plumbing advice wanted

[boxofdelights]

My toilet is draining very poorly. As far as I can tell, the plunger and the snake are having no effect. Except, I've just noticed, plunging the toilet forces air out of the floor drain near the toilet.

1. Does this mean that the obstruction must be past the place where the floor drain's pipe connects to the toilet's waste pipe?

2. When I had a plumber in to install a washing-machine hookup, he commented on how long it was taking him to detach and reattach everything because the pipes and their connections were so old, and he had to be careful not to tug too hard on anything for fear of opening a leak somewhere else. Does this mean that I should not try to detach anything?

3. Should I try a chemical drain cleaner?

Comments

[hobbitbabe]

I'm sorry that I don't know more about it.

In the past when I've been researching what to do about toilet and sink issues, I've read that you shouldn't use chemical drain cleaner if you might end up having to call a plumber, because the plumbers don't want to end up with a facefull.

[kalmn]

that plunging the toilet forcing air out of the floor drain thing seems odd to me. (i have no floor drain in my bathroom.) so, i am not sure if this is a building code difference and it's all fine, or if it's actually weird.

that said, you're at the point where i would teach the dogs some new short anglo saxon words and then call a plumber.

[amaebi]

I'm afraid I agree, and I hope you don't find yourself investing in new pipes. :/

If they'd had different sanitary arrangements in ancient Egypt plumbing trouble would have been one of the Plagues.

:(

[kaigou]

Several questions: do you live in an apartment? or a house? Is your house on a concrete flat or do you have a floor below the bathroom?

If you're on a concrete pad, it's possible there may be a leak underneath, due to the pipes rotting out thanks to the concrete. (No one knew this would happen, back when concrete pads for houses first became popular.) If you don't have concrete pad, then it may still be a leak or obstruction, but at least you don't have to worry about having to jackhammer up the floor in order to get at the pipe.

(This is the reason we use our guest bath, and haven't used our master bath shower in about two years -- putting off having to tear up the bath and jackhammer the floor to get at leaking pipe under the tub. Ugh.)

[wcg]

Yes, it's time to call a plumber. My guess is the plumber will find that tree roots have broken through your main drain and clogged things, though there are other possibilities too. In any case, that backflow of air tells me your problem goes far beyond what chemical drain cleaners can solve.

[amaebi]

I was thinking tree roots, too.

[boxofdelights]

That's a good point.

[boxofdelights]

It is odd. And probably not fine.

[boxofdelights]

I was going to end up with some new pipes anyway, what with the remodel, but this does complicate things.

[boxofdelights]

Thanks.

[boxofdelights]

*sympathy*

It's a hundred+ year old house, so not on concrete, but a lot of the plumbing is very very old.

[spinner_atropos]

Came here through a friend's journal by mistake, but compelled to comment--

Chemical drain cleaner might be the final straw for the old pipes--it works its way through rust pretty quickly. :( (Not sure what it does to lead pipes.)

Tree roots or collapsed pipes are a good possibility, as is an animal that made its way into the system somehow.

Best of luck.