Hello everyone,

I have a basement toilet that gurgles (loudly) and drops it's water level each time my washing machine ( in the basement as well), runs. I am attempting to find where the clog might be. Both the sink where the washing machine drains into and the toilet itself drains fine with good speed. The rest of the two story house appears to have no problems either. Any suggestions? I already attempted to "clean" the sink drain using a liquid. Might add that we have had clogs in this sink before, but I never noticed the toilet problem before this. We are on city water and sewer.

Hi CSFNB

It sounds like you have a partially clogged MAIN DRAIN LINE to me. Here, the drain works fine under most conditions, but when you use a high volume of water, such as water from a washing machine or water drained from a full tub, the partially clogged main drain becomes overwhelmed and starts to back up, venting through the toilet drain and siphoning off the water in the bowl!

To confirm this, remove the main drain cleanout plug and then fill the washer and tub to full and then drain both off at the same time. If water backs up to the cleanout cover and lingers for awhile then the MAIN DRAIN line is partially clogged and will need to be snaked to clear the blockage!

Let me know what you discover, OK?

Mark

Thank you so much for answering my question! I waited until my husband was around to do the task that you set before me, and after removing the cleanout plug and running both the shower ( we have all walk ins, no tub, so I ran two of the showers) and then the washer, no water really lingered in the cleanout cover. I checked the washer and toilet once again the next day and noticed that the toilet no longer gurgled, but the water did splash once during the rinse cycle of the washing machine. Since that time all has been well.

I still feel that we should have the main line snaked just in case there are any real problems, because what is the chance that cleaning out the sink line fixed this type of problem, but I am uncertain of what to do. What is your suggestion? My husband feels that if something is not broke, why fix it, but I feel that if there is a problem, no matter how small, it should be fixed before the water is backed up into my basement.

I'd wait to see if there is another "sign" that occurs that will help us to pinpoint the exact issue, OK? I'd hate to have you spend money only to find that you have a clogged VENT or something else... ;)

At least you know you can pop in here and discuss options/concerns anytime. We may take a couple hours or so to respond, but we usually answer all our questions every day!

Good luck!

Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

I'd wait to see if there is another "sign" that occurs that will help us to pinpoint the exact issue, OK? I'd hate to have you spend money only to find that you have a clogged VENT or something else...;)

At least you know you can pop in here and discuss options/concerns anytime. We may take a couple hours or so to respond, but we usually answer all our questions every day!

Good luck!

Mark

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Thank you Mark, you have been of great help and wisdom.