Hi all,
I am looking for some advice on how to approach a basement plumbing problem I have. I know absolutely nothing about plumbing. I am just a new renter in a refinished apartment with a basement bathroom. I've haven't had much luck trying to find info specifically regarding my situation. Pardon my lack of knowledge as I try to describe what's happening.
The bathroom: Newly remodeled in a 2FL duplex. The bathroom is about mostly below street level in a brownstone building in a city environment, city sewer lines. The bathroom floor is probably 5 feet below street level. Tub/Shower is about 8" higher. The toilet and tub seem pretty standard, nothing unusual to me, no visible pumps, not low flow.
The problem: I just moved in this week. The first 3-4 days I had no problems. Only thing unusual I noticed was the toilet water in the bowl would go really low but flush ok. No odors from like a lack of water seal that I could tell. Well the last 3 days the toilet won't flush most of the time. A tiny bit of water goes down but it mostly fills to the top of the bowl. Nothing solid was put down the bowl, all liquid. It would usually just drain out after an hour or so, sometimes sooner. But if I flushed again, same problem. Sometimes I would come back and it would flush fine, other times it wouldn't flush. Usually for a long time, not flush one time and not flush next time right after, I mean it will flush fine all morning, but I come back from work that evening and it wont flush (drain) all night. I should be clear, it drains, just very slowly it seems. Like take 30-60 minutes to drain out, I flush it and then same routine.
Last night the toilet was flushing like normal. No solid waste. This morning I wake up and it is totally back up, the toilet is filled with raw sewage about 2" from overflowing (thankfully not overflowing). I opened my shower curtain to horror... raw sewage all in my tub, about 1-2 deep". Oddly enough it didn't smell that much (no idea if that means anything) but it wasn't pretty. My sink was fine and drained fine when I used it only briefly to wash my hands so I'm not sure if it really was blocked up too. I used the kitchen sink upstairs for washing up and brushing teeth and stuff. Nothing unusual in upstairs sink or dishwasher, no blockage or odors.
So I do have a super and called him. He said he has to get the plumber to snake out by the street. I don't know what that means. I assume the sewer line from our building is blocked up? One thing to note is we had a lot of snow and rain last night and still raining now with large puddles all over but no visible overflowing storm drains.
I'm not sure what to make of all this yet. What I do want to know is:
What is the most likely culprit and can you elaborate on what my situation is (typical city street sewage level, etc).
Is this likely to happen again? (I would assume yes unless dramatic measures are taken)
What can be done to prevent this? Pumps? (Saniflow?)
thanks!
I am looking for some advice on how to approach a basement plumbing problem I have. I know absolutely nothing about plumbing. I am just a new renter in a refinished apartment with a basement bathroom. I've haven't had much luck trying to find info specifically regarding my situation. Pardon my lack of knowledge as I try to describe what's happening.
The bathroom: Newly remodeled in a 2FL duplex. The bathroom is about mostly below street level in a brownstone building in a city environment, city sewer lines. The bathroom floor is probably 5 feet below street level. Tub/Shower is about 8" higher. The toilet and tub seem pretty standard, nothing unusual to me, no visible pumps, not low flow.
The problem: I just moved in this week. The first 3-4 days I had no problems. Only thing unusual I noticed was the toilet water in the bowl would go really low but flush ok. No odors from like a lack of water seal that I could tell. Well the last 3 days the toilet won't flush most of the time. A tiny bit of water goes down but it mostly fills to the top of the bowl. Nothing solid was put down the bowl, all liquid. It would usually just drain out after an hour or so, sometimes sooner. But if I flushed again, same problem. Sometimes I would come back and it would flush fine, other times it wouldn't flush. Usually for a long time, not flush one time and not flush next time right after, I mean it will flush fine all morning, but I come back from work that evening and it wont flush (drain) all night. I should be clear, it drains, just very slowly it seems. Like take 30-60 minutes to drain out, I flush it and then same routine.
Last night the toilet was flushing like normal. No solid waste. This morning I wake up and it is totally back up, the toilet is filled with raw sewage about 2" from overflowing (thankfully not overflowing). I opened my shower curtain to horror... raw sewage all in my tub, about 1-2 deep". Oddly enough it didn't smell that much (no idea if that means anything) but it wasn't pretty. My sink was fine and drained fine when I used it only briefly to wash my hands so I'm not sure if it really was blocked up too. I used the kitchen sink upstairs for washing up and brushing teeth and stuff. Nothing unusual in upstairs sink or dishwasher, no blockage or odors.
So I do have a super and called him. He said he has to get the plumber to snake out by the street. I don't know what that means. I assume the sewer line from our building is blocked up? One thing to note is we had a lot of snow and rain last night and still raining now with large puddles all over but no visible overflowing storm drains.
I'm not sure what to make of all this yet. What I do want to know is:
What is the most likely culprit and can you elaborate on what my situation is (typical city street sewage level, etc).
Is this likely to happen again? (I would assume yes unless dramatic measures are taken)
What can be done to prevent this? Pumps? (Saniflow?)
thanks!