Help! Diagnose my toilet, please.

[Kermit power]

Morning All,

We've recently had a new toilet put in downstairs, and it's behaving oddly.

Originally, I'd assumed it was just a normal blockage caused by too much toilet paper, as you tend to get with small kids, but now I'm not so sure.

1. The toilet, if left to its own devices, does drain out, but does so slowly, and is continuing to drain to a point well below its normal point.

2. I got a bit of old hosepipe to try rodding round the bend. This had no significant effect in terms of shifting any blockage.

3. If, however, I blow down the hose, it instantly drains the water as normal, sucking air in through the hose as it goes.

4. The above repeats consistently. I'd initially assumed the problem was fixed, but it's not.

Anyone got any ideas?

Next door are also having work done, which is including work on the drains yesterday. Could they have messed something up? The upstairs toilet is working fine.

I can call the builder back on Monday, but I'd rather not have the kids flooding the place in the meantime!

[TooLateForAName]

I think that you should have a vent somewhere which has not been installed. How does the toilet connect to the drain pipes?


(But I'm no plumber)


I'm sure that one of the experts will be along with pics and details shortly

[Kermit power]

TooLateForAName said:

I think that you should have a vent somewhere which has not been installed. How does the toilet connect to the drain pipes?


(But I'm no plumber)


I'm sure that one of the experts will be along with pics and details shortly

I don't think it's a vent which hasn't been installed, as it had been working fine until yesterday, which is coincidentally when next door's builders were working on the drains. I wonder therefore if this vent is far enough down the system for them to have inadvertently blocked it?

[robinhood21]

If there was no vent, I would expect the flushed water to pull the water out of the pan so I doubt that to be the problem. You say the upstairs toilet is working OK; is it connected to the same soil-pipe/outlet?

[dickymint]

Maybe it's a syphon cistern and the "flap valve" has gone faulty? Can you describe the problem in more detail?

[Dogwatch]

Kermit power said:

1. The toilet, if left to its own devices, does drain out, but does so slowly, and is continuing to drain to a point well below its normal point.

3. If, however, I blow down the hose, it instantly drains the water as normal, sucking air in through the hose as it goes.

Next door are also having work done, which is including work on the drains yesterday. Could they have messed something up? The upstairs toilet is working fine.

I can call the builder back on Monday, but I'd rather not have the kids flooding the place in the meantime!

As suggested, it looks as if the builders have blocked up an air vent somewhere in the soil pipework. The draining water is creating a vacuum which the air being sucked down the hose is filling. Alternatively there never was a vent where there should have been and the recent works have brought it to light due to re-routing the soil pipes.

[eps]

Toilet fine (when was it put in? circa)

Building work started next door.

Toilet not fine.

This would point to them doing something which is affecting your drains.

I would go round and enquire, i.e. nicely and talk to the neighbours and possibly them + builders asap. To work out where the issue could be. If they think their stuff works fine and then cover it all up you will then have to pay or get them to agree to pay to dig it all up again.. Better to get it sorted out now rather than later. Either they've made a mess of it, or your's was incorrectly installed in the first place.. Either way get it sorted or it could blight your life for weeks/months/years.. = no fun and a completely avoidable waste of time.

Ideally you need to work out where your toilet goes to... Lift manhole cover and check. Then work out where it goes to from there..
Then work out how your neighbours toilet connects to or affects this.. i.e. where do they join, if they indeed do.. Draw a diagram to work out the flow direction..

[Kermit power]

eps said:

Toilet fine (when was it put in? circa)

Building work started next door.

Toilet not fine.

This would point to them doing something which is affecting your drains.

I would go round and enquire, i.e. nicely and talk to the neighbours and possibly them + builders asap. To work out where the issue could be. If they think their stuff works fine and then cover it all up you will then have to pay or get them to agree to pay to dig it all up again.. Better to get it sorted out now rather than later. Either they've made a mess of it, or your's was incorrectly installed in the first place.. Either way get it sorted or it could blight your life for weeks/months/years.. = no fun and a completely avoidable waste of time.

Ideally you need to work out where your toilet goes to... Lift manhole cover and check. Then work out where it goes to from there..
Then work out how your neighbours toilet connects to or affects this.. i.e. where do they join, if they indeed do.. Draw a diagram to work out the flow direction..

I think that's about the sum of it. It was only put in last month, and had been working absolutely fine up to Friday.

[Busamav]

If they are working on the drains down hill of your property , it is likely they have put a bung in it to block it , stopping your sh 1t filling the trench .