A while back, I had to snake out the main drain pipe to the sewer and have since had no draining problems, however last night, one of the two toilets overflowed when my roommate tried to flush it in the middle of the night. She says she didn't put anything odd in there, just got up in the middle of the night to pee (#1 only), and when she went back to bed, she heard water running (which happened to be the toilet overflowing). I manually drained out the water into a bucket and plunged it until it forced a flush. Then I turned the water supply back on and it filled the tank, I test flushed it... no problems. I am concerned as to why it would not flush if there was nothing clogging it. I worry that this could be related to the draining issue I had seen before, but have seen no shower stall or tub backups this time around. I don't want to waste money if it was clogged and is now fine, but also want to avoid this happening into the future. Should I have this looked at by a professional plumber? What all could cause this if there were nothing that might have caused a clog? Should I invest in a smaller indoor sink/toilet snake and make sure there is nothing stuck between the toilet and the drain pipe? Further, could this and my former issue be interrelated and indicative of some major plumbing nightmare? This is what my roommate looked like when she saw the 'flood': :eek: and this is what I now look like: :confused:

Thanks,
Paula

When in doubt about a clogged toilet flush repeatedly with about five buckets of water and observe what is happening.Just pour a bucket in the toilet and see if it flushes correctly.If it goes down slowly use a plunger and try it again.it doesn't take much to clog up the plumbing and a bucket and plunger are cheap. :cool:

Good morning Paula,

(1)"Then I turned the water supply back on and it filled the tank, I test flushed it.... no problems. I am concerned as to why it would not flush if there was nothing clogging it

It sounds like something was dropped in the toilet, (comb, pencil, ballpoint pen,ect) and it's now lodged in the trap section of the bowl. Your test was faulty because you were testingt for a complete blockage, if a comb were caught down there then water would flush right past. We test for a object in the trap by loading the bowl up with a double handfull of TP and flushing the toilet. Do this rwice. If it backs up you have a object caught down in the trap.
You may be able to purchase a closet auger,(toilet snake) and dislodge it or break it up and send it on through. Failing that you have no choice but 6to call in a plumber who, after augering, will have to pull the bowl, turn it on its side and go in from the bottom and fish out the obstruction.
(2). I worry that this could be related to the draining issue I had seen before, but have seen no shower stall or tub backups this time around. I don't want to waste money if it was clogged and is now fine, but also want to avoid this happening into the future. Further, could this and my former issue be interrelated and indicative of some major plumbing nightmare?"

It's not connected to your earlier problem so don't worry.

You may purchase a closet auger and hope you get lucky but prepare yourself for a plumbing bill if you're not.

Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the great tips once again. I attempted the double handful of TP flush and it stopped up on the first attempt. Today I got one of those toilet augers and can not seem to get it to go very far (it must be hitting something and turning around and coming right back out where it's going in, for example, I'll see the tip of the cable coming back out the hole beside the curved neck of the auger which houses the other end of the cable.) I am thinking of removing the toilet and going in from the other end. (I have seen my dad replace a toilet and it seemed simple enough, but is there any reason I should not attempt this and leave it to the pros?) I have been told I'll need a new seal for where the toilet meets the floor because its wax and can only form a seal once, but the guy who told me this was not a plumber, and so this was his only advice. One more question: Even if this is a low-flow toilet, it should not clog/overflow this easily, right?

Thanks for your help,
Paula

HI Paula,

(1)" I am thinking of removing the toilet and going in from the other end. (I have seen my dad replace a toilet and it seemed simple enough, but is there any reason I should not attempt this and leave it to the pros?)

Pulling a toilet and going in from the bottom is a dirty messy job best left to us dirty messy plumbers. On top of the filth that a toilet holds after you get it out there's still a gallon of liquid that's left in the trap to deal with. Atoilet and tank isn't light and if you turn it the wrong way you'll have all the water from the trap on your bathroom floor. I've removed everything from combs to dead critters from the bottom of toilets and believe me it's no job for the faint hearted. Don't try this alone. it's a hassle for a trained plumber, it will take two of you to do this job.

(2)"I have been told I'll need a new seal for where the toilet meets the floor because its wax and can only form a seal once, but the guy who told me this was not a plumber, and so this was his only advice."

Your friend was wrong. Wax seals do not wear out. Reform them into a ring and they're as good as new.

(3)One more question: Even if this is a low-flow toilet, it should not clog/overflow this easily, right?

Any toilet will clog if you drop something in it, No toilet's immune to that.
Good luck Tom

Some of the older 1.6 gallon per flush commodes were very bad about stopping up. You said she olnly flushed liquid down the commode. Well that was part of the problem with the older commodes... the flush before hers might be the one that stopped up the toilet but her flush was the one that overflowed and made the mess. Speaking of overflowing, if your commode is a new 1.6gallon per flush it should not have made such a mess if it were stopped up, and maybe should not have even ran over the rim of the commode. Try the auger again, they are sometimes hard to get around the trap of the commode.

Thanks for the tips. I have had little luck getting the auger past the trap. I was able to get it in three feet only one time out of the many I have tried. Nothing came back with it, but I don't think I pushed it past because I threw a handful of TP in there and flushed and it still clogs and tries to overflow until I shut off the water, plunge and turn it back on. I think I might have to take the toilet off the floor, and go in from the underside to get it out. Something has to be in there catching toilet paper and causing the clog right? Can you fit your hand into the channel of the toilet from underneath, because I can't get it very far in going from inside the bowl.

Thanks,
Paula

Hey Hey Paula, (Wasn't that a song back in the 70's?)

"I think I might have to take the toilet off the floor, and go in from the underside to get it out."
Paula, this is a hassle for a trained plumber, I advise against it but if you decide to go ahead don't try it alone.
"Can you fit your hand into the channel of the toilet from underneath, because I can't get it very far in going from inside the bowl."
No, there's a bend in the trap you can't get your hand around. You'll have to fish it out with a bent coathanger.
Having said all that here's how to go about it.
If you have used a closet auger on it and it's still clogged, chances are you will find it in the bend of the trap in the bowl. Turn off the water at the angle stop and unhook the supply. Sponge out the tank and bowl. Remove the closet bolts and lift straight up. Have a piece of cardboard to set it on. Now tilt it over on its side. Careful, you still have about a gallon of water left in the trap. Now take a coathanger, put a hook in it and go fishing up the bottom to see if you can hook the ,comb, ballpoint pen, pencil or whatevers caught up there. All you will need to reset the stool is a new wax seal. More questions? I'm as close as a click. Good luck, Tom

I experienced similar mysteries for quite some time. I started to research the Internet (hence I found this site). It appears there are a lot of issues with the 6Gal toilet. There is a MaP (Maximum Performance) report done on all commercially available toilets. I have since replaced my American Standard Cadet which was rated very poorly. Sometimes even a miss placed toilet paper after a #1 will clog the toilet. You can Google on "toilet performance" to find the report.

Thanks, I'll check out that report, this one is a 6 gal. American Standard. I was thinking I might have to replace the toilet in the end (at least they aren't too terribly expensive). I am still going to pull it and 'go fishing' on Tom's advice, but if I don't find anything, I'll just put in a new one while I have it pulled off the floor.

As I said before, Before you do the expensive stuff try filling a bucket of water and pour it in the toilet,if it doesn't go down use the plunger to block the bottom hole of the toilet push down gently then pull up creating a suction force to dislodge any thing caught up .Try this with several buckets until it flushes properly. I've done this so many times and it works pretty well just don't flush until the obstruction is cleared.You can tell when its cleared by the sucking noise a bucket of water makes when you pour it in.:cool:

Talanimam,
She's already done that and determined that there's a object caught crossways in the trap. If she can't dislodge it by sending a toilet auger through then plunging and water pressure isn't going to get it out. She has two options. She can purchase a new bowl to match the old tank or go in from the bottom and attempt to fish it out. Regards, Tom

Sorry guys I missed that!:cool: :o

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the help. I think I am going to have to get a new bowl indeed. I pulled it from the floor (thanks for the 'sponge out the water' tip Tom, this kept it from getting messy at all). I tried to fish from the bottom with a coat hanger for a while, but no luck. I put the auger in backwards, with the toilet flipped upside down and made many attempts, but still nothing came out. It is very difficult to get past the bend in the trap with the auger (which must be where the object is stuck).

I then took the bowl outside and rested it on two cinder blocks so the hole on the bottom was unobstructed and I threw a double handful of TP in and dumped in a bucket of water, it went right through, so I did it again with more TP and it went through fine! I have the same model toilet in the other bathroom and it performs fine every flush, but under the house, you can see that the drain from that toilet goes straight down for a foot or more and then makes about a 135 deg. Turn to the main drain. I noticed when I took it off the floor, the drain goes down maybe 4 inches, then there is a sharp turn in the drain (nearly 90 deg. Turn). I wonder if it is having a hard time making this turn. Could this be a factor? Does it indicate there's a clog in the drain pipe leaving that toilet? I think I might try to snake the drain from that toilet to the main line just to be sure nothings in there, then reseat the old bowl for testing, if the problem persists, I guess I'll get a new bowl. And when I do, I'm breaking open the old one to see what my prize is!

It sounds like the bowl trap is clear. Try the TP and bucket of water trick down the drain. Maybe start the water slowly so it doesn't run out and make a mess.

Also, use a small mirror and light to look as far from top and bottom of the bowl as you can. You really want to be sure the bowl is the problem before buying another one.

Hi Paula,

"I noticed when I took it off the floor, the drain goes down maybe 4 inches, then there is a sharp turn in the drain (nearly 90 deg. turn). I wonder if it is having a hard time making this turn. Could this be a factor? Does it indicate there's a clog in the drain pipe leaving that toilet?"

You have just described a regular closet bend. Labman was correct. It does sound like the toilet trap's clear. Before you reset the toilet run a snake, ( not a closet auger) down the open closet bend for about 12 feet. Let us know the results. Tom