Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Tubs and Disposals - Much more than just a toilet clog!

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tjones68
01-05-08, 02:20 PM
I have a small hair salon. My toilet has been giving me trouble over the last year. My shampoo bowls are fine (I use hair traps) But my toilet keeps clogging up and if you run water in the bathroom sink it backfills into the toilet.
What I have done:
I have removed the toilet in the past and rented an electric snake and after several hours, it unclogged. This lasted about 5 months.
Two weeks ago I called a plumber and he ran the snake down the toilet and then got on the roof and ran it done the vent and it worked.
NOW, it's done it again. So we climbed the roof and used a twenty ft snake and went all the way with it and it's still clogged. We removed the toilet again and ran the snake the whole way again and NOTHING. So, we went and bought the bulb that forces high pressure water into the line and it burst. So now I don't know what to do other than rent the electric one again.
It's wierd because of the shampoo bowls running clean and clear.
The clean out is just outside and it is also clear. The building is 24 ft wide. The toilet is on one wall and the clean out is just outside the opposite wall. When we tried to run the snake in from the outside it only goes about 3 feet but the stuff on the end doesn't smell like fecal matter but more like dirt.
Any idea on what is going on here?


ecman51`
01-05-08, 05:09 PM
... if you run water in the bathroom sink it backfills into the toilet.

Cause: Common line downstream of toilet is clogged. Not a clogged vent in this case. A clogged main sewer line.

So, we went and bought the bulb that forces high pressure water into the line and it burst.

The bulb I presume. You probably used the 1 1/2 inch size one? If so, you should have used the 4-6 inch size one.

twelvepole
01-05-08, 07:47 PM
In the future, place screens in drains to catch hair and to eliminate clogs.


Michael Thomas
01-05-08, 08:05 PM
When we tried to run the snake in from the outside it only goes about 3 feet but the stuff on the end doesn't smell like fecal matter but more like dirt.
Any idea on what is going on here?

Likely, a portion of the sewer lateral out to the street has partially collapsed, and is intermittently clogging. If you want to be sure, have someone camera it.

Around here (Chicago) older sewer pipes are clay tile, and this type of intermittent clog is common. Eventually the lines collapse to the point where they they can't be rodded, and you start digging.