Plumbing Question

[TallPaul]

For the past year or two if I run a lot of water down my kitchen sink, say I dump the 4 qt pot all at once, the basement bathroom sink will gurgle. Now within the last week I am getting a problem where when I flush the basement toilet, it will refill then drain down slowly, gurgle, and settle very low in the bowl. I plunged it last night and it flushed fine then this morning was back to the same gurgle and low water level. A quick Google review makes me think that this could be a vent problem. What do you think?

I have had clogged drain before out at the sewer connection about 45 feet behind the house, but that resulted in water coming up the floor drain and that is not happening now. Also had a lot of roots in the toilet drain right into the house three years ago and they reamed/cut all that out then.

 

[JTK]

Could be a venting problem, but more than likely a restriction somewhere given you've had roots in the past.

I feel for you Bro. Nothing worse than sewer problems. I recently had to replace an entire septic system to the tune of $8500, for a house we sold!

Joel

 

[TallPaul]

Septic systems are worse in that way. I could get the sewer connection repaired (has roots cutting through it and is misaligned) for $3500, but the line also has a belly about 15 feet behind the house, but only to pool 1 to 1.5 inches deep estimated from a camera run a couple years ago. The roots were hanging up stuff. City guy came out and said anywhere else the city is responsible for the connection to the main sewer line, but not my township. He advised use nothing but RV toilet paper so there is no buildup on the root. Has been good for 2 years using Scott 1000 which is septic and RV safe. That compared to reclogging in just 30 days before.

 

[JTK]

Yes, going as light as possible with toilet paper and not using the fluffy stuff definitely will help.

One of the townships near me just put into effect a code where homeowners are required to replace the sewer line from house to street if their house was built before a specific date. Lots of upset homeowners. A plus for buyers though!

Joel

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
when I flush the basement toilet, it will refill then drain down slowly, gurgle, and settle very low in the bowl.

Funny, I have a similar problem in our half-bath. The water level in the bowl is lower than it used to be. When you flush, there's a big, initial bubble/gurgle and then everything goes down. However, "stuff" doesn't go down as easily and sometimes not entirely. I've tried plunging it with no success. I'm concerned one of the kids put a toy or something in there and now it's stuck out of sight.

 

[mpvue]

a vent is blocked, not allowing air in behind the drain.

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
a vent is blocked, not allowing air in behind the drain.

To which reported problem does this apply. The OP's, mine, or both?

 

[azjake]

It sounds like a vent pipe problem. Without proper venting the pipes are overwhelmed when large amounts of water are put down the drain at once, and that causes the gurgling.

Although the vent pipes are covered on your roof, it's still possible for debris to get into them restricting the air flow.

 

[barlowc]

In my case, large amounts of water drain down the sink without any gurgling or anything. And I can flush the toilet simultaneously and there's no burb of air or anything that indicates the drain pipe is overwhelmed and not venting.

I still think something is stuck in toilet's passageway and I have to figure out how I can make sure it's fully clear. I really don't want to have to remove the toilet and deal with all that, again.

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: azjake
Although the vent pipes are covered on your roof, ...
It is not covered, perhaps because the house was built in 1950.

Guess I should find something that dissolves to drop down and see if I hear a splash.

Oh, I forgot to do the recommended thing. Plumber or city guy said to put a hand full of rock salt in the cleanout in front of the toilet periodically to prevent regrowth of the roots.

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: barlowc
Originally Posted By: mpvue
a vent is blocked, not allowing air in behind the drain.

To which reported problem does this apply. The OP's, mine, or both?

sorry, I was only thinking of the OP's issue...

 

[TallPaul]

This is the beginning of my sewer woes: The original sewer problem thread. My big mistake was not remembering to throw the copper sulfate down the cleanout periodically.