DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Toilet wont drain

9K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  chazlew 
#1 ·
Hello, new to the site. I am having trouble getting my toilet to drain in my basement bathroom.

Went down to bathroom to notice kids had't flushed toilet, flushed toilet and would not drain, thought it was plugged so plunged it and it drained very very slowly, tried plunging a few more times and same results.

Thought kids had put something down toilet so I removed toilet and snaked it and found nothing. While toilet was off snaked that drain and went in no problem. Dumped 5 gallons of water down that drain and had no problems.

Put toilet back on with new wax seal, tried flushing again same problem. Flushed toilet again and dumped water in at same with no draining till it just about ran over the top of toilet and then it drained like it was suppose to. But I noticed when it drained the toilet made like a gargle sound when emptied. Tried flushing with adding water with same result everytime.

Tried flushing the toilet again without adding extra water same problem, drained very slowly.

Don't know what else to try.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Possibly mineral buildup, take a piece of coathanger and clean all the little holes under the rim, then shop vac all the water out of the bowl pour a half gallon of CLR in the bowl let it sit 24 hours. Check the water level in the tank and make sure the flapper is opening all the way. By the way what size snake and cutter did you use? how far did you cable? Or plan B put a new toilet in.
 
#3 ·
It's probably as you suspected, "kids put something in there". When you augured the toilet, the auger most likely went past the debris in the trap. A toy, makeup container, toothbrush, etc. may be stuck in the trap. It flips one way or another and flushes fine one time but not the next.

Pull the toilet again and auger it from the bottom. When I say auger I mean closet auger. I don't mean snake.

This is what it looks like. But again, do it the opposite direction by pulling the toilet, laying it on it's side, and auger from the bottom up. That way if there's something substantial in there you don't push it into the main line.

http://www.ehwms.com/images/Plumbing/Water%20Closets/Closet%20Auger.jpg

If that doesn't work.. as plumberinlaw mentioned, might just be time for a new toilet.
 
#5 ·
Good water flow coming out of the bowl. Water level is coming up to the proper level. flapper opens up properly. Not sure what size the auger was, its a moen brand. When I had the toilet off I had the auger through the toilet and could pull on both ends and could feel no restriction.
 
#11 ·
When you remove the toilet again, maybe put it on a couple of blocks in the yard and try pouring water into the bowl. If it drains properly, install the tank and fill the tank to the normal level and flush. If the toilet always flushes properly this way, it would seem there's a problem in the drain.

BTW, if the slow flushing when installed occurs after a #2, then look for a pencil or pen stuck in the toilet.

HRG
 
#12 ·
Fixed the problem today. Bought a bunch of supplies to auger everything out and a light went on in my head. Decided to check septic tank before taking toilet off again, tank is right full just about to and just about to start backing up into basement. Checked sewer pump breaker and breaker is blown. Flip breaker and moter just hums, thought it was ceased but decided to take pump apart. Found the culprit a kids socks had jammed the pump.

Put pump back together flipped switch and started pumping, flushed toilet everything worked great.

THANKS for all the help much appreciated.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top