Just noticed for the past several weeks, every time when my sewage ejection pump in the basement is running, the water in the toilet bowl get sucked out. This happens to all three toilets in my house, from basement to 2nd fl. My first response is blocked vent. But I do not have drainage issue so far (knock on wood). The shower, sinks are fine. It is snowy and cold in MA now, so I don't know if I can go up to the roof to check. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Sewage ejection pump sucks water out of toilet
- Thread starter Yang
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Plumber69
In the Trades
Your main vent is probably plugged with ice or snow
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LLigetfa
DIYer, not in the trades
Depends on the roof pitch. Mine is 12/12 so I can lean the ladder at a 45 degree angle to match the roof slope. Of course the bottom needs to be tied off to not slide out.
Other possibilities that explain the symptom? You mean like your vent pipe from the pit to the attic maybe not being 2 inch? Sure. That is a possibility. You can measure that easily enough.
LLigetfa
DIYer, not in the trades
How high up is the vent stack and is there only one? Maybe you could tie a garden hose to a long pole to reach it from the ground or from part way up the ladder.
the vent pipe above the roof is 3 in. It is two story SFH, and we have over 1 ft snow on the ground so it is hard to get to the roof. Someone mentioned vent pipe in the attic should be insulated to prevent the freezing. Does this make sense? I thought the warm gas from sewage should be adequate to thaw any ice buildup.
I don't remember posts about dead birds clogging plumbing vents, but it makes sense it could happen. How about opening a section of vent pipe in the attic. Blow up with an electric leaf blower. Restore the section with shielded couplings.
I had two dead birds and a nest clogging a dryer vent. The over-temperature sensor was cutting off the flame because of the blocked flow.
Back to your vent, I would also look down to see if there could be a dead bird at the transition from the 3 inch down to the 2 inch. Maybe use a mirror to help with that.
I am not a plumber.
I had two dead birds and a nest clogging a dryer vent. The over-temperature sensor was cutting off the flame because of the blocked flow.
Back to your vent, I would also look down to see if there could be a dead bird at the transition from the 3 inch down to the 2 inch. Maybe use a mirror to help with that.
I am not a plumber.
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LLigetfa
DIYer, not in the trades
I did flush out a live bird once. It had fallen down the vent and I could hear it trying to climb back up. Everyone thought it was a rat in the pipe. I opened the clean-out in the basement, put a tub there with a towel over it, climbed onto the roof, and poured water down the vent.
Ice from a furnace. Even with hot air from flames, it froze.
If you pump is pulling water from the toilet bowl, I'm guessing it's pulling from the shower and the lav too. You just don't notice because you would have to look past the grids.
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