Toilet problem

[Pique318]

Hi,
hoping a plumber on here can cast some light on this issue we're having with the ensuite plumbing.

The main thing is that this is a small room (about 1m x 4m) and the toilet does not work very well.
It flushes pretty averagely but gets blocked too easily compared to the other loo in the main bathroom. It also stinks (no jokes please) but even when not used regularly, it stinks and the water seems to get a layer of 'scum' on the top.

But the 'coup de grace' was the other day when my wife poured some shampoo down it to try to freshen it up as a last resort. The result was that when the loo was flushed, suds came out the overflow of the wash basin !!

Can someone explain what the hell happened ? Should the entry point for the waste from the sink & shower not be above that of the loo where it enters the soil stack ?
Is the toilet probably blocked in the soil stack or could it be a kink in the trap ? Where could I investigate without having to call for re-enforcements ?

Thanks in Advance.
PK

 

[truthseeker]

there could be concrete or some other debris in the drain.

When I moved into an apartment neither toilet flushed too well and a friend adjusted something in the cistern to allow a stronger flow of flush water, worked great.

However the ensuite was always sluggish. It would block very easily.

It eventually blocked on xmas eve last year (what a day to block!!), and mr truthseeker stood over it with a plunger and plunged it til his arms nearly dropped off, there was water everywhere, we'd already tried the drain cleaners, poured buckets of water from a height etc...
Suddenly there was a big sucking sound, closely followed by a horrible smell of sewerage out of the kitchen sink, the bath, the bathroom sink and toilet, the ensuite sink and toilet and the shower, and the toilet that had been plunged to within an inch of its life suddenly cleared and had never been sluggish or blocked up since.

I can only assume that the ferocity with which mr truthseeker was plunging dislodged whatever the blockage was in the pipes.

The other methods we tried before the ferocious plunging were:
Hanger down the toilet round the U bend
Drain cleaner from supermarket
Hot water and bleach
Pouring water from a bucket from a height

 

[davidoco]

This is a common problem when architects/designers/builders stick in a utility room toilet or toilet under the stairs. If you want to check you will find from your main bathroom there is a black stack outside with an air vent on top. You main bathroom feeds into that and the air vent is vital to the proper functioning of the flush.

For your spare toilet you should notice that there is no vent stack and that the outlet just goes underground and into the sewer pipe somewhere outside.

If the above is the case your only hope is to kick up a fuss with the builder shouting about Homebond and that it doesn’t conform etc etc. Visit any booksellers to have a look at the Homebond book and they show the ins and outs of pipe connections.

If your lucky you will have a access point outside from which you can rod the underground pipes as you may have a problem as described by truthseeker. Please go down to Woodies or somewhere and get a 20 euro pack of rods and a round plugging device as a broken hanger or other item down there will only add to your woes.

 

[Pique318]

There's one stack with 2 x 6" feeds into it, one from the main bathroom and one from the ensuite. Also coming into the stack from the ensuite are 2 x 2" or so feeds (from sink and shower I presume).

The soil feed into the stack from the ensuite is a horizontal length of 2-3 feet whereas coming from the main bathroom is probably only half that.

I suppose I could open that 3' length and have a peek to see if there's any plaster or concrete stuck in it and then look underground. but I reckon it's somewhere near the loo as the bowl fills up with water when flushing before draining away (slowly).

 

[millennium]

hi,
where the black 4" waste pipe goes into the ground there is/should be an aj (with a black lid,square or round),remove same lid and chances are there is an accumulation of t-roll etc...(not pretty viewing)flush this away with garden hose or else fill bath,sinks and empty all together flushing the toilets also wouldn't do any harm at the same time,this should resolve your problem,if not, invest in the chimney rods and rod!
good luck!

 

[davidoco]

There's one stack with 2 x 6" feeds into it, one from the main bathroom and one from the ensuite. Also coming into the stack from the ensuite are 2 x 2" or so feeds (from sink and shower I presume).

The soil feed into the stack from the ensuite is a horizontal length of 2-3 feet whereas coming from the main bathroom is probably only half that.

I suppose I could open that 3' length and have a peek to see if there's any plaster or concrete stuck in it and then look underground. but I reckon it's somewhere near the loo as the bowl fills up with water when flushing before draining away (slowly).

That sounds good. No problem with venting then. You must have a blockage in that section going to the toilet or at the toilet outlet. You can get a flexible rodding wire that you should work from the toilet. Also if you can seperate the stack work from there.

Your main toilet if entering the stack higher up than the smaller bathroom may be breaking the seal on the smaller toilet hence the smells. Since you have a 3' length (if rodding the toilet doesn't solve it) you could fit a new trap on it to try and keep the seal intact.

 

[masterK]

I had a similar problem a while back with our understairs toilet. Even though the sink and toilet had seperate pipes there was a blockage at the point they met causing water from one to come up the other. Fortunately the point they met and the blockage were directly underneat a manhole out the back. Once I opened the manhole I was able to remove the blockage and all has been well since.