bubbles and a clog?

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annietaytay

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Hi everyone. We just had a bathroom remodel where they put in a new shower, new sinks, new toilet. Well, yesterday I was in the shower and I could hear bubbles coming up out of the toilet. I watched it for a little while, just got worse, then the shower suddenly started plugging up. I thought maybe there was some hair down it, so I used the plunger, but that just made things worse. There wasn't any nasty looking water, but there was a little cloudy water, like soapy water that came back up. You could hear the bubbles coming up in the sink also. We stopped the water and waited, it eventually went down, like maybe 20 minutes later. Then we waited and used the water later that evening and it went down okay. I can hear the bubbles in the drain under the house whenever water goes down the sink or after flushing the toilet but it hasn't backed up yet. I am afraid to use the washing machine though, I don't want that water all over my bathroom. Is there something I can do on my own, without a professional? I have my own well, my own septic tank, live on a hill. I'm way out in the country, 100 miles from any repair people, I hate to think of the cost it would be to get someone out here. I do know the septic tank hasn't been pumped since I've lived here the last 10 years. Thanks for any advice.:(:)
 

SewerRatz

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Sounds like you have a blockage between the house and the septic tank. Which would involve using a large power rodder to clear the blockage. In that case I would recommend calling a pro that deals with septic tanks as well as rodding. I could not in the name of your safety recommend you try to power rod you sewer yourself. The machine needed is heavy and dangerous to us to an untrained person. People have lost limbs and or life using these machines.
 

Gary Swart

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would just add to SewerRatz's comment. Do not use caustic chemical drain cleaners. These will not work and will create a hazard for the plumber that you will eventually have to call in.
 

SewerRatz

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would just add to SewerRatz's comment. Do not use caustic chemical drain cleaners. These will not work and will create a hazard for the plumber that you will eventually have to call in.


Good catch Garry. I was thinking that after I submitted my post but had to run out real fast.
 

annietaytay

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Thanks so much for the advice. I used draino last night, I won't do it again, that's for sure. It didn't help anyways. This house is over 50 years old, my grandparents built it themselves. Well, we crawled under the house because my father decided to run the washer anyways and see what happened since the kitchen sink wasn't backing up like the others. Well, that didn't go so well. The water from the washer that was draining, it went directly into the bottom of the shower. Luckily I caught it before it got out of there onto the floor. Eventually, after about 30 minutes, all of the water went down the drain, including all of the water that was in the toilet bowl. Weird.:eek: Oh well, I guess I'm waiting until Monday for someone to come out and fix it. Thanks for your help. Oh, and under the house, you could tell where the blockage was because the pipes were hot from the water running through them, but where they came together into one big pipe, that big pipe was cold.
 
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