Toilet Blockages and Sewer Smells Stump Homeowners

“Our house is a new build. All three toilets lose about a half an inch of water in the toilet between flushes. It never gets lower than half an inch or so and it's the same for all three toilets, so I believe it just has to do with the set up vs a true leak. We had our septic recently emptied and they noted a slow leak into the tank that is likely from the toilets. Is there anything noticeable in the attached photos that points to the cause? (First three images are from one toilet, next two a”

“We live in an apartment. There's upstairs and downstairs. My daughter lives upstairs. We started experiencing toilet not flushing. Our kitchen sink we have to put washer hose down it to drain washer. It's been this way since me and my mom and dad moved it I was in 4th grade, I'm now 56 years old. Landlord never changed anything. When our washer drains or we run any water in the kitchen sink, the toilet bubbles and the water from kitchen backs up into tub. Now my daughters washer back”

“We have an old toilet the no one ever uses in our basement. Leaving this morning, we saw water on the floor. The water to this toilet has been off for years. Turns out, the fitting had corroded and completely broke off. How do I cap this? submitted by /u/caml458 [link] [comments]”

“In 2018 I remodeled a very old house and added square footage. I replaced most of the plumbing except a small section due to time constraints. Since the remodel, one of the original toilets gets backed up when we have company over with heavy usage within a few hours. The size of the "load" that is flushed does seem to be a factor, but if I were to flush it 8 times in a row with clean water, I would get about the same problem. The water starts to rise and it won't flush, just like a”

“My toilet (far left) is terrible about flushing and I can only think it's a venting issue. Oldish home, 30+ years, probably older. Toilet across the house on same floor as master toilet flushes slowly too. Far right plumbing is a jet tub that never gets used and one will day be removed. Middle is stack down to sewer with a clean out at the bottom. Toilet line runs over my head and turns back to middle stack. Can't see plumbing of other toilet across the house but just taking it one probl”

“So, long story short, the plumbing in my house is messed up rn and I cannot afford a professional. The biggest issue is the toilet. It's been completely clogged for some time now and I've had to use it. It's almost full of solid waste and is not able to be flushed. I have a snake but I don't think it will make it through. I was thinking of possibly pouring boiling water and letting it (hopefully) dissolve some of the waste and then maybe trying to snake it? Any advice or tips? &#”

“When we flush the toilet, water backs up into the bathtub . We had the same issue in January and had a plumber fix it. At that time, we found out the house we bought did not have a sewer cleanout , so the city came out and installed a new cleanout . Our previous plumber also did the work needed to connect our sewer line to the city cleanout. Now the same problem is happening again . Does anyone have a plumber you trust who is experienced with sewer/drain backup issues ? Please recommend someone.”

“I just bought my first house in Florida (a 3/2) that was built in 2022. About 2 weeks after moving we started having issues with toilets not flushing and the bath tubs not draining. We are on septic so I called a septic company to pump the tank. The septic company told me that the transfer life sloped towards the house and they needed to put risers in to fix the problem. I payed them to do so and the problem persisted. I called a plumber out to scope the lines. They determined that there was a b”

“Wife was alone at home and suddenly started all three toilets (1 on 1st and 2 on 2nd floor) started flushing & spitting out water. Now the one on the 1st floor smells really bad. Trying to get a hold of a plumber to possibly clean drain lines, but any ideas on what happened? submitted by /u/philip2987 [link] [comments]”

“This may become a long question, but want to get as much detail in here as I can. We live in a 1929 home that we understand to have been built out and renovated in late 2000's / early 2010's. We seldom used one bathroom which had 2 sinks until we had a child and turned it into the nursery about 5 months ago. Really only use the sinks to wash our hands. Never had a problem with them until about a month or two ago. Water comes up into them unexpectedly, but then will usually go back down.”

“I recently purchased a home and I’m in the process of making a lot of plumbing updates/changes. Can anyone help identify what this electronic valve is? I have well water, and the water goes through all softeners and filters before this valve. submitted by /u/boostinboston [link] [comments]”

“Our first house in California is old. The water pipes, while somewhat newer, need to be replaced. We also recently were told by the city we’re on well water (explains the very hard water). Thanks in advance. submitted by /u/EusticeTheSheep [link] [comments]”

“Location: SF Bay Area, south bay Type of structure: Single family home, 9 years old, 2 stories, 2700 SF, 4 bathrooms, 3 showers, 1 shower over tub, 4 wall mounted toilets Issue: at least 1 leaking copper pipe on the ground floor (crawlspace), type M, with several other areas showing corrosion/electrolysis. Status of upstairs pipes unknown, but no evidence of water intrusion/leakage in the ground floor ceiling. Was given the option to 1. spot repair the leak and other areas of concern; 2. do a ho”

“Parents bought a new house that has a macerating pump. This morning the toilet was constantly running due to a stuck Handel. Now when the toilet flushes or sinks run water comes out. No toilet paper or poop around the area. Alarm on pump is not on. Any ideas? submitted by /u/RoboCopStayOut [link] [comments]”

“The jet hole was almost entirely caked closed. We have now dealt with that too!”

“Wet vac the bowl and use Zep Acid toilet cleaner to soak the areas you didn’t get. Some toilets have a jet at the bottom that needs to be open”

“https://preview.redd.it/bqwyntgtyefh1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b3ffc5c38a0491626ca531f3a5a7316d08dd406”

“Why would anyone flush a banana down a toilet?”

“Why would anyone flush a dime down a toilet?”

“It starts when people let the yellow "mellow" in the toilet. Urine begins to crystallize as soon as it hits the cold water. But it needs a place for it to start growing on too. Imperfections in the glaze and or porous material in the porcelain can catch the the "seed" crystal. From there, as time and more exposure to urine occurs, it will slowly grow. Science is neeto.”

“Plumber here, yes it is piss crystal. Definitely in the top 5 that I've seen.”

“I can't tell if that's a valve or a vacuum breaker but if it's not leaking I wouldn't worry about it. There's many things that are not perfect in your house and if you knew about all of them you'd never sleep. At this point that thing is not a problem and don't lose any sleep over it at some point it's going to break and flood something but possibly not even in your lifetime”

“Just a replacement. It' just corrosion. Creates pin hole leaks, then gets bigger overtime. Happens more on joints of adapters.”

“That's a vacuum breaker, and chances are it's for a reason. Something is tying in to your water that has a chance of backfeeding potentially harmful contaminated water. You should inspect to see what that line is feeding. What needed it might be gone, or is still in use.then you can determine if it needs replaced or can be eliminated.”

“If buying just keep an eye on it till you get it fix if you see the damage getting worse act on it fist”

“No I would t say concerned about buying the house you should buy the house but just be concerned that depending on what that is if it breaks you would have water all over”

“Concerned enough not to buy the house? It’s minimal concern and just something to work on”

“That indicates a leak and yes you should be concerned that is calcium build up so you should get it replaced soon as possible just don’t touch it cause it can break”

“Cross contamination device for irrigation A vacuum breaker yes it’s failed and needs to be replaced”

“I can’t tell if that’s a valve handle or not but it has been slowly leaking over time . Very common with age. Not a major issue”

“It’s a vacuum breaker. Probably unnecessary anyway. Either way an easy replacement.”