Sewage Ejector Pump pulling water from bowl of upstairs toilet

[spiff72]

Hello all - just signed up to ask this question...

I have a sewage pump in the basement that deals with the drains from a 3/4 bathroom. Could this have been the perfect storm of circumstances:

Condition 1: I have noticed lately that it sounds like the check valve is leaking back down to the pit (my home office is adjacent to the utility room, and I have been in there a LOT lately!).

Condition 2: This morning, I noticed after my shower that the drain was running slowly, so I got my drain snake out and tried to pull the usual hairball out of the drain. I tried several times and got nothing out. After rinsing out the tub, I found that the draining was even slower now (I probably pushed the obstruction further down rather than pulling it out). I then decided to let the tub fill, with the intent of plunging the drain and hopefulling pushing the blockage out. As it was filling, the drain started running, but I went ahead and plunged it anyway for good measure. It then drained well.

Condition 3: While I was dealing the tub, I heard the pump station start downstairs (my son flushed the toilet downstairs). When this happened, I heard a "burp" from the toilet next to me, and the water was pulled out of the bowl. I don't remember for certain whether the pump fired up before or after I had gotten the drain running in the tub, but I do know that there was standing water in the tub at the time. I suspect that I didn't have it clear yet.

I have read that often times the issue with a sewage pump pulling water from toilets is a plugged vent, so that is a possibility, but I haven't had any other issues with plumbing elsewhere in the house. This was the first time that I have seen this occur myself, but I mentioned it to my wife, and she said she has seen it happen recently too when the pump ran downstairs (but likely not with water in the tub). My pump DOES have a vent pipe.

So my question: Can the leaking check valve cause or contribute to the issue of the toilet bowl being emptied? I will likely replace it anyway, but I just wondered if this might fix the issue. Or alternatively, if the check valve doesn't open correctly when the pump runs, could this cause the bowl siphoning issue? The last time my check valve failed, the "flapper" had broken loose and plugged the outlet of the valve and the pressure of the pump blew the bottom pipe out of the valve making an awful mess. If this was just partially obstructed, could this cause a similar issue?

Thanks!

 

[spiff72]

One additional comment - the only toilet in the house affected was the one in the master bath (where I was working on the tub). I checked the other toilet on the main floor and it was not affected from what I could see. That toilet was on the other end of the house, near where the main drain line runs out of the house.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[spiff72]

One more update - I just tried to replicate the pump pulling water from that upstairs toilet and couldn't get it to happen again. I didn't put water in the tub - just ran water in the basement bathroom until the pump ran - went upstairs and checked that toilet above the pump location and still had water in the bowl. Don't know if it burped again, though...

 

[Jeff H Young]

drains are backing up. where I don't know but you have stoppage, maybe not completely and it drains down . but that's the problem

 

[spiff72]

drains are backing up. where I don't know but you have stoppage, maybe not completely and it drains down . but that's the problem

So you think there is a plugged drain line? I haven't had any other issues, though. All drains seem to be running fine (toilets, sinks, showers, etc)...

 

[Jeff H Young]

I think likely a stoppage of sorts . but I dont know if all drainage goes through the pump how many floors are above etc.
If you are talking pump in basement and 2 more floors above with toilets and only the top floor is acting up then Id be puzzled

 

[spiff72]

I think likely a stoppage of sorts . but I dont know if all drainage goes through the pump how many floors are above etc.
If you are talking pump in basement and 2 more floors above with toilets and only the top floor is acting up then Id be puzzled

House is a single story with finished basement. The pump is below grade and pumps the discharge of toilet/sink/shower in the basement bathroom up to a main drain line above it. The upstairs (main floor) bathroom discharges into that same main drain line just a few feet upstream of where the pump connects.

The only toilet that experienced the issue today (and at least once before recently as reported by my wife) was the one immediately above the basement bathroom. I was just curious if the issue was somehow related to the blockage in the tub drain in the main floor bathroom. In other words - if the drain in that tub was partially obstructed, could that cause the issue with the pump pullling the water out of that main floor bathroom? My thought was that it may have been partially blocked when my wife saw it happen, and when I saw it happen it was maybe even more obstructed (if it happened after my first snake attempt of that tub drain).

 

[spiff72]

Also - now that the tub blockage seems to have been resolved, maybe that is why I can't make it happen again? I guess i could try to fill up the tub and see if I can get it to happen again while that tub is draining...

 

[Jeff H Young]

Thanks for clarity It may have cleared itself I would almost certainly say a partial blockage occured.

 

[spiff72]

Thanks for clarity It may have cleared itself I would almost certainly say a partial blockage occured.

Ok thanks. I will keep an eye on it for a while and see if it happens any more in the future.