Toilet does not drain right.

[ryan_siefring23]

Ok, so the house was built in 1967. The down stairs toilet has been causing lots of trouble. We've noticed that when you flush it the water flows in, but you never gets sucked out all the way. It doesn't do it every time. Sometimes it flushes just fine. I'm not sure what this action of all the water getting sucked out is really called.

So yesterday, I tired to snake the drain line. I only bought a 15 foot snake. I should have bought a longer one because I never got to any clog. I put the toilet back on and found that I still had an issue. So now I'm not sure what to do.

It's strange because it flushes fine some times and I don't seem to have any drainage issues elsewhere in the house. However, if I flush it 3 or more times close together it will not flush properly. It's like the pipes are getting backed up slowly somewhere way down the drain.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do next. I'm thinking I need to get a longer snake and see if the clogs further along, however, the 15 foot snake should have put me almost outside the house.

Thanks for your help!
Ryan

 

[Redwood]

Sounds like you might just want a plumber over to snake your main line...
Without checking further it sounds like a main line clog.
A 15' snake ain't gonna cut it!

 

[Sponsor]

 

[ryan_siefring23]

Any reason why we couldn't snake the main line? I think I could gain access to that in the crawl space. Just wondering. I think for the main line there is a trap you must bypass to properly snake the main line.

 

[Jadnashua]

If you remove the toilet, you have direct access. Hassle is, unless you are familiar with the use of a large snake with a full diameter cutter head, it is dangerous, well, it's dangerous even if you know how to use it. Plus, it's messy. Best left to someone who has experience. A small diameter snake just can't clean the pipes and might just end up punching a hole in the obstruction rather than cleaning it out. You could have roots, or a collapsed pipe, or something else like that. A pro can often figure out exactly what's going on. He may have to go all the way to the main sewer line, which could be hundreds of feet. Pulling that messy cable back out is a lot of work, and did I say messy?!

 

[GramGram]

Snaking the line...

My plumbing system for two of the toilets in my house has a "clean-out" that is below the toilets and accessible from the basement. I was told that I could snake from there?
Is this true?

When I had a well-known service out to snake my line (removing and resetting the toilet every time) they disturbed some cloth along the sewer line (I forgot the name but is is cloth soaked in tar and wrapped around the sewer tiles.) Four plumber calls later, we finally got to the probelm.....

 

[Jadnashua]

That's what cleanouts are for - access to the sewer. If you have them, that's often the best place to attack it.

 

[Redwood]

A small diameter snake just can't clean the pipes and might just end up punching a hole in the obstruction rather than cleaning it out.

Thats if you are lucky! A more likely scenario is the small snake getting tied up in a knot and stuck in the line and or, broken off stuck in the line. THen the plumber has to take it out before he can even work. Kinda difficult when you can't see it. Might need digging!