car will do it every time.
 
While I was going to college, I worked as assistant manager at an apartment complex. One of my jobs was unclogging commodes. 90% of the time, the clog was caused by a sanitary napkin. One apartment unit at a time I eliminated the problem: I fished out the offending sanitary napkin, put it in a plastic baggie and hand-delivered it to the residents (who were invariably girls). No more problems, at least during the remainder of their rental terms. Of course, none of those girls would ever exchange pleasant conversations with me again, but hey...
 
xTopGun said:
well now, if that's the case it's time to upgrade to a whole new house . . . . . that would be some wife's solution 😖
Click to expand...
Mind Reader. My wife exactly. Unfortunately, I cannot move for what we would get for the house. We would have to move way out of the area.
 
Ron IL said:
My daughter kept having her sewer plug. I got it open again and watched the flush. That jet in the bottom was not putting out anything. Mine at home had a good water jet at the bottom. So we put her in a new toilet and never had another problem after that. I think hers was so old it didn't even have that water at the bottom. That's a really important part of the flush.
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By the "JET" at the bottom, I guess you mean the 1" hole towards the front of the bowl at the bottom. Yes, that needs to be cleaned out often. Below you will see the small brush I use to run into that hole and clean it out. It always flushes better after I do that. I use that same brush to push it up into the big hole at the back to keep that clean.

MZlxOXu
DSC04777.JPG
 
MaxMan said:
Blume, thank you. Hope you are getting better. I have looked at your broken ankle thread, and its given me some pause on the ankle replacement surgery. Different I know. But while still mostly mobile, not sure I want to go that way.
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after 5 days of not being able to use one leg, no weight on the ankle / foot they worked on, I can't imagine doing a replacement of this critter...
I did stop the oxycodone early Sunday thank goodness.
 
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