I have a unit that has experienced way too many plumbing issues. Now it seems I have a toilet that has some issues. For one it doesn't seem to flush very well. The tenants have not complained, but I have noticed that it flushes very slow, has no 'power' to the flush, and you sometimes need to flush multiple times to get it to go down if there is anything but liquid in it. Well then the other day the tenant sends me some pictures of the toilet filling up with soap bubbles. It seems that when the tenants upstairs take a bubble bath, that bubbles come up into the toilet bowl and up around the bolts and around/through the floor area. I have tried to attach pictures, but the bubbles basically come up from under the floor and up through the toilet. The bubbles on the floor came up through the floor (they did not overflow from the bowl onto the floor). Does this indicate that the toilet is not installed properly? Or that the toilet needs replaced? Or is there a problem farther down the line? The bathtub in this bathroom was recently plugged but some draino took care of that. Apparently this soap bubble issue happened previously about 4-6 months ago, but they asked the upstairs tenants and found out they had taken a bubble bath and so they didn't worry about it until they saw it happen again this time. What would make the soap bubbles from upstairs come up through the toilet???

Mike you have what is known as a " Partial Stoppage" In simple language its a "real Stoppage" getting ready to happen. I strongly suggest you get the person responsible for the maintenance of the building to get a video pipe camera inspection of the main sewer line.These symptoms tell me there could be a really big problem down the road if not remedied quickly .Better take the bitter medicine now and fix things than suffer the consiquiences of a major raw sewage backup incident later Dave Doyle. PS Once you sewer line issue is resolved I would reccomend either a Kohler Wellworth or Gerber Avalance Tank Toilet.Very reliable ,,,,,hope this helps,,,DD Los Angeles

Mike, were you present when the jetting were carried out last time? If you snaked a line, with the correct size head, the snake is typically fed from an upstream access point, like a toilet and progress downstream along the line, and the operator does it by feel, they won't see what they cleared but can tell if its a soft blockage or something else. You had it jetted. A jetted is typically done in the reversed direction. They go to a downstream access point, like a cleanout where the line exits the house, and feed the jetting line upstream. The head had a series of nozzles that shoots high pressure water backwards, as the operator pulls back the line the nozzle scours the pipe, and the operator progressively pushes forward and pulls back. Once the blockage is cleared and washes down to the access point, the operator reverses the jetting to shoot the waste further downstream. The reason I mentioned this is most times, the operator can see visually what was getting jetted down. Down here in FL lines are fairly shallow we can see what's passing through. Even in deep pipes one can point a flashlight down and look. Did he tell you what it was? Dirt? Bunched up baby diapers? A dead possum? Back to the camera job, if you do it make sure you make it very clear you want a copy of the recording, and with a working distance readout. Without that, even if you managed to find the trouble spot, you have no idea where, and no way to get second opinions or bids from other contractors.

Undoubtedly a plug in the drain below the lower level toilet. The bubbles coming from around the toilet bolts suggest a bad wax ring on that toilet as well. Since the wax ring needs to be replaced, I'd pull that toilet and snake the drain. Should be a 3" or 4" drain so you'll need a real snake, not the little hand model, or a professional. Pretty simple project actually.

I'm not a plumbing pro but have had my fair share of experience with plumbing. Seems like your sewage drainage pipe leading out of the home is backed up. The water waste is taking the path of least resistance which is the downstairs toilet. You will more than likely need to get someone to snake the drainage line for blockage. That should take care of your problem.

Since upstairs and downstairs share the same stack frequently, I would suspect a blockage or even pipe collapse down below the lower tenant. A drain camera inspection could be used to confirm if a snaking of the drain can't clear it.

Maybe this time you should pay for the camera. It is not all that expensive. Go on Angie's List and get a coupon for something like $150 for a snake and camera. If the sewer lines are anything like Michigan then they are made of clay and deteriorate after 40-60 years. Most likely the main sewer line needs to be sleeved or replaced.

So they snaked it and jetted it without ever running the camera through? Did they charge you for both? Time to find a new plumber.

Any plumbing pros that can answer crazy plumbing question?

Mike Palmer

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UT · Member since 2013 · 164 posts · 55 votes

12y

Yes I was present. They snaked from upstream. At the time it seems like he said it was a soft blockage and the snake went through it and did not clear it. Seems he was thinking it was some kind of a goo type substance, like maybe food/grease. He said the jetter should take care of it, which it seemed to do for the time. The jetter was also done from upstream, passed by/through whatever was blocking, and pulled back out while jetting on the way back as well.

So it sounds like the consensus is that a camera inspection would be worth the cost at this point. Does it sound urgent, or something that I can coordinate and schedule when I can be there (possibly a few weeks out)? Is it worth having the city inspect their end first or is this basically for sure on my end? Is it something that likely an annual maintenance snake/jetting will keep things working and save the expense of the camera and applicable repair? If so, can I buy a jetter and do this myself? I tried looking online and didn't find my except industrial jetters. The one they used just hooked to the garden hose, and it seems I could run something like that myself annually and probably save a bunch of money and be able to use it at other properties periodically as a maintenance item. Any idea where to get the right equipment in that case?

Any plumbing pros that can answer crazy plumbing question?

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