I have just installed a new toilet / replacement toilet and sometimes it just won't flush. The bowl fills up like it is clogged but it can't be because it is only liquid and no solids in the bowl. When it doesn't flush I notice that if I fill the sink with water and then let it drain out it will cause the toilet to buble or gurgle. I checked the vent pipe on the roof and it doesn't seem clogged. The sink drain seems to operate fine and so do all the drains down the line from this toilet.

In the basement the layout is the toilet is on the end of the line then the bathroom sink drain T's into the 3" main, then the washing machine does the same and the kitchen sink. All of these travel the full length of the house before exisitng to the town sewer. At about midway to the exit this pipe connects to the other bathroom via a Y type connection and then they run together the rest of the way.

One thing to complicate matters worse is that the town sewer was connected a few months back just before we purchsed the house. It is now a very long run for this toilet that sometimes does not flush. When I say a long run I mean probably 60 to 80 feet and right before it goes out the foundation it drops 3 feet vertically and then exits.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. The other toilet works fine.

Thanks
John

Hi John,

In my capacity as shop trouble shooter I began to run into a slew of complaints on our new construction that were just like yours. I knew they all couldn't be " bad toilets" so I went looking for the cause. I found that when installing the new bowl that the wax ring had been forced out into the discharge pipe and blocking the free flow of water. When the water hit it a backpressure was set up preventing the siphon that makes a good flush and the solids just swirled around while the water went slowly down. I had to set up meeting with our plumbers and show them the problem and how to fix it. When you set the bowl, put the wax seal down on the flat side to the closet flange. Then take your hands and bevel the wax seal outward so that when you set a bowl on it the wax is forced out instead of in blocking the flush. The customer complaints stopped and I had less work to do. Try molding the wax seal so it doesn't choke down on the flush. Good luck, Tom

When you flush the commode and then fill the sink with water and let is out and the commode gurgles means that the sewer line has a stoppage. You described the layout of the plumbing, it sounds like the washing machine is the next thing down line from the commode. Fill the washing machine and after you have flushed the commode and it does not go down, have someone to drain the washer while you are watching the commode, if the commode gurgles and water starts to rise in the commode that will mean the stoppage is further down line. You can fill the kitchen sink and try the same thing to find out how far down line the stoppage is, I feel like you are going to have to get someone to clean out your sewer line from on top of the house. Good Luck.

I agree with the stoppage answer.