Toilet slow to drain

[Robert Jones]

New construction. The first floor half bath toilet is very slow to drain. Blockage? What else could cause this?

[Ken Meyer]

At a one year warranty inspection a while back, the homeowner told me that shortly after they moved in, the toilet on the first floor backed up and made a huge mess, ruining the flooring among other things. Turns out the drywall guys had dumped leftover mud down the toilet and it solidified in the waste line. The builder had to dig up the front yard to fix the waste line plus replace flooring and clean up the mess.

It's a possibility.

[hausdok]

Big ol' hump in the drain line maybe. Had one a while back. Went into the crawl and found a 25ft long trap caused by some dildo hanging insulation that decided to move the pipe out of the way by cinching up one of the hangers.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[John Kogel]

Another possibility is poor venting. I had a new first floor toilet that blew bubbles when I drained the tub ??

[Brimar]

I have seen the plastic paper protecting the wax ring left on the seal. This caused a restriction which limited discharge.[:-yuck]

[JackWebber]

Most drain cleaning products are designed to clear blockages, so if the drain has been emptying slowly their use is generally not as effective. The chemicals will drain away just as the water and will usually eat away a small channel in the grime at the bottom of the pipe; but it will not clear the whole pipe. This will mean that the drainage may only improve for a short period of time.

[Darren]

My guess is they left a cap on the vent pipe.

[Erby]

Gee Darren, like this! Who'd think a one year old house still had a pressure test cap on the vent pipe.

Click to Enlarge

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[palmettoinspect]

I inspected a foreclosure the other day that had been winterized. The water and power were turned back on for my inspection.

Long story short after running the water throughout the house I get to the whirlpool tub on the second floor and start running the water. From past experiences I always run back downstairs and check for leaks prior to plugging the drain. No leaks so go back upstairs, plug the drain, test the jets etc. Pull the plug and head into the attic and hear the buyers screaming the first floor is flooded. Turns out the water company did not remove the plug from the main drain line at the street. Water was coming up from around the wax ring at the first floor ? bath toilet.

What I should have realized is the toilet in the hall bath started to clog and not flush. I figured there was something clogging it. I had no idea at the time what was going to happen. I told the buyer as we were standing there looking at the flooded first floor ?this is what we?re here to find out?.

[Mark P]

Plugging the main waste line must be a local thing - I've never heard of it and sounds really stupid.

Twice since in I've been inspecting I've filled, ran, and drained jetted tubs to go into the basement and find a lot of water. Happend 2 weeks ago in a very nice home with a finished basement.

[hausdok]

I doubt that the water company plugged the main waste line. Why would they? It's more likely that the previous owner was pissed about the house being foreclosed on and shoved a bunch of stuff down the toilet to intentionally foul the line and screw the people who were going to get his house cheap while he was going to be stuck with a huge bill and ruined credit.

Another possibility - while the house wsa winterized some numbnuts came in, had a very cleansing experience and then flushed the toilet and that 1.6 gallons didn't move everything to the sewer and deposited the deposit somewhere downline where it dried out and solidified in the pipe while the house was vacant.

Perhaps it would have been prudent to ensure all the sinks and the toilets were draining ok before filling up a tub with five or six times the volume of water that a bunch of toilets can send down the pipe and then releasing it into the system?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[palmettoinspect]

Yes the main drain line was plugged. The buyers were really worried about what was clogging the drain line so the buyer called the sewer provider and the listing agent did not contact them to unplug the drain. This particular municipality has 3 different sewer providers and only one water provider. So this house has a sperate sewer and water service. Therefore the need for the drain plug. Yes bad idea and I have no idea how they measure the amount of sewer that's used I imagine they just charge a flat rate.

I did run the water in 2 other bathrooms, the kitchen, and through the whirlpool tub prior to plugging the whirlpool tub drain. There were no other indication of slow or clogged drains until I checked the toilet in the bathroom before the whirlpool tub. All the other sinks, tubs, dishwasher were all draining fine.

After the plug was removed I went back for a reinspection and ran all the water in the same order and no leaks occurred.

[Mark P]

How would they plug the drain - is there a gate valve installed out in the yard? This really really sounds stupid to me and it seems that whoever is plugging them is accepting a lot of liability. People around here sue over nothing and I can only imagine the law suis if a company plugged the main waste line while the water was on or able to be turned on. Good Grief.

[palmettoinspect]

How would they plug the drain - is there a gate valve installed out in the yard? This really really sounds stupid to me and it seems that whoever is plugging them is accepting a lot of liability. People around here sue over nothing and I can only imagine the law suis if a company plugged the main waste line while the water was on or able to be turned on. Good Grief.

Very stupid. This is the only muni around here that does it. The other do not. There is a plug that screws into a clean out at the street.

I was very sceptacle that the plug was not the cause of the clog, but the buyer called the sewer company and confirmed they had plugged the main and the plug was not removed. I would have thought the main drains would have backed up faster than they did.

[Marc]

Is this plug something that can be easily seen? Or is it hidden?

Marc

[Darren]

It's probably the test plug (filled with air) they use to test a sanitary line.

Unscrew the clean-out, insert the plug, fill it with air and there you go!

When the test is completed, let the air out and pull the plug.

[palmettoinspect]

Is this plug something that be easily seen? Or is it hidden?

Marc

Im not exactly sure. I've never seen one.

[Bain]

Or . . . it may just be that the shitter's full.

"Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer..."

[Erby]

Feeling rather poetic are we Bain?

My neighborhood and several others around here have a gate valve on the sewer line. It's part of a private sewer service. Water supply is by a different company. Don't pay the bill, the service comes around, shuts off the gate valve and chains a big red 55 gallon drum (marked in big white letters "Sewer service shut off due to non-payment") to the pipe with a padlock. Pay the bill, they remove it.

You, and everybody else in the neighborhood, can't miss the big red drum as the valves are right next to the driveway at the street. I've seen several of them in more than one neighborhood.

[hausdok]

Is this plug something that be easily seen? Or is it hidden?

Marc

Im not exactly sure. I've never seen one.

I found one in a crawlspace a few months ago. New house in 2008 but never sold until now. I discovered the plug only after testing everything and going into the crawl to inspect the crawl. Nothing backed up, so I guess it was deflated at the time I found it. Here's a pic of the thing installed.

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[Marc]

Thanks Mike.

Marc

[fyrmnk]

Or . . . it may just be that the shitter's full.

"Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer..."

"Tis the season to be Merry." "Well that's my name!" "No shit!"

Best movie of all time. My 5 year old son found it this morning at home and said "Dad, remember when the woman takes off her bathing suit and gets naked at the pool in his dream?" Ahhh, I love that kid. Wife wasn't quite as pleased as I was...[]

[Bain]

Or . . . it may just be that the shitter's full.

"Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer..."

"Tis the season to be Merry." "Well that's my name!" "No shit!"

Best movie of all time. My 5 year old son found it this morning at home and said "Dad, remember when the woman takes off her bathing suit and gets naked at the pool in his dream?" Ahhh, I love that kid. Wife wasn't quite as pleased as I was...[]

I totally agree, and I'm glad someone understood the reference.

One of my other favorites is:

"Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, fore-fleshing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is. Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol?"

[fyrmnk]

Or . . . it may just be that the shitter's full.

"Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer..."

"Tis the season to be Merry." "Well that's my name!" "No shit!"

Best movie of all time. My 5 year old son found it this morning at home and said "Dad, remember when the woman takes off her bathing suit and gets naked at the pool in his dream?" Ahhh, I love that kid. Wife wasn't quite as pleased as I was...[]

I totally agree, and I'm glad someone understood the reference.

One of my other favorites is:

"Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, fore-fleshing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is. Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol?"

[8D] "...if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be any more surprised then I am right now."

This got me searching for some of the other great quotes and found this link, though I think I could recite them almost verbatim after 20+ times watching it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958/quotes

Now I may have to go and watch it again tonight.

Sorry for the derail [:-monkeyd