[oh'mike]

Originally Posted by ben's plumbing

.....seen objects floating in back where it exits causing intermittent problems....

That's a fact!

The funniest one was a round flat disk--the cover from a box of diaper wipes-

It lodged in the J bend and would flip around like a valve--some times blocking the trap and other times allowing the toilet to work---

Perfect size---

[ben's plumbing]

we have that beat.....one of my techs called me and said i had to see this...the called was toilet flushing intermittent....went to house tech had pot off told me to look inside Idid false teeth covered in you know what...

[oh'mike]

Yep--that one takes the cake.

[DexterII]

Reminds me of this preacher who was notoriously long winded. Shows up one Sunday with an extremely short sermon, so the service is letting out 15 minutes early, and one of the elders asked him what what going on. The preacher explains that he got new false teeth and they hurt when he talks. Next Sunday, a bit longer, but still short, so the elder asks him if it still hurts to talk. "Yup, but it's getting better". The next Sunday, the preacher goes on and on and on, and the service runs two hours longer than normal. The elder approaches the preacher after the service and explains that he's glad that the preacher is feeling better, but he shouldn't have tried to make up the past couple of weeks worth all at one time. Preacher replies "no, that's not it. I picked up my wife's false teeth by mistake, and couldn;t stop talking."

Okay, I'm leaving now. The flank steak is about done, so time to eat!

[Bud Cline]

we have that beat.....one of my techs called me and said i had to see this...the called was toilet flushing intermittent....went to house tech had pot off told me to look inside Idid false teeth covered in you know what...

Sounds like someone had their butt chewed one too many times.

[KE2KB]

Hey guys;
Thanks for all of your input.
Now, let me answer the questions about my situation:

We have city sewer system.

The toilet in question is on the 2nd floor. There is another bath in the basement. There is nothing backing up in the basement, so I would think a slow main sewer line would have it backing up down there.

The bathroom is in the front of the house, so there is just a short section of pipe from the toilet (must be at least two bends) to the stack, then from the bottom of the stack to the street is about 40ft.

We did have a clogged main line once, many years ago, and there was water backing up in the basement toilet, and bathtub when the upstairs was flushed. But we had a professional roto-rooter and it hasn't been a problem since.
Also, the original plumbing had a house trap in the main line, in the basement, but that was removed about ten years ago and now have only the single plug clean-out in the basement (none outside the house).

I have to look at the water level in the tank. I did look right after the suggestion was posted here, and it was full to within 1/2" of the top of the overflow pipe. But I don't know for sure if it is filling every time. I replaced the fill system a couple of years ago, so I believe it is still OK.

When I flush the toilet now, the jets in the bowl appear to be flowing well.
It has been flushing every time now since I augered it 3x the night it fouled up.

I suppose that there could be something lodged in the trap. We have a 14yr old girl living in the house, and she does all sorts of things in the bathroom, and there is always a lot of stuff on the back of the toilet. Who knows what could have fallen in there...

I know that some members of the family use too much paper. We are using the 1-ply now, but it is possible that too much paper combined with an incomplete fill of the tank would leave some of the paper lodged in the pipes, causing a backup the next time it is flushed.
There have been instances where the toilet does not appear to have anything besides water in the bowl, and the flush brings the level up to the top. I guess that could be indicative of something fouling the pipes further down.

The supply plumbing is copper and brass. No iron pipe at all. The pressure into the toilet appears to be fine.

I don't think I am going to pull the toilet myself. I am not too good with the messy stuff. OK with supply plumbing, and cleaning a drain or replacing a trap, but with the toilet, and old plumbing, I'm afraid I'm inviting Mr. Murphy into the house, so I'll get a pro for that job.
That said, I'm not sure that a pro would even bother to test the line when replacing a toilet. Some of them just assume it's the toilet, and plop down a new one, say you're good to go. Then a few months later the problem pops up again...
So if we have to get the pro, I am going to insist that he roto the line before putting down a new toilet, and to check/clean the vent pipe.

I could get access to the vent pipe myself, but I have to remove a pane of glass in one of the attic dormer windows. The window itself cannot be opened. I think I can get the glass out, then bring up the snake, and then the garden hose to flush it out.
I don't have a ladder long enough to reach the vent from the ground.

We are going to monitor the situation closely, and try to determine what events lead up to the failure to flush.
My intuition tells me that in a situation like this one, haste does make waste, and we need to collect as much data as possible before spending large amounts of cash for inspection or new fixtures.
I would love to have a video of the plumbing system though. Maybe I will inquire about that first. It might shed light on a whole lot of things we're not even covering yet.

Thanks again for all of your help on this.

FW

[oh'mike]

Your new details help---problem is likely--toilet clogged--pipe from toilet to stack clogged---or vent clogged--

You are right if main were the problem--the lower level would be hit first---

I suspect the toilet---

[KE2KB]

I've got another question:
We have at least two vent pipes on the roof that I know of.
One is directly above the stack (the one outside the attic window I mentioned in my last post), and the second one is towards the back of the house.

We have a laundry room in the back of the basement, and there is a vent pipe leading up from the washtub drain line. This drain line also carries the water from the kitchen sink.

Looking at the stack in the basement, I see the large pipe from the upstairs toilet, and a smaller pipe going into it, which I assume comes from the upstairs bathroom basin and bathtub (I understand that the toilet must have a separate line).

There is also a vent pipe leading from the drain line for the basement bathroom tub and sink. This one turns up the wall next to where the main stack goes up.

So, I am unsure as to what the vent pipe I see just outside the attic window is connected to. Is that the one from the basement tub & sink, and also connected to the upstairs tub & sink?
I would think that the toilet must have its own vent pipe, completely separate from the tub & sink vents.

The vent pipe coming out the roof at the back of the house looks like a larger diameter than the one in the front. I can see the pipe in the attic.
So I thought this was the main vent for the toilets, but if so, why is it in the back of the house when the toilets are in the front?

I will try to take some photos and post here.

FW

[oh'mike]

Some time the vents are poke out the roof in back simply to hide them from the street---Pictures will help--