I live in a basement apartment in the home of a single mom. The house is 13 years old and the single mom and her now-ex-husband built it and finished out the basement. I have a kitchenette with a sink and a bathroom with the standard tub/shower, toilet and sink.

I know there is some kind of pump that works when water is run or toilet is flushed because I have heard it kick in.

I recently replaced the carpet in the bathroom with a great vinyl plank flooring and decided to also replace the toilet. The old toilet was very small in scale and it rocked drastically. When I removed the old toilet, I discovered that the flange was broken and that the flange had actually never been bolted to the floor. I got a new flange and drilled into the concrete slab and installed it, then replaced the old toilet with a new comfort height, syphon flush, 1.6 gal toilet.

(I will add at this point that I almost broke my arm patting myself on the back for doing all this work all by myself!) :)

Things were fine for a couple of weeks, but now I have started hearing the toilet gurgling and bubbling when I take a shower and the bathtub gurgling when I run water in the sink. I have also realized that I NO LONGER HEAR THE PUMP KICK IN when I run the water. The kitchen and bathroom are next to each other and the kitchen sink is on the other side of the wall from the bathtub. At times, I smell a faint sewage or sulpher smell in the kitchen.

I also have had several time when I have flushed the toilet and it didn't go down. I have observed that it has been after I have taken a shower or have run the water in the sink. If I wait a little while, the toilet will flush fine.

I have no idea where the "pump" (or whatever) is located or how it gets power. I thought maybe the breaker that controls it might have tripped, but I looked and all of the breakers seem fine.

Since my landlady is a single mom with limited home repair resources, I would love to be able to fix this problem myself or at least know what is actually going on so we can have someone fix it.

Does anyone have any ideas what my problem can be or how it can be fixed?

Thanks,
Ruth Anne

The gurgling says to me that there may be a venting problem. If you want to pat yourself on the back again try pulling the toilet and inspecting your wax ring to insure it has not oozed over and partially blocked the drain. Can you get on the roof to rod the vent stack?

I would agree with "ballengreb1" for it tends to frees up in the winter.

I would agree with "ballengreb1" for it tends to frees up in the winter.

Do you mean freeze up? I live in Georgia and though last week we had sub-freezing temps, this week it has been 70 degrees. I don't think anything could be frozen. :D

Do you have a lot of snow on your roof? And can you see the vent?

The gurgling says to me that there may be a venting problem. If you want to pat yourself on the back again try pulling the toilet and inspecting your wax ring to insure it has not oozed over and partially blocked the drain. Can you get on the roof to rod the vent stack?

I'm pretty sure the wax ring isn't blocking the drain. The sewer pipe is 4 inches wide and the wax ring was seated very well. I will ask my landlady if her toilets or tub have started gurgling and then see if I can get someone to check the vent on the roof.

Your answer didn't address the pump issue though. Any ideas on that?

Thanks!

Do you have alot of snow on your roof? and can you see the vent?

No snow at all. I live in the southern U.S. where snow is a RARE occurrence.

You might need to have a plummer have a look at it. You might not hae the proper ventilation for your wast water. Your vent should be the last fitting to the end of your drain. I.E. 1st is your kitchen sink, the 2nd is your vent and third is your toilet and 4th is your shower. This can be a cause. Plus your in the basement witch gives you less room for proper drainage.

You might need to have a plummer have a look at it. You might not hae the proper ventilation for your wast water. Your vent should be the last fitting to the end of your drain. I.E. 1st is your kitchen sink, the 2nd is your vent and third is your toilet and 4th is your shower. This can be a cause. plus your in the basement witch gives you less room for proper drainage.


I can't help but think that the pump situation has something to do with the problem, since the gurgling problem coincides with the failure of the pump to kick in. Before that, everything seemed all right. There were no draining problems at all.
I think the sump is filling up when I take a shower or run water for a longish time in the kitchen and it has to empty before I can successfully flush the toilet. From what I have read on the subject, I believe that the function of the pump was to help empty the sump so this doesn't happen with the toilet.

Maybe the gurgling and the pump not working are two separate issues... it just seems strange that they coincide.

Are you connected to your city wast or do you have a septic system?

Or try this venting the lift pump. That's if you have a lift pump.

I guess we really need to determine what pump this is in the basement. Usually there are 3 types of pumps found in a basement. A sump pump that expels foundation curtain water that seeped under the foundation. # Homes with a well may have a well pump. # A sewage ejector pump that pumps sewage from a level below the sewer drain pipe in the wall or floor. Can you describe the pump further, where it is located and wgat pipes connect to it, is it sealed with a lid? Back to you Miss Poppins

Are you connected to your city wast or do you have a septic system?


City Water

I will be back when you are ready with that pump description. Do you know where the main drain line is when it leaves the home, under the basement floor or out through the wall?

I guess we really need to determine what pump this is in the basement. Usually there are 3 types of pumps found in a basement. A sump pump that expells foundation curtain water that seeped under the foundation. # Homes with a well may have a well pump. # A sewage ejector pump that pumps sewage from a level below the sewer drain pipe in the wall or floor. Can you describe the pump further, where it is located and wgat pipes connect to it, is it sealed with a lid? Back to you Miss Poppins


My best guess is that it is a sewage ejector pump since it would kick in shortly after water was running or toilet was flushed. I can't describe the pump because I have no idea where it is located. I have lived in the apartment for about 4 months. I have looked near the furnace and water heater for a pump but don't find anything that might be it. I thought if I could find it then there might be a reset button on it I could try. I imagine it uses electricity to work (right?) so there must be a source for the power somewhere. Would a pump be located on the outside of the house?

If it is an ejector pump that quite working it will most certainly cause you all sorts of problems. Ejectors are supposed to be sealed in a pit with two pipes coming up through the lid. One is a vent and the other the sewer line to exit the home. It could be a circuit breaker but the pumps go bad too. Hope the LL has an idea of where it is located but is should be close to your toilet.