Ask Me Help Desk - Is this a venting problem?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steffan

I recently had a new bathroom fitted upstairs in my 150yr old post and beam home. Since the fitting I have been experiencing lots of gurgling problems in the kitchen and yesterday following a leisurely bath I came downstairs to find that the whole of the bath water had backed up through the kitchen sink. I also noted that there was sewage in the water as well. The house has a septic system which was emptied less than one year ago and there are only two people living in the home. Normally we would only empty the septic tank once every two or three years.
I noticed when the plumbers put in a vent pipe that they only put it through the attic and it does not vent through the roof, could this be the problem?
I would appreciate any ideas on how to solve this problem.

Hey Steffan,

IT sounds as though you might have more then just one problem. But let's address the back up first. This is caused by a blockage in the drain line that services the upper bathroom and the kitchen sink. The "gurgle" sounds like you might have a vent problem as well, although the "gurgle" could be a "burp" caused by air being forced back when the discharge hit the clog. Fortunately you can kill two birds with one stone by snaking the line from the kitchen vent. This will clear both the vent and the drain line. As for the open vent in the attic, the plumber should have revented back into a vent that exited the roof. Snake out the line and let me know how it goes. If you're new to septic systems click on back and I'll give you some helpful tips. Cheers, Tom