[deniselawes]

We have a septic tank and our toilets and showers gurgle and air bubbles come up through the drains. We have had many broken pipes lately and I am not sure if that has any relevance on this problem. Our septic tanks had to be fixed and drained a year ago. We have been having major respiratory problems in our house and my five year old and three year old have been hospitalized for pnemonia since we moved in to this house. The adults here get sick often and nausea is fairly common. Do you think we could have been getting sick from gases this past year?

[speedball1]

Let me explain about bubbles and gurgles. "Bubbles" and "Gurgles". They both indicate that something is going on in your drainage system.
A "bubble" indicates a clogged line while a "gurgle" indicates a blocked vent. Let me explain. When you flush the discharge drains down the pipe until it hits a partial clog. Then it rebounds back sending a "bubble" of air ahead of it. When you flush a toilet or drain a bathtub a suction is created by the water rushing down the pipe. This suction is relieved by a open pipe that runs to the outside called a vent. When a vent's stopped up the suction has to relieve itself somewhere, in this case your toilet. The noise you hear is the air being pulled through the trap by suction, (gurgle).
Rule of thumb! Bubbles= drainage clog, while Gurgles = a blocked vent or poor venting.
You say that you have both. Can you give mnre details?

The adults here get sick often and nausea is fairly common. Do you think we could have been getting sick from gases this past year?

The bubbles are sewer gas but to really get the full effect you would have to have a open vent discharging sewer gas in your house. Could you have a " Chinese Dry Wall problem? What do you think? Let me know, Tom