[Hundalei]

My toilet is not flushing, the water from the tank just comes straight back up in the bowl. It is - 30C here today so a frozen drain is an option. The shower drain which is only a couple feet from the toilet is draining fine, so the main drain is not backed up. The water line is not frozen either so it has to be something in the toilet. We have tried pouring kettles full of boiling water down the bowl, and have had a heater & a hair dryer running for 12 hours aimed straight at the base of the toilet. Nothing. I have also tried snaking it, although I'm not sure I was actually getting it where I wanted it to go. We live in a cabin, no basement so the drain for the toilet is probably somewhat exposed, but getting under the cabin to get a heater right at it is impossible. Any suggestions would be more than welcomed. Thanks!

[massplumber2008]

Hi Hundalai:

What happened to the boiling water when you poured it?

Did you use a closet auger to try to clear the blockage (see image below)? If not, you could try to use this tool (available at all home improvement stores) and see if that helps clear the toilet/drain line.

Did you check the toilet vent or the main vent stack out the roof to see if it was frozen over? This is also very rare but can happen.

Rare for the toilet drain itself to freeze as there is no TRAP below the floor holding water, but I guess it could happen if the pipe was backpitched or something like that?

Otherwise, if you really do suspect a frozen drain line and it is "impossible" to get to the drain pipes underneath I would suggest that you consider removing the toilet and working the frozen drain from inside the bathroom... ;)

Once the toilet is off you will be able to tell for sure exactly what is happening.

Shut the water supply and disconnect the water supply tube. Drain the toilet tank and the toilet bowl of any water... a wet/dry vac. Does great here. Then remove the toilet and place it on some plastic sheeting away from the work space.

If in fact the drain is frozen, take a bucket and pour hot water into the toilet drain. Pour the water into the drain pipe and then when it is cooled use the wet/dry vac. To suck that water up and then pour more hot water... repeat until freeze is cleared... :) That make sense?

Curious one here. Keep me posted... OK?

MARK

[Hundalei]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the quick reply. When we poured in the boiling water it just filled up the bowl, we even tried pouring in by the bucket to try & force it clear, but to no avail. Also tried salt water. The snake I used was a closet auger, I am going to give it another shot, and also try putting a space heater in the attic crawlspace by the stack just to see if it will do anything. If that doesn't do it, I will try taking the toilet off as suggested, although that will have to wait for tomorrow, unfortunately. Good to know that there is not a trap under the floor. I will let you know what goes on. Thanks again!


Hi Mark - well problem is fixed now. It was definitely a frozen toilet drain. I guess with the weather maybe the building has shifted & caused the drain to backpitch, or perhaps sewer vapours are collecting, condensing & freezing. The freeze up occurred when we were away for a few days, so there was no regular flushing to keep it from freezing.

FYI - when I pulled the toilet up & off , the water level in the drain was right up to the flange/floor level. I sucked it out with the wet/dry vac & then poured in a kettle of boiling water, sucked it out, put in another kettle, and I could hear the ice popping clear. 3 Kettles and it was all gone. Only new part needed was a wax seal. Put down the new one after scraping away the old one - we had melted it while trying to heat the bowl itself.

Thanks again for the advice! So happy to be flushing!

[massplumber2008]

Thank you for updating me on this. Glad it's all fixed!

MARK