Downstairs toilet backs up from time to time (partial clog?)

[toilet_backed]

About a week ago someone in my house used liquid plumber on a perpetually clogged drain in our bathtub upstairs. It fixed the clog. A few days after that, someone flushed the upstairs toilet and suddenly the downstairs toilet started making a bubbling "glug glug" noise, air bubbles. I soon discovered the downstairs toilet was now clogged but the upstairs was all clear.

I plunged the downstairs toilet until it became unclogged and everything was fine. But about a day later someone flushed the toilet and all of the waste from the upstairs flush quickly backed up into the downstairs toilet and it began to overflow. I quickly unclogged the toilet and again, and again the line was free.

Now, every 1-2 days, the glugging sound returns and the downstairs toilet needs to immediately be "unclogged" or a single flush or shower will overflow the bottom toilet. I tried a snake and it either hit the blockage or the snake didn't hit anything, it's hard to tell, but it seems like this is some kind of partial clog in the drain that probably builds up solids like toilet paper or whatever over a period of a day or two and then becomes clogged again. It's the only thing I can think of. Perhaps the clog that was fixed in the upstairs shower broke loose and went further down the line?

All I know is that we're moving in a few months and I do not want to spend money on a plumber to fix this problem if I can fix it myself. I know it's not advised, but would trying liquid plumber in the downstairs toilet be good as a last resort? or perhaps even in the upstairs tub again to work its way down the drain?

Any thoughts on what this sounds like and how I can fix it? I realize it could be a venting issue but then it seems mighty suspiciously timed with the fixing of the other long-term clog in the tub. Considering I never had any problems like this with the downstairs toilet in a decade I'd be mighty surprised.

Thanks.

 

[WJcandee]

It is not a venting issue.

This is most likely a clog in your drain/waste plumbing branch that serves that part of the residence, at a point beyond where the downstairs toilet connects. Or your main line after that.

Are you on a septic system or a sewer, because this could be a septic system issue as well, but much more likely to be a clog, perhaps even one that has now shifted from where it was (in the line upstairs) to where it is now (in the line downstairs past the downstairs toilet).

I would call a good plumber with a real professional snake, not a "rooter guy", to diagnose and clear the probable clog.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[toilet_backed]

We have septic but the septic tank was pumped months ago and we had a new field put in and a new septic alarm that's always worked quite well, so it's not the septic.

I was thinking it's a situation similar to what you mentioned, a clog moving down the line. Was hoping there was a way to clear the clog without a professional but I understand if that's not the case. Thanks.

 

[WJcandee]

Liquid drain cleaner isn't going to help this situation.

On simple stuff, I have had a few good experiences with the licensed and insured $49.99 Sewer and Drain guys on Long Island, but now there are several of those and I'm sure they are not all of the same quality, nor is it clear that the other ones are licensed and/or insured. (Mine was www.4999sewer.com ) I checked and they don't seem to do Jersey. For anything potentially-challenging, I call the expensive bonded, licensed plumber that I use, because I know they are going to do the job meticulously, thoroughly, and properly the first time, will clean up after themselves, will know what to do and not do so as not to put the snake through the pipe, and will check to make sure they didn't once the clog is freed, and have insurance to cover any damage if something goes sideways. For really-big outdoor stuff, I call Ranger Sewer in Suffolk for water-jetting. They are excellent.

None of this helps you find a specific person in Jersey, though, unfortunately.

Our experience is that the "Rooter" franchises have many stories where they typically either try to upsell additional services, or discover imaginary problems that purportedly-require expensive digging. If you can find someone recommended on Angie's List or whatever, that might be the best way to start if your neighbors, friends, etc., don't have a solid recommendation. If the professional comes in and tells you it's anything more than a snakeable clog (which is what it sounds at first blush like it probably is), and suggests extra work, ignore all the extras and just press to get the clog freed and then see where you are. If anyone mentions digging, get on the phone to the next company you were going to call.

 

[toilet_backed]

Well we've had a plumber we've used who is good, but I was just wondering if it was something to be done myself with a better snake or something was my point. As I said we're moving soon and it's probably going to be a few hundred to fix this now.

 

[DonL]

Well we've had a plumber we've used who is good, but I was just wondering if it was something to be done myself with a better snake or something was my point. As I said we're moving soon and it's probably going to be a few hundred to fix this now.

No one on Terry's forum can pull a answer out of their ass for the question that you ask.

Sorry, I tell it like it is.

Your snake is to small...

 

[Jadnashua]

Improper use of a snake can be quite dangerous - tear a finger off, break an arm or wrist, etc. While it isn't all that hard, it does take a bit of skill and practice to master. Certainly, it doesn't happen all of the time.

Note, this could also happen if the drainage line is not properly sloped, or has sunk, a possibility if when they redid things, they did not backfill and tamp things properly.

 

[Terry]

It does sound like a main line of the home. You have a blockage downstream of the downstairs toilet, and it's blocked beyond where the upstairs drops in. That blockage will always overflow the lower toilet when enough water has been dumped from upstairs.
It will have to be fixed, or the damage to the home will be more than the small repair. I think it's time to bite the bullit on this.