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jenniferb1975 · Jul 20, 2009, 10:49 PM

My toilet keeps overflowing and the bathtub drain is slow, the kicker is when the tub drains, it goes all over the floor --coming from the base of the toilet!!

What can I do, do I have to call a plumber??

creahands · Jul 21, 2009, 03:49 AM

Appears u have 2 problems.

Clog in toilet waste and bad wax seal.

Turn off water to toilet. Remove water from tank.
Remove toilet and snake toilet waste line.After snaking, pour hot water into waste line to see if clear.POUR VERY SLOW.If clog is cleared, pour about 2 gallons hot water .

Reinstall toilet with new wax seal. Do not over tighten johnny bolts as this will crack toilet.

Chuck

speedball1 · Jul 21, 2009, 04:35 AM

Originally Posted by jenniferb1975

my toilet keeps overflowing and the bathtub drain is slow, the kicker is when the tub drains, it goes all over the floor --coming from the base of the toilet!!!

What can i do, do i have to call a plumber????

You have a blockage downstream from the basement toilet.
Since wax seals aren't designed to contain liquid coming back up the closet bend I would hold off on pulling the toilet and replacing the seal.
And snaking ftrom the toilet should be the last option that you should use.
Having said that let's see what can be done.
City sewer or septic tank? If septic tank when was it pumped last?
Locate the house cleanout and open it up. Flush a few toilets or cycle the washer. Does the line fill up? Let me know and we'll go from there. Regards . Tom

massplumber2008 · Jul 21, 2009, 04:38 AM

Hi Jenniferb:

Like Chuck said, you have a couple issues here.

I wanted to know if these are the lowest fixtures in your home.. Are these in the basement... on a concrete slab..? If so, then you may have a clogged MAIN DRAIN and will need to locate a main drain cleanout to be able to snake the drain and clear the main line blockage . This cleanout is usually located with 24" of the inner or outer foundation walls.

If the tub and toilet are not your lowest fixtures in the home then you will need to unclog the drain line from the toilet to the area of the blockage as Chuck mentioned.

You or a friend will want to rent a cable machine, purchase some leather gloves and goggles and try to see if you can clear the blockage. You will also want to purchase a couple wax rings and a pair of toilet bolts (bowl to floor bolts) to rest the toilet once all this is resolved.

If you or a friend can't make this work then you may need to call in a plumber to get them to fix this... ;)

Let us know more details...

MARK

Hi TOM..was writing while you were again!! No problem Mark! Do you really think he has a bad seal? Waxseals aren't designed to hold head pressure from a back up. I would be looking for a stack cleanout or the house cleanout to snake from. And your thoughts? Regards Tom

massplumber2008 · Jul 21, 2009, 05:28 AM

Hey Tom... just saw your addendum to my post.

If you read Jennifer's post it states that the toilet is leaking from under the toilet when bathtub drains... all I suggested was replacing the wax gasket after all this is done, but not a bad idea to wait and see if it is even needed.

And if you reread my post you can see that I recommended finding the main cleanout much like you did... ;)

Just responding to your question...

MARK