Hello. We have two toilets in our home, both on the first floor and in adjacent rooms. The main toilet works fine, never had to plunge it. The master bedroom toilet is good for only 1 flush in the morning and then if you try to flush again within 24 hours it does not go down. The water fills the bowl and stays high until late in the day when it goes down until it's almost gone in the bottom of the bowl.

A plumber came and tried the "snake" which did not work. He then ran something from the toilet all the way to the drain station (we are on town water/sewer). He said he could feel it pushing something through and after that it flushed fine (until the next day).

Also, when running the water in the sink in this same problem bathroom, the toilet water will start bubbling. The plumber said both toilets are on the same drain line and he cannot figure out why one will flush fine and the other will not. He is now suggesting that the grade (?) of the lines may not be good so he wants to take a backhoe and dig from my house to the street and fix the grade of the line. Any suggestions for a cheaper (and less evasive) fix would be appreciated!

Hi Mary

If the main toilet is flushing fine then I strongly doubt that the issue is with the main line so do NOT let that plumber talk you into anything like that! In fact, I worry about a plumber that thinks like that (at least based on the short paragraph you described)... may want to get a 2nd opinion here.

Next, let's start back at the basics. First thing to check any time a toilet is an issue as you describe is to check the SIPHON JET (little hole on the front inside of the toilet that pushes solids down the drain)... clean this hole using a coat hanger bent up a bit and see if there is a calcium/mineral build up in the siphon jet... then flush the toilet and see if that resolved the issue (many plumbers miss this).

If that fails to resolve the issue then flush the toilet once and then take the toilet lid off and see how long it takes the toilet tank to refill... also see how high the water comes up to the tube in the center of the tank... water should come up to within an inch or so of the top of the tube. If water takes forever to refill or water does not come up high near the tube the WATER FILL VALVE may need to be replaced (or toilet shutoff repaired/replaced).

Next, if that doesn't help you may have a problem with the toilet VENT. This is tougher to fix as a homeowner, so the plumber should check this for you. The plumber should also lift the problem toilet and inspect it for an internal clog... if none present then the drain should be snaked again. It is not unusual by any means for a drain to be snaked 2 or 3 times until the problem is completely resolved, OK?

Start there... post back with questions.

Mark

Your plumber is wrong. As Mark stated above, the problem is not the main sewer pipe.

You may even have two separate drain problems in that bathroom: one is clogged sink, the other one is toilet

If you flush toilet and bowl fills up to the rim, that means the problem is more-likely within the bowl itself. I suggest you snake toilet with 6' auger. If that doesn't help, I suggest you remove the toilet, flip it over, and see what is stuck inside the trap

Hope that helps

Milo