[arcticranger]

Trying to diagnose this: my toilet flushes fully about half the time and the rest it tries and fails. At times I see the water level much higher than normal. I also hear gurgling noises when I run bathroom sink. I know there are some smallish items like a toothpaste cap that fell down the sink drain. Does this sound like a septic issue or something in the interior plumbing?

Oops forgot to add that over the summer there were a lot of "sweating" at base of the toilet, it caused disgusting mold on the floor. It stopped with the cold weather. It's a 3yo Kohler toilet.

 

[jeffnc]

Sounds like a partial clog in the toilet, but hard to know from here. Often a very vigorous plunging with a good plunger (not those terra cotta colored ones) will clear it up.

For your sink drain, simply take apart the trap under the sink and clear out anything that's trapped in there. Anything that didn't get trapped there - there's a good chance it got flushed out.

 

[de-nagorg]

I once had similar flushing problems.

Wound up using a toilet snake, and pulled out a RAT-TAIL comb.

Get one and see what you get.

You stated carelessness on some users part, letting a toothpaste cap get into the sink, so anything goes as to what got into the toilet.

ED

 

[Chris616]

Flushing/draining problems in two fixtures at the same time is a clue that there may be an issue with the common vent that probably services all the fixtures in the bathroom. If your username has any connection to your location, cold weather can cause frost closure of the vent pipe that typically exits through the roof.

 

[Thom Paine]

After augering the commode, cleaning the basin trap ... then
clean the vent.
If the gurgling stays or returns,..
pump out the septic tank; watch/check, over time, the leach field for saturation.

It's probably the tank but you can eliminate the easy investigation yourself.

 

[FM3]

Trying to diagnose this: my toilet flushes fully about half the time and the rest it tries and fails. At times I see the water level much higher than normal.

When I've had similar, often just a few mild plunges with a plunger clears it up. Try not to go too crazy with toilet plunging since if the toilet uses a wax ring it can damage it.

Combine that with a sink that has problems, and best guess is it's a partial clog in the main pipe after where they both connect to that main pipe. Where in the main pipe, or in the septic itself since the septic is also down the line from the toilet and sink connections, who knows. Find some cleanouts for the main line and see if waste/water flows through that section fine when flushing or running the sink water. If not, it's clogged somewhere before there.

Avoid putting Draino and similar chemicals down pipes. Plenty of warnings about how they may not be a good idea.

I assume the toilet water level higher than normal means it does that after (trying to) flush and that it's not just filling up higher than normal randomly out of nowhere.

edit: I wrote part of that poorly, but I'll leave it in. If the sink only gurgles but never backs up, (I'd run the faucet when the toilet is backed up to see if the sink is then also backed up), then the sink is apparently draining fine, and a potential clog in the main line is before where the sink pipe connects to it.

 

[DrSparks1]

Trying to diagnose this: my toilet flushes fully about half the time and the rest it tries and fails. At times I see the water level much higher than normal. I also hear gurgling noises when I run bathroom sink. I know there are some smallish items like a toothpaste cap that fell down the sink drain. Does this sound like a septic issue or something in the interior plumbing?

Oops forgot to add that over the summer there were a lot of "sweating" at base of the toilet, it caused disgusting mold on the floor. It stopped with the cold weather. It's a 3yo Kohler toilet.

It's most likely a clogged vent. Check the roof and see if it's frozen or a bird built a nest in your vent terminal.

Also, the condensation on the base of the toilet is a common problem. It's because the bowl fills with cold water and the hot moist air (especially if you have a shower) is condensing on the surface. A good quality, high CFM exhaust fan will help a lot. You could also change your toilet fill line over to the hot water line.

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