Blumengarten
Member
Hi guys,
My mum's toilet backs up and overflows quite frequently. I'd thought for a long time it was her aide disposing of sanitary products there, but the aide left and it's been me taking care of mum so I know that nothing is going into the toilet that isn't supposed to be there.
My mum had the bathroom redone about 15 years ago. The connections are visible in the garage. The shower drain has a U curve, then goes horizontally across the garage ceiling about 4 feet where it attaches to the toilet drain. There is a T connection to the toilet drain and then it extends 2-1/2 feet to the wall, where it angles down at about a 45° angle to the pipe that takes it to the sewer. The section of pipe from the shower drain to toilet drain is PVC, about 2-1/2 inches diameter, then the section from the toilet to the wall is about 3-1/2" in diameter.
My mum did not have a licensed plumber install the toilet. It is a 1.6-gallon Kohler toilet. When she had it put in back in '93, I told her specifically not to get one of the low-flow toilets because of so many problems with them, and we don't live in an area of the country where there is even a remote chance of a water shortage. I don't know if this problem has persisted since '93, because my mum had a stroke and can't tell us now, and even if she could, she's the kind of person who would never admit this, but I can't imagine this problem spontaneously appeared after my mum had a stroke, so I think it's always been going on yet she never told anybody.
Can you tell if the problem is the toilet, or the piping? If the problem is in the toilet, would flushing twice after every use solve the problem?
Thanks,
Joy
My mum's toilet backs up and overflows quite frequently. I'd thought for a long time it was her aide disposing of sanitary products there, but the aide left and it's been me taking care of mum so I know that nothing is going into the toilet that isn't supposed to be there.
My mum had the bathroom redone about 15 years ago. The connections are visible in the garage. The shower drain has a U curve, then goes horizontally across the garage ceiling about 4 feet where it attaches to the toilet drain. There is a T connection to the toilet drain and then it extends 2-1/2 feet to the wall, where it angles down at about a 45° angle to the pipe that takes it to the sewer. The section of pipe from the shower drain to toilet drain is PVC, about 2-1/2 inches diameter, then the section from the toilet to the wall is about 3-1/2" in diameter.
My mum did not have a licensed plumber install the toilet. It is a 1.6-gallon Kohler toilet. When she had it put in back in '93, I told her specifically not to get one of the low-flow toilets because of so many problems with them, and we don't live in an area of the country where there is even a remote chance of a water shortage. I don't know if this problem has persisted since '93, because my mum had a stroke and can't tell us now, and even if she could, she's the kind of person who would never admit this, but I can't imagine this problem spontaneously appeared after my mum had a stroke, so I think it's always been going on yet she never told anybody.
Can you tell if the problem is the toilet, or the piping? If the problem is in the toilet, would flushing twice after every use solve the problem?
Thanks,
Joy
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