Any plummers out there?

[Ripsnort]

Odd occurance last night.  Wife was running the wash machine. Kid flushes the downstairs toilet and it overflows on the hardwood floors.   Its odd because it has soapy suds in the water, like its backing up from the adjoining room where the wash machine is.  Anyway, I snake it myself with a hand snake about 20 feet in. Still didn't solve the problem.  It eventually drained down, slowly..

We had the septic pumped out 3 years ago. It has 3 chambers and a main tank.  I checked the main tank of the septic system and its at a normal level. I was going to dig up one of the 3 chambers to see what their level status was today before calling either the plummer or the Septic guys.

Any clue as to what could be happening? I don't want to pay both a plummer and a Septic guy if I don't have to.

[Furball]

what is a septic tank?  heard americans use the term but never heard it used here.  Is it a sewage tank or something?

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Furball
what is a septic tank?  heard americans use the term but never heard it used here.  Is it a sewage tank or something?

Yes. Its what you use when you're not near a city.

[Furball]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Yes. Its what you use when you're not near a city.

ahh i see, makes sense.  Thanks

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Odd occurance last night.  Wife was running the wash machine. Kid flushes the downstairs toilet and it overflows on the hardwood floors.   Its odd because it has soapy suds in the water, like its backing up from the adjoining room where the wash machine is.  Anyway, I snake it myself with a hand snake about 20 feet in. Still didn't solve the problem.  It eventually drained down, slowly..

We had the septic pumped out 3 years ago. It has 3 chambers and a main tank.  I checked the main tank of the septic system and its at a normal level. I was going to dig up one of the 3 chambers to see what their level status was today before calling either the plummer or the Septic guys.

Any clue as to what could be happening? I don't want to pay both a plummer and a Septic guy if I don't have to.

Not a plumber but have some experiance with the problem.
Sounds like your clog is farther down the line. Its not surprising as all individual drains typically lead into the same main.
 Easy way is to just have the whole house snaked.
There is another way but its a real PIA and involves a garden hose and climbing around on your roof capping things off.

[rabbidrabbit]

sounds like a blockage down the pipe somewhere.  Can you flush a toilet now? All do the same or just one?

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
sounds like a blockage down the pipe somewhere.  Can you flush a toilet now? All do the same or just one?

Its just the downstairs toilet. When she's doing a load of laundry, the toilet will back up.  I think I'll have them come out and snake the downstairs toilet and the laundry room pipe, the rest flush just fine.

[Mini D]

Is the downstairs toilet the lowest drain point in the house?

[Mini D]

I'm not a plummer, but I have more than my share of experience with drain lines and clogs...

You have a clog downstream of the toilet somewhere.  Could be a lint clog if it's in line with the washing machine.  Sending some kind of hair-clog draino down the toilet should work (or down any drain upstream of the toilet if it's easier).

The clog is after the point where the toilet ties into the main.  A normal clog will fill the pipe up until it reaches the level of the toilet's p-trap and then start backfilling through the toilet.  If the clog is downstream on the main, you'd see the soapy water come back with the toilet water if the washing machine happened to be draining at the same time as the backup.

It's important to remember that your toilet is not a gated drain.  It is an open drain with a p-trap.  That means that anything that back up above the water level you normally see in your toilet will backflow through the toilet.  It's simple physics.

Keep an eye on any drain that might be lower than the toilet.  You'll see the backups occur there first if it is actually something with the septic system.  These are usually shower drains or floor drains in the basement.  If you're not seeing anything there, then it's just a clog somewhere slightly downstream of the toilet's tie-in and shouldn't be much of a problem to unclog.

[parker00]

I know a few plumbers and all of them have told me draino is one of the worst things for your pipes, it can actually damage pipe if sits to long at a clog. Always use the snake, just FYI!!!





68Parker