My toilet is frozen on the second floor of my house. The pipes are in the wall, so I am unable to reach them. I keep emptying out the toilet bowl as the water fills up (why is it filling up?). Any suggestions as to what i do next and how can i prevent them from bursting. I have an oil heater on in the bathroom and a fan blowing at a small storage space nearby. I can get water out of my bathroom sink, but then i see it bubble up in the toilet. It has been like this for about 4 days now.
Thanks

The bowl could still be filling up from water in the tank draining into it.

If you're sure the toilet supply line is frozen, hire a professional with a thawing machine, if there is water flowing to the lavatory in the same bathroom, he/she will be able to take care of it rather quickly.

Good Luck. e-plumber



e-plumber
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This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Its obvious that you either have a blockage after the toilet in the waste line or you have a freeze in the waste line.
I'm hoping that by the time you read this, your problem will have solved itself as the temperatures warm.
If not, a licensed plumber will probably have to lift the toilet and clear the line.
Not using the sink or the toilet will help in not having to clear the toilet each time that it rises.
Best Wishes!

Plumber not coming til Thursday. Someone mentioned that i can get something that will warm up the toilet water? Should i use a hair dryer on the pipes I can see, or should i just let it be and wait for plumber?

Warm air... and plenty of it.
Space heaters can be dangerous. You might have to elevate the temperature of your house and then a couple of fans to carry the air into the frozen area.
A couple of fans are much safer than a space heater. If you have a space heater and you wish to use it, be careful... be very careful.
Space heaters can generate alot of heat in a short period. If that heat is not disapated quickly, a fire could start.
And we don't want that to happen. Feel the surfaces around the space heater to ensure that area heats... but not burns.
Best Wishes

Can you see the waste/sewer pipes which run from your toilet to the street or your septic tank. Like others have said it sounds like their is a blockage somewhere downstream of the toilet. If you are sure it is frozen, and you can see the pipes get some heat directly on the pipe in the area you think would be frozen. Typically a hair dryer will work for this or a heat gun if you have one. The latter can be dangerous if used in conifined space so be careful. If it is a frozen pipe the longer you wait to fix the greater the risk of a pipe bursting after it thaws.

Thanks, i have a downstairs toilet and shower that works, so if it is the septic i would think it would affect that as well, correct? We had our septic emptied last year and we are very good about what goes down the toilet. I'll get out the hair dryer. We had this problem, although, with our upstairs bathtub, not the toilet, about 4 years ago when the weather in NY was this cold. Old house and the outside walls are not Tyvecked. Thanks much.

I would not worry about your septic if the downstairs toilet and shower works drains okay. Is the problem with the toilet in a full bath, meaning there is also a tub or shower in the same room? If so how does that drain, and does it cause the toilet to gurgle or fill up?

yes, when i run the sink faucet (just to check - I have stopped using that bathroom) the toilet gurgles and adds more water to the bowl.

Okay than you have a blockage that is downstream of your upstairs bathroom. So go into the basement and locate the plumbing drain line that runs from upstairs down into the basement and I assume accross the ceiling. If it is frozen the problem would most likely be on the outside wall. That is where you want to get the heat. A 100 watt light in a confined space will help warm things up too. Now if this does not work you can also have a clog in the drain line too. Good luck!

Does this toilet have a shut off for the water at the wall or the floor? If not, or if it is not shutting off have the plumber put one in when he or she is there.
Deb
The Pipewench

there is a shut off, but if i shut it off then wouldn't the water back up or have no where to go and cause the pipes to burst? I put a fan in my living room to blow hot air on, which is the wall where the pipes are and overnight not much water came into the toilet bowl, so I am thinking maybe it is thawing?

turning off water at the valve would not cause a rupture to occur any sooner ,the water pressure wont burst a water pipe.Freezing is thE cause quite frequently,which would not be affected by closing valve. it could save you a real mess BY LIMITING the water going into a stopped up toilet