Help! My tub is driving me crazy!

Leon
by Leon
When I drain my bathtub, the toilet bubbles. Then the toilet stops up. The toilet is a toto that uses gravity pressure assisted instead of regular water flushing. Not sure if that makes a difference. Ideas?! Thanks!
  9 answers
  • William William on Feb 11, 2017

    I would say there is a problem with the vent pipe going up and out the roof. It may be clogged or obstructed. If your able, you or someone would need to get on the roof where the vent pipe is flush it with a garden hose to clear it. Leaves, branches, birds, squirrels can fall into it and block it.

  • Cindy Hagemann Cindy Hagemann on Feb 11, 2017

    William is correct - call a plumber if his remedy does not fix it - might be a clot in the line that needs snaking out.

  • Leon Leon on Feb 11, 2017

    Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try.

  • JJ JJ on Feb 12, 2017

    I had this problem a while back , it started the same but then when I started flushing the toilet that was coming up out of the bath, not pleasant! 😕. I found the waste pipe and opened up the access panel (it was disgusting!) It was backed right up, I got draining rods in there and thought I'd solved the issue, all was fine for about a day! In the end my father and I went outside and checked the main sewer manhole, that was also blocked, turns out it wasn't just my house but most of the row were having problems, water company had to come out a unblock the external piping!

  • Mandy Brown Mandy Brown on Feb 12, 2017

    What William said is probably the best place to start. Depending on whether you have a septic tank or your on a city/county sewer system you're problem may be in the line going from your house to the main or septic tank. If you're on a municipal system and the backup is on your side of the property line then it will be your responsibility to get it fixed. If it's outside your property line then it's on them. Most sewers work on gravity flow unless you live in an area that's near sea level or very difficult to reach. Force mains are only used when it's necessary to push the sewer flow upstream from a pump (or lift) station and most times a series of pump stations to a gravity system. I know some people who've had really shallow fall from their house to the main line sewer which will cause backup. Think about going down a slide at the park. The steeper the slide the faster you go. If the slide is nearly level with the ground you won't go anywhere. That's how gravity sewer pipes work (in an elemental sense). It also depends on the pipe material and size of pipe. Normally a residential home has a 4" PVC pipe going from the house to the mainline. PVC has a slick inside surface which allows waste to flow faster at shallower grades. However; if you have several neighbors all with 4" pipes flowing into an 8" main that was installed at a very shallow grade then it could easily back up. I hope this helps. Good luck!

  • Hillela G. Hillela G. on Feb 13, 2017

    Good luck and keep us posted!

  • Laura Kackman Laura Kackman on Feb 15, 2017

    What is a toto toilet system? Never heard that before. Good luck and keep us posted

  • Leon Leon on Feb 17, 2017

    Toto is a popular brand of toilet. a little higher price line than the ones in the big box stores.

  • KASSY KASSY on Feb 22, 2017

    Just had that problem. tree roots broke the pipe