I could not find this with a search so hopefully this is okay!

Here is the long version. We are on a city sewer system.

For the past couple years we have had air bubbles coming out of the basement toilet when the 3rd floor toilet was flushed. These bubbles could be strong enough to splash water onto the bottom of the toilet lid. We had plumbers out to snake the line, and we bought a new toilet. This repaired the problem for about 5 months. The air bubbles returned after that. Now, the toilet is also not draining correctly. When you flush it, the water level just keeps rising even though there is no visible clog, there are also air bubbles that come up every few minutes but gentle small ones. I have used a toilet auger, and am currently treating it with an enzyme drain cleaner. I am afraid it is some sort of venting problem or a clog in the main line to the street. Does anyone have any ideas about this??

Thank you so much,
Leif

There may be a partial stoppage in the sewer pipe to the street, or the sewer pipe may have a 'belly' in it that holds water 24/7. Either would cause what you are experiencing. You will probably need to have your sewer line inspected by camera.

IT could be a venting problem in conjunction with a drain stoppage, but someone would have to be there while it is happening to diagnose it.

if snaking the pipe solved the problem for 5 months, i'm guessing the pipe is partially clogged again. just why it clogged again ????

Bad Habits.... are hard to break. What ever you are putting into your waste line is creating issues, again. A sewer camera, will resolve most of your questions in determining what the problem(s) is, so that it can be corrected. An auger may have poked a hole in the wasteline. Your wasteline might require a complete rodding with the proper sized equipment, before inspection.

Let us all know what is happened.
Best Wishes

Thanks everyone for the ideas, a camera inspection sounds like a bummer but I'll have to look into it. The toilet started flushing correctly about 6 hours after I made the post, but the shower drain (which is a converted floor drain from when the basement was unfinished) backed up, not sewage, but crude. And then it all drained again. After testing the drain this morning it seemed to be draining fine, and the toilet was working fine (though, fine still includes the big air bubbles ha!) I took a shower and it was okay but then my friend took a longer shower shortly after mine and the drain backed up again and got water all over the bathroom floor. Not sure there's much i'll be able to do on my own...



Edited 1 times.

Had some guys over to do the main line, went 90 feet (much more than needed) and said they were hitting roots with a big 4 inch or something line. There aren't any trees in the way of the line though, or have not been in a few years. So we are going to wait and see if it grows back or if it was old root and maybe we will be okay!