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Over 100,000 Threads 500,000 Plumbing Posts
Plbg.com also known as the PlumbingForum.com. The popular plumbing tips, remodel and advice forum and blog. Ask any toilet, sink, faucet, pump, water quality and plumbing related questions.
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Author:
sister (NY)
We recently did a major remodeling job, practically new construction. Now, the second floor bathroom toilet frequently has a leaf in it. We'll take it out and a day or so later, there's another leaf. Does this indicate a problem? Where should we start to look? Thank you in advance for your help.
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
Someone is playing a joke on you. Next time you find one, announce to everyone that you found a leaf, and a rake in the toilet....see who laughs the loudest, and that's your culprit.
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Author:
sister (NY)
Thank you, Paul. But this is a house of elderly nuns. There are no practical jokers here. But the Mother Superior is worried that this may indicate a broken pipe. The leaves are rotten, not fresh.
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Author:
packy
do all other fixtures drain properly?
has there been a leaf in any other fixture?
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Author:
sister (NY)
Thank you, Packy. All other fixtures drain well. And, we've not found leaves anywhere else.
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
sister.......My mom use to grow African violets, and I could see her pinching dead leaves off a plant and tossing them in the toilet. Is everyone aware of the fact that this is causing concern.
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Author:
sister (NY)
Yes, they are. The leaves are not fresh. There will be just a small piece of a rotten leaf.
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Author:
phillyplbg (PA)
Is it a new toilet or an old one that could have been stored without a tank lid on?
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Author:
hj
If there is water in the toilet, then ANY leaf that entered the toilet from the "pipe" side would float on the back surface of the trap's water and not be visible. It would have to be a "big" crack in the pipe, AND there would have to be leaves around it, but if that were the case you would NOT get a "single leaf" periodically. In addition, there would not be any air currents which could "lift" the leaf up into the toilet.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
Lee (NJ)
First I am not a Plumber. Having said that I want to pose a question to Sister and the other Plumbers on this site. Is it possible that somewhere there is a backup? Backup causing water/sewage to come out of the ground -leaves are sitting on the surface where the ground is weak and saturated with sewage water and somehow the leaves get into the ground where there is an opening and then get sucked back into the toilet - maybe when plungering has occurred? Is it not possible for sewage to come to the surface; if they have a cesspool and cesspool is full?
Lee
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Author:
jimmy-o (CA)
That occured to me...but this toilet is on the second floor..so not likely
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Author:
NICK (CA)
sounds pretty impossible to be coming from a backup or from the vent, especially on a second story. See if the leaves match a tree over or near the roof. The tank is the most logical and depending on the size of the leaf, could even be tough if the toilet has a large lower port. No way leaves are getting in from standard rim ports. I still bet on it being physically put there, but who knows. I've never heard of anything like this. I will be curious to see what is causing it.
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Author:
James147 (CA)
My Grandmother would throw all kinds of stuff in the toilet and clog it, then deny it. Although they are Nuns, I don't think not coming forward breaks the code of the Good Book. Secondary, how about an animal living in the vent and making a nest(picture a squirrel slipping and pushing it in). How about a ghost telling you to leave?
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Author:
hj
Only if the water has backed up to the second floor, by then the first floor would be submerged.
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Author:
sister (NY)
Thank you for your thoughts. I'm going to look into the origins of the toilet. Where it was stored before installation.
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Author:
Fixitangel (NC)
Perhaps the toilet was exposed to the elements before installation, or perhaps someone put some potpourri in the tank to freshen it up?
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Author:
sum (FL)
may be it's not a leave, just something that looks like a leave.
It could be a piece of torn cigar wrapper?
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
sum........You forgot to engage something before you posted that one 
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Author:
mr leak (CA)
I would leave well enough alone
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Author:
caja715 (Non-US)
long shot... but is there a vent fan in the bathroom? does it work or is it broken? also where the vent fan is does it have a cover on it where it exits?? (no one thought of that yet?)
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