My toilet flushes, it does not leak, the tank empties at a normal rate: the toilet bowl remains unaffected. The toilet drain is not clogged: I can pour a bucket of water in it and it goes down fine. I have no idea what could be wrong. Please Help.

Aviator

 

Aviator_o_p_s, Welcome to the DIY Forums.
Can you tell where the bubbles come from? I mean, what area such as at the fill valve , the flapper area etc. I may be able to come up with an answer if I knew these things. Good luck.

 

Bubbles are coming up from the (I think it would be flapper) in the tank, and they are coming up from the bowl, also. Water comes down the sides of the bowl, but nothing goes down when you flush it.

Thank you very much,
Aviator
P.S. Nice Sig. LOL

 

It could be a plugged vent line. Drains need air to function properly. The vent provides this air. If the vent is clogged, the drain lines suck air from other fixtures which removes the water from the other fixtures traps. Fill the sink with water and then release it as you flush the toilet. If it is the vent, you should see bubbles in the sink also. try this and let us know. Good luck.

 

Thanks again.

I tried it and no bubbles came from the sink. Could it be the jet the water flows through? If so, how can I unclog it?

Thanks,
Aviator

 

Just tried something else. I filled the sink and dumped a bucket of water down the toilet and bubbles came ffrom the sink. Blocked vent?

 

Im having almost the exact same problem. My tub was clogged. So, I put a sock in the overflow drain to block the air, then plunged the drain. The tub drains excelent now. However, today I filed up the tub all the way and when it was emptying the toilet began to bubble. Now the toilet won't flush. I tried plunging it...nothing. I also tried filing up the tub again and plunging that...nothing
If it is a blocked vent like Aviator_o_p_s, how do we fix it. I know where the vent is in the attic if thats where i need to tackle it.
Sorry Aviator_o_p_s, didn't mean to hijack your thread. Just figured it nade more sense to ask it here than start a new thread.
Thanks for the help

 

The vent pipe extends up THROUGH the roof. In the winter, spider webs with condensate on them can freeze, birds nests, leaves etc can all clog vent lines. If it is safe to do so, go onto the roof and clear any debris you can see. If possible, flush the line with a garden hose or pour a 5 gallon bucket of water down it after looking down the pipe with a flashlight. If this doesn't clear the line, you may have to snake it.

 

Ok. The guy I bought my house from put a skylight in the bathroom. I assuming thats where the vent used to go out through the roof. Well it seems that he re-routed the vent to go around the ceiling/skylight, but didn't vent it through the roof. It just goes to the top of the attic.
So, now what?

 

ALSO, when I filed up the tub and started plunging the toilet the sink started to make noise. So i went to the sink to plung that. I was doing the 'sucking' motion w/ the plunger and stuff started coming up into the bathroom sink.

 

sandonn,
Sewer gas exits through the vent pipe. That means that your attic is getting full of sewer gas fumes. Sewer gas contains methane. Your house could possibly burn down due to this concentration of gas. You must have some pretty good air movement up there. As soon as possible, get that line run out through the roof. This is a major safety issue.

 

I'm going to try to do it this weekend. Can you tell me what I need to do. Do they sell a pipe that has a flange on it to sit on the roof and then I run my pipe through that?

 

What you need is a vent pipe collar. They are usually a piece of metal with a rubber colar that fits tight on the pipe. You have to know the size of the pipe to buy one that fits properly. May find them at the Home Centers or a good Building supply store. The metal base is slid under your shingles and nailed down. The rubber collar seals the pipe from leaking into your attic. You can get a rubber coupling to connect the extension pipe to the existing pipe.

 

I think the pipe that is in the attic is only 2 inch thick
So, I would probably have to get a bigger pipe anyway.
Right now I can see two pipes going into one(the vent pipe)
they are also 2in I think - haven't been up tonight to check on it
Is there a minimum thickness it should be to ensure proper ventilation?

 

Also, do you know, if it is an issue would i smell an odor?
When i've been in the attic I've never smelled anything.
Also, being that it is clogged up now, is it venting at all?
I plan to do it this weekend, but the whole 'house blowing up' thing has me a little concerned.
I've been in the house 1 1/2 years and i think the guy did it a year before i bought the house. So its been like this for a while
thanks again

 

As I stated before, you must have a lot of air movement up there. You should smell a really bad odor. The vent may have a small opening allowing a little venting. You have to realise that the vent eventually ties into your main drainline. This, in turn, ties into the city sewer or septic tank. Anything that is drained into the system can come out of your vent line.
Example from your house only: You do a load of laundry and use bleach. wife cleans the windows or uses a product that contains ammonia and dumps it down the sink. These two chemicals meet in the drain line and form a deadly gas. Your traps on all your fixtures keep the gas from entering your home. You now have 2 problems that let this gas into your home. A vent that ends in the attic and a clogged vent that causes your traps to be sucked out.

 

I went up and put a 20 ' snake down my vent pipe - nada.
I tried to flush my toilet - same thing.
I do not think that it is the drain, but rather the toilet it's self, because I can pour a bucket of water down and it goes down fine.
Could I take the tank off and look with out breaking it (It is a kohler).

Thanks,
Aviator

 

You won't see anything by taking the tank off. You will have to pull the toilet up and lay it down to view the discharge hole. I don't like removing the tank to do this as you usually end up buying a new seal kit. Just lay down a good size piece of plastic (drop cloth) a couple feet away from where the toilet is and lift, swing over and lay the toilet down on it's back.