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Author:
chestnut707 (PA)
Hi
I did a search on this subject and could only find the aav vent topic where jjbex (IL) installed an aav under the sink to solve the problem but there was some disagreement on his solution.
I recently moved into a 1955 1 1/2 story Cape Cod. The second floor toilet was an Eljer and 1st floor toilet is Glacier Bay. I installed a new American Standard Champion toilet in the 2nd floor bathroom. I mention the type of toilet because those of you familiar with this flushing system know how much force this toilet flushes with. I live alone so I don't know if this problem occured before or after this new toilet was installed. I had company recently that flushed the Am Std upstairs toilet while I was downstairs so I was able to discover/hear the problem.
When I flush the upstairs toilet the downstairs toilet gurgles and splashes all over the seat when it is down. There have been instances when enough water splashes up and then runs onto the floor. I plan on installing another Champion in the downstairs bath but I doubt the trap system in the new toilet will help at all.
The 2nd floor bath is directly above the 1st floor bath. The vent for the entire house is also above the 2nd floor bath. All the drains in the house seem to drain very well.
Has anybody solved this problem before? What are the first steps I should take in order to diagnose?
Thanks for you help.
chestnut707
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Author:
dlh (TX)
hmmmm. the most common cause and what i would check first is a restricted drain line. the next thing would be how the upstairs toilet is connected to the drain system. it could tie in to close to the fitting going to the first floor toilet or even be connected to the vent for the first floor (but that would usually give you a different problem)
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Author:
redwood (CT)
I concurr fully with DLH! I'm also glad that you were able to get a Champion that worked properly! They are not on my list of favorite toilets.
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Author:
chestnut707 (PA)
I had (3) Champions in my last house and never had any problems. Maybe I just got lucky. I did replace the flush towers with their new elevated flapper design on the last three toilets but that was more of a precaution than anything else.
So if I understand your suggestion, I should clean out the main drain line and see if that helps. Luckily the main drain line is right below the stack for the two bathrooms and I have easy access in the basement to the cleanout port.
Based on the previous owner, I doubt the drain has been cleaned in many years.
I have an AHS home warranty. In your experience, is this something covered under the home warranty?
Thanks for the quick response!
chestnut707
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Author:
redwood (CT)
Home warantees seldom cover anything! Good luck with them! I have not seen any yet where clogs were covered.
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Author:
chestnut707 (PA)
Luckily the seller bought the home warranty so I'm not out any cash there.
My only thought was that if the clogged drain is causing the toilet to splash/leak, that it might be covered since there is water on the floor.
I know the only way a home warranty company makes money is to not fix things based on the small print
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Author:
redwood (CT)
If you had a frog that swam in the puddle at midnight, they would cover a person to catch the frog... 1 AM however there is no coverage.
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Author:
chestnut707 (PA)
Redwood,
Would you remove the toilet and clean out that drain line or clean out the main drain first?
Since I just installed the toilet, it would be easier to clean out the main line first.
Thanks
chestnut707
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Author:
redwood (CT)
Wherever possible using a cleanout is desirable. If the clog is in a location where the only access is through the toilet then it would have to come up. The person doing the drain cleaning will examine what is happening and know where to snake the line clear. I would highly recommend hiring a pro for this!
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Once the water leaves the toilet and enters the vertical pipe, almost all of them will work the same. You must have a obstruction downstream that is causing a postitive pressure when the water descends from the upstairs bathroom. That, and a lack of vent for the lower toilet, is the only thing that could cause your symptoms.
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Author:
Rmmonaghan (NY)
I am having an identical problem at my house. I did not have the problem until I installed an American Standard Champion 4 toilet. The new Champion toilet has a 2 3/8 inch trapway, and is supposedly engineered not to clog. The new Campion 4 replaced a very old 5 gallon flush toilet, which did not cause any problem with the downstairs toilet. The issue with the downstairs toilet gurgling to the point of wetting the downstairs bathroom floor, did not occur until immediately after the Champion 4 toilet was installed. When I watch the Champion flush, i can tell that air is being sucked down with the flush. It is almost like there is not enough water in the bowl, so the water gets sucked down, then air, then more water. I tried to see if I could adjust the water level in the tank, but it was already set at the maximum. I liked the idea that the Champion 4 was a no clog toilet, but I am considering returning it. I would bet if the flush is not so extreme, the problem would go away. After all it was not there with the previous toilet. What caught my attention here was that you were having the same problem, and had the same Champion toilet. Again this problem was not there until I installed the new toilet.
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Author:
jsmythe (NJ)
There are many posts like this on the internet but nobody ever furnishes the fix/outcome. In my case, the downstairs hiccup had deteriorated from gurgling to splashing. It was not venting related and to confirm our suspicion we opened the the cleanout in the basement and the splashing did not occur when there was no back pressure. Snaked the main sewer line out to the street and the problem is now completely gone. Plumber recommended doing enzymes to further clean everything out...
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Author:
ny48 (NY)
Hi,
I live on the second floor of a twenty-story apartment building. A week ago I began having a similar problem. At different times throughout the day and night the toilet erupts with a very loud sound and water sprays up out of the bowl. Yesterday the landlord had a maintenance man come by and he had a high-pressure device that shot air into the line in an attempt to clear out any obstruction. This failed—today the eruptions continued as before, in fact, there were five between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
I'm wondering if the landlord, who has been renovating apartments throughout the building including some directly above us, has put in a new toilet that is suddenly causing a problem...we've been in the apartment for a year and the eruptions just began a week ago.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
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