My toilets won't flush properly

Quit going to the bathroom.

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Update?

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

Again, assuming you have a septic tank. The problem seems to lie between your downstairs commode and the end of the leach field. You can start at either end. For example, RotoRooter or septic tank cleanout.

As I noted earlier, if it is the tank, and it is packed full, likely you may have to have your drainfield either lengthed or replaced.

Ken S. maybe I'm missing something. I'm interested in why you suggest the problem is in the septic system is all other wastewater sources in the home appear to be draining properly? Only the two toliets appear to have the slow drainage problem.

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See Wendy's comments above. Party apparently doesn't know when the tank was last pumped. As I see it, if it is full of gunk, may be a wad under the incoming inlet. Water can bypass it, but solids can't. How much is it going to cost to locate the tank, take off the cover and measure?

I typically don't do this type of work. Friend called. They had a cabin in which the commode wouldn't flush properly. They had had a tank put in, but never got around to putting on a lid. Just boards over it. Problem quickly became apparently. The inlet is suspose to be higher than the outlet. It was reversed. Top of walls were fairly level so settling didn't seem to be the problem. We had to manually lower the outlet. Once we did it worked fine.

I got a chukle out of your friends situation...putting septic tanks in backwards is more common than you think!

A clogged inlet baffle shouldn't have any effect on how well a toliet flushes down solids. There typically is many feet of empty sewer pipe between the toliet P-trap and the inlet baffle. The solids and water should flush fine because of this empty pipe volume....unless, of course, solids have backed up from the inlet baffle into the home's sewer pipe and all the way back to the toliet! I can't imagine! You'd think if this was the case, liquids would move slowly down the drain as well.

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This is the government the Founding Fathers warned us about.....

I don't know. Sinks and tubs drain fairly slowly. Commodes flush in several gallons within a matter of seconds. If they have a washing machine I'm wondering how well its discharge hose works. Likely RotoRooter time.

So what you all are implying is that you can't have a royal flush if you have a full house?

Thank you for the chuckel I needed it!!!!

Hey Cabin Fever, what would be the outcome if a vent stack was never installed? Would toilets flush at all? Would washing machine water drain at all? Or just very poorly?

I agree with Cabin Fever. It does not sound like a septic tank problem to me.

I would try pouring a bucket of water into the toilet as someone else suggested above. This is the simplest and cheapest test to perform.

If this doesn't work, then I would pull one of the toilets, check it out and run a snake down the drain. I would also determine if the two toilets are sharing a common drain pipe. If none of that works, give us an update and I'll give you some more suggestions.

The pipes would drain....but slowly and likely 'gurgle.' The draining wastewater creates a vacuum that has to be released...kinda like tipping a full pop bottle upside down. Every once and a while air has to enter the bottle to allow more liquid to drain out. The liquid in same bottle will flow out much faster if you tip the bottle on its side which allows air into the bottle at the same rate that water is flowing out.

The other problem with no vent stack is sewer gas pressure. If the pressure is high enough, there is the potential for this gas to "push" its way thru a drain trap and get into the home.

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This is the government the Founding Fathers warned us about.....

Oh my.... I beleive that is my problem. Previous owners did alot of the plumbing, electric
, etc. I have been on the roof and have only seen the vent pipe from the propane furnace. When I do dishes and use the washing machine at the same time water backs up in the sink, gurgling, blub, blub ,blub... water doesn't properly drain out of the drain hose to the washing machine, sometimes find a puddle on the laundry room floor. And, last but not least after using the washer for a couple of loads, you notice a smell . A little like sulphur. Yuck.
Our one toilet never flushed well. I cleaned the holes under the rim, that helped. Well, looks like another project to get on.....probably have to hire a plumber. Gosh I hate putting a hole in a brand new roof!

I'm not a plumber or a septic guy, but I know what happens here, and we have the same problem if our septic tank isn't pumped out once a year. If you've never had your septic tank pumped out, I'd start there.

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Before you put a hole in the roof you might want to just add an air admittance valve (I didn't know what it was called until now). Its a check valve on a pipe which is higher than any other fixture.

I found this site with google: http://www.plumbingsupply.com/autovent.html

Big ones ain't cheap but could beat cutting up your roof.

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Thankyou watcher! I will check it out. Mary.

Also, at places like Lowes and such, they make stuff that you can pour into the commodes that "eats" the buildup and helps to clear the piping. Beneficial bacteria type stuff, think the company name is Roebic? Recommended for septic tanks.

Usually its you pour a dose in and flush once, then let it sit in the pipes overnight. Two levels, I think you do the upper commode first, then do the lower level one. And, either the same stuff or slightly different for sinks & showers......think those are actually called "soap digesters".

Seems to help our system. Good luck!

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