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Author:
fergsj (IA)
Let me start by saying that I live in a 97 year old house. A half bath was added on the first floor at some point under the stairs. We remodeled it about 5 years ago, removing the shower keeping a lav and toilet. The toilet has never flushed well since it was installed, so finally had a plumber come look at it yesterday. After snaking the line and finding no blockages, he says it is not vented properly. He cannot legally install an autovent.
He mentioned a pressurized toilet to my husband (I was not home for the appt). Does a vacuum assisted or pressurized toilet replace the need for the vent? They seem like two seperate issues to me, but if I pressurized toilet will fix my problem I'm all over it, regardless of the noise.
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Author:
hj
well, a toilet is the one fixture that does NOT need a vent to work properly, UNLESS there is some other issue with the drainage, in which case THAT should be remedied. A pressure toilet, MIGHT work, depending on the real issue, but it would only be because it is "overpowering" the symptom, not curing the disease.
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Author:
North Carolina Plumber (NC)
A pressure assisted toilet will not help. A studor vent or air admittance valve will not help. You need to relieve the positive air pressure to the atmosphere via vent. Can't your plumber vent the line as it leaves the house?
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Author:
hj
OR better yet, find out WHY there is a positive pressure and eliminate that problem.
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Author:
fergsj (IA)
I'm just not really sure how we would vent it due to the location of the toilet, which is under the stairs. The plumber says it must vent through the roof and not out the side of the house. Our current vent stack runs smack up the middle of the house (we live in a four square) and I see no way to connect it even if we wanted to.
The plumber snaked about 12 feet (did not pull the toilet) said for $150-$200 could pull the toilet and snake further. Should I do that? I'm already down $80 with no solution.
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Author:
HelpMePlumb (FL)
How did he snake 12 feet? Right thru the toilet? Then why not snake thru a cleanout or a roof vent instead of going thru the toilet again - seems that ain't where the obstruction is.
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Author:
fergsj (IA)
Yes, he snaked through the toilet. Forgive my ignorance (there is obviously no doubt I have no idea how any of this stuff works), but why would he check for an obstruction in the roof vent if he says it isn't vented?
He thinks maybe the reason the previous toilet worked better was because there was a shower that has since been removed but perhaps it drew enough air from the shower drain to work properly.
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Author:
North Carolina Plumber (NC)
Remove the trap from the sink drain and try the toilet. You'll positively get an answer, either the toilet will work great proving you need an atmospheric vent, or it won't and you'll know you have issues other than a vent.
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Author:
hj
HOW could he snake "12 feet" without pulling the toilet? Pulling the toilet is the LAST thing I would do, because there is almost no way to snake through the toilet and just charge $150.00, in most cases. At this point he really does not know WHAT the cause is. You need a better plumber before you do anything else.
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Author:
hj
The shower would ALSO have had to had a drain problem, or it would not have "drawn air through the shower", so his diagnosis for that is also bad. He is guessing, (in fact he may also be guessing about the lack of a vent), and guessing can lead to wasting a lot of time and money. For one thing, "four square" construction usually puts all four bathrooms close together so a problem with one should affect others also.
Edited 1 times.
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