My toilet bowl in the first floor bathroom started having a low water level in it last week. It was also discovered that if you ran the sink in there, it would cause bubbles to come up in the toilet bowl. Around the same time, one of the toilets on the second floor would result in gurgling in the pipes under the bathtub in that bathroom also. In addition, the water draining from the washer would also result in gurgling under the bathtub. A leak in a cast iron pipe in the basement was discovered about this time as well. The toilet downstairs seemed to "repair" itself for a couple of days and then the water level dropped again. The pipe was patched but then a smaller leak farther up appeared. Now the water level in the toilet bowl alternates between low and really high when flushed. I tried to plunge it and water backed up into the sink down there each time. Then, water started seeping out around the base of the toilet. I don't know if it's a blockage in the pipes, or a blocked vent or both. Could it be a wax seal issue? Please help! Thanks.

De in NH.

Are you on city sewer or a private septic system?

Town sewer.

I would start by augering the sewer. Look for a cleanout within 18 iches of the outside of the house. See if it has standing water in it when toilet is flushed. If no outside cleanout, look for a three inch or larger cleanout inside the house. If no accessible cleanouts, you can either auger from a three or four inch vent on the roof, or pull a toilet and auger from there. Lets get the paritially clogged drain issue solved then see if you need to address the vent issue. Good luck and let us know how things go.

OK. Thank you! I'll let you know what we find out.

I have the same issue, so I'll be interested in seeing what happens! I'm going to pull the toilet (since the wax seal is broken now anyways), snake that drain, see if that fixes it, and if not, try flushing out the vent (although I'm a little apprehensive about how to do that).