Plumbing trouble, please advise

StuntDouble

StuntDouble

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Apr 26, 2004
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This past weekend, I had trouble with our toilet overflowing due to what I thought was the flushing arm chain getting caught under the flapper valve, causing the fill valve to constantly run. After the water level returned to normal in the toilet, flushing it would only cause it to fill to the top and almost overflow again. I ran a snake through the toilet and it came up clean. After a bit, I went under the house, and checked the main line, but other than a couple small bits of debris, it was clean and dry. After a while, everything went back to normal, and the toilet flushed fine.

Today the flapper got stuck again, and the toilet ran until it overflowed. I plunged it until the water went down, then went under the house and checked the main line again. This time the line was full of water. I let things sit a bit, then went under to check it again. There was still a little bit of water in the bottom of the pipe. I went back up to check out the toilet, and it flushed fine again. I had some towels that needed to be washed after cleaning up the mess, so I ran the washer. As the washer was going I heard gurgling from the toilet, like there was air coming up through it. Stupidly, I flushed the toilet, and it did the same as before. Thankfully I cut the water off to the tank, so it didn't overflow this time.

Frankly, I'm at a loss. Anyone have any ideas of what the problem may be, or similar experiences?
 
StuntDouble said:
This past weekend, I had trouble with our toilet overflowing due to what I thought was the flushing arm chain getting caught under the flapper valve, causing the fill valve to constantly run. After the water level returned to normal in the toilet, flushing it would only cause it to fill to the top and almost overflow again. I ran a snake through the toilet and it came up clean. After a bit, I went under the house, and checked the main line, but other than a couple small bits of debris, it was clean and dry. After a while, everything went back to normal, and the toilet flushed fine.

Today the flapper got stuck again, and the toilet ran until it overflowed. I plunged it until the water went down, then went under the house and checked the main line again. This time the line was full of water. I let things sit a bit, then went under to check it again. There was still a little bit of water in the bottom of the pipe. I went back up to check out the toilet, and it flushed fine again. I had some towels that needed to be washed after cleaning up the mess, so I ran the washer. As the washer was going I heard gurgling from the toilet, like there was air coming up through it. Stupidly, I flushed the toilet, and it did the same as before. Thankfully I cut the water off to the tank, so it didn't overflow this time.

Frankly, I'm at a loss. Anyone have any ideas of what the problem may be, or similar experiences?
Click to expand...

Do you have a septic tank or are you connected to the city?
If you have a septic tank,how old is it and your drain field?

It sounds like your drain Field could be overwhelmed by a leaking toilet or your septic tank needs to be cleaned.
You could try dumping some of that enzyme for septic tanks you can get at Home Depot down there and fix your toilet.
Old septic tanks and drain fields suck and are not cheap to fix.
You could also have blockage you missed or only half way fixed and it could be fixed with a powerful snake.
 
Sounds like the main drain pipe is partially blocked. When too much water and or debris hits the blockage, water backs up. Then toilet will overflow. Suggest making sure line is clear to main sewer or septic tank, whatever you have.
Jim
PS InfidelShootist is correct as well, we posted same time.
 
Partial clog in the line running from your house to the main line. Most common cause id tree roots getting into the line at a pipe joint. Either rent a large drain snake or hire a plumber to snake the main line. What is happening is flushing the toilet a couple of times or running the washer fills the pipe (which can hold a surprising number of gallons of water). Over a period of time (an hour or two), the water drains out of the line through the partial clog, trapping the solids and making the problem worse.
 
I've heard of plugged vent tubes causing similar problems, although its hard to plug one, maybe a bird or something fell in.
could definitely be the mainline though, but far enough from the house that it takes while for it to fill the pipe, before backing up. if it is a city sewer, perhaps they can do a street side cleaning? or alternately you can get a longer snake.

^^^^^what he said.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I did forget to mention that we have a septic tank and well. The house is about 30 years old, so I have no reason to believe the septic system is any newer. Supposedly the septic tank was pumped before my girlfriend moved in, but we're not 100% sure if it was or not.

It's sounding more and more like a main line/drain field problem. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we have a plumber coming out tomorrow morning, so hopefully we can get some answers. I'll post back when I find out what's going on.-
 
If your septic tank has an outflow filter then it may be clogged causing a backup into the house. (Even some older systems had filters installed later on.) Once the filter is removed then the level will go down immediately as the effluent rushes to the drain field.

They are easy to clean if you have access to the tank. It just requires hosing off and removing any solids. (Not the nicest job in the world but you get used to it.)

On the other hand, if you don't have a filter your tank may need to be pumped.
 
Another possible issue is a clog or blockage in the D-Box (distribution box) if one is utilized between the septic tank and the drain field (depending on how your field is laid out).
 
Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. :D

Sorry bro- plumbing woes are the worst.
 
Just a ? is the toilet and or washer on the same level as the bathtub? cause usually sewer will back up in the tub first before the toilet as the drain in tub is lower than toilet and especially washer drain etc;) If this is the case sounds like leach field problems or possibly tight line from house to tank. Either way it is a shitty job:barf: (pun intended) and plumbers like that smell;) as it reminds them of $$$$$$$$$$!:D
 
The bathtub, showers, and other two toilets are upstairs. The washer and the toilet with the issues are on the same level.
 
Check your vents,I had a squirrel try to build a nest in one of mine,it was a bitch to clean,finally took a hose to it and it finally cleared.I have put a couple wire caps on the vents and fixed that.It did act like a clogged drain too..So if you don't have caps on your vents and have squirrels check it---good luck-:thumbup:---Butch
 
Most plumbers are gonna want the tank lid dug so they can look in and more than likely have it pumped to start. If someone calls us and are on septic and complaining about the line backing up that is where we start. Popping the lid is going to tell you where the problem is to start. Too much water and its going above the T then either the line going to the distribution box is blocked (see this the most) or the box is full of crap which means the field probally is to or if the water is normal it is probally clogged coming from the house. The inside of the tank normally gets a layer of paper etc on top of it and if too much builds up over time it will go out the line to the dist box or if the T has rotted off it will start sending it out the line. Most of the time they clog up right at the T when this happens and you can usually clean out the line with a big chisel and a hammer and then stick a water hose down it. If it continues to take water then you can make a new T out of 3" pvc and it will slide right in where the old T was and the problem is fixed. If not then the dist box and field lines need to be looked at.
 
Well, I got the good news this morning. As the plumbers were digging up the lids of the septic tank, they discovered water before they even got to the lid. They got things opened up, and discovered the switch on the tank pump was bad. One of the guys hit the switch, and it pumped everything out. Of course, it kept running even after the tank was empty. So now I'm just waiting for them to get back and replace everything. Thanks for the replies and advice.
 
ssblood said:
Most plumbers are gonna want the tank lid dug so they can look in and more than likely have it pumped to start. If someone calls us and are on septic and complaining about the line backing up that is where we start. Popping the lid is going to tell you where the problem is to start. Too much water and its going above the T then either the line going to the distribution box is blocked (see this the most) or the box is full of crap which means the field probally is to or if the water is normal it is probally clogged coming from the house. The inside of the tank normally gets a layer of paper etc on top of it and if too much builds up over time it will go out the line to the dist box or if the T has rotted off it will start sending it out the line. Most of the time they clog up right at the T when this happens and you can usually clean out the line with a big chisel and a hammer and then stick a water hose down it. If it continues to take water then you can make a new T out of 3" pvc and it will slide right in where the old T was and the problem is fixed. If not then the dist box and field lines need to be looked at.
Click to expand...

Finally, proof that I actually do know sh*t! :p
 
Is your septic system on a hill? Our codes here say that you have to have two tanks in such a case. One will catch the solids and let the leech water goto another tank that will have a pump that pumps the leech water up hill to the distribution box. Do you have a high water level warning switch in the tank where the pump is? Normally the light will be in the garage or something so if the switch (which is seperate from the pump setup) detects a high level of water there will be a light on in the garage to indicate so. This will prevent future problems. If you don't have a high level indicator I would recommend installing one so the next time you can fix the problem before it becomes a crap in the floor problem again.
 
ssblood,

Yep, we have two tanks, solid and leech water. I didn't think to ask the guys about putting in a warning light, not a bad idea at all.
 
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