Hello,

I am currently renting a home, we have been in it only since July and starting this Halloween we started having toilet/sewage issues. We were informed by the landlord when we moved in that the previous tenents had some issues with the toilets and had them snaked many times. He said they finally found out it was due to the low flow toilets.
On Oct. 31st we came home and after using the front bathroom toilet the water started backing up in it and overflowing (the water had a sewage smell). Note: Dishwasher in the front of the house was running and it was also the heaviest rain we had had in 9 months. At the same time the back bathroom toilet started bubbling and then sewage water filled up in the showers basin. We quickly turned off the dishwasher, thinking that might be the problem. After plunging the toilet off and on for about 10 min. we decided to leave it alone for a while and start the dishwasher up again and magically it all cleared up.

I was thinking it might be a main line issue with the city and maybe we should have the line that goes out to the street rooted, since I thought it was associated with the heavy ran. Note: We are not on septic, we are on city lines.

Then this morning after I had taken my shower and already used the front bathroom's toilet the line backed up again. Today there is no rain, and no dishwasher running. My spouse started his shower after the front bathroom's toilet was used and during his shower the toilets started bubbling (both) and then the shower drain was not draining and the water was standing. Meanwhile the water started backing up in the front bathrooms bathtub. This time the water backing up did not smell like sewage.

I'm am not sure on the age of the home or when the plumbing was last touched, I think it was built in the 60's. Does anyone have an idea on what's going on with my bubbling and back up issues? I'd like to have an idea of what's wrong before I call the landlord.

Thank you,
AME

Part of it sounds like a plugged vent, but I'm sure it's more of a combination problem. Rain shouldn't effect you at all since you are on a city sewer line. It could be roots PLUS a vent problem.

AME...

Your main drain line is clogged.

The landlord needs to hire a sewer cleaning company or a plumber and they need to snake the main drain.

Look for 4" main drain cleanout... should be at front of building outside or just inside the foundation wall. Once this cleanout is removed and lots of water gets used I'm betting the main drain will back up to this cleanout confirming the need to snake the main drain line.

Let us know if need to discuss more...

MARK

Massplumber is correct, you have a clogged main drain line. Need to have it augered. Landlord said they have had this problem before, so there should be no problem making the landlord contact a plumber and get the problem taken care of. The new 1.6 gal flush toilets is no excuse for clogged drain. The fact is, there is a problem with the main line, landlord should seriously look into a digup to fix the problem. Good luck, and take care.

Thank you all for your help everyone - I will speak with my landlord. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was much more than a low flow toilet issue.

I'd be curious to find out what they discover

Hello all,

We had a plumber come out this weekend. Turns out we have some roots in the drain, they had to get on the roof to snake the vent since there is no clean out by the street. They said this will probably keep happening every 6 months (which is really not what I wanted to hear) since they do not know where the roots are coming from. So so far everything is working great, but I think we are going to baby our system from now on. The only suggestion they had was to put in a clean out drain in front of the house.

Hi AME...

Inform the landlord that he/she can have the drain line videotaped by a professional drain cleaning company so they can find out just how bad the roots and the damge to the pipe is at this time.

Most likely, if they don't at the least, begin a root treatment plan this drain pipe will probably break down completely and they will need to dig it up and replace or at minimum have the pipe re-lined (all to the tune of thousands of dollar).

Let me know if need info. On root treatment options... glad to help!

Glad you're up and running... for now :)
MARK

Once again, mass nailed it. Start with drain camera, and see what kind of pipe damage you actually have. Will most likely cost less in the long run, to have repairs done now.

Let me give you some tips on root control. Going in, let me say that sooner or later you're going to have to bite the bullet and replace that old sewer line with PVC. If you wish to control roots RootX or Robics Foaming Root Killer that contain Dichlobrnic are two products you could try.
A less expensive way would be to call around to garden supply stores and ask for fine grain Copper Sulphate. Put a 1/2 pound in your toilet and flush it down. Repeat in 6 months.
As Mark pointed out you can also reline the pipe.(see images) That's what I had done in my place. Let me explain a bit more about my drainage problem and how I repaired it. 54 year old house. The builder used sub standard cast iron in the drainage. The 4" house main was completely ate up on the bottom of the pipe , blocked with roots and welling up in my living room floor. I was sure that the main had broke in two and I would have to jack hammer up the floor and tunnel under the foundation to transition to PVC, pick up the back bath and move the main outside the house but I had to know what was going on under the slab so a friend suggested running a camera down there. There was no distinct break in the main, however,it was completely ate up on the bottom. That's when Rooter Man of Sarasota and Gulf Coast Florida suggested relining the main, (see image). It took a day to clear the roots and pressure jet clean the main. Next day they came back and relined the main with epoxy. I now have a sewer main that will out last me, (50 year guarantee) and the best part is that I didn't have to, tear up my house and the cost was under half of what I figured to take the main outside around the house. Another bonus was that it was done without tearing up or disturbing my house. When they were finished I kept a piece of the epoxy liner to check it out. It was white and had the same thickness of Schedule#40 PVC.
I was amazed at the equipment RooterMan had outside my place. The equipment he had cost upwards of $100,000.00. Hi tech stuff that took a technician to run it. There were 3 men and 2 trucks to do the job. And it was completed in two days. Lottsa difference from the old days when I went out on a sewer call with a Ridged K-60 Sewer Machine and a ladder to get to the roof vent. I just wanted to point out that there's another option besides replacing drainage that the years have ruined. If your pipes are a candidate for a reline job I strongly suggest you look into it before you decide to replace the drainage pipes. I did and saved a bundle in addition to keeping my home intact. Just thought I would share that with you all. Regards, Tom

Great info speedball.

Complete new plumbing inside main augered, septic pumped, toilets buble and rise when tub drains and drains slow

Complete new plumbing inside main augered, septic pumped, toilets work until tub drains and drains slow then toilets bubble and rise

Sounds like you have a VOLUME issue here, Dave.

Tell me, do you have similar issues when you drain the washing machine?

I'm going to bet that the "new plumbing" has some construction debris or could be that a connection wasn't connected properly and when you use the tub the high volume of water backs up and causes the issues you mentioned.

At this point, seeing how this has been snaked (augered) already I'm going to have to suggest that you may need to send a sewer camera down the drain line and see exactly what is happening in the drain line. Most drain cleaning companies carry these on their trucks.

Let me know if you want to discuss more...

Mark