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Author:
poe (TX)
Please help me understand what's happening. I moved into a guest house in a rural Texas town this year. The toilet seems to be connected to the shower because when the shower gets a little water backed up, when the toilet is flushed you can hear the gurgling from the shower. This happened a few times a few months after being here and on the third day, sewage came in through my shower. Brown water, pieces of excrement, everything - it was so gross. My landlords are awesome and they called a plumber who I think said something about a valve missing or a shortcut taken with the pipes. I thought the issue was solved and resolved to get over my new fear of the shower; however, just today (a couple of months later) it happened again! This time it was a black water that came out and not pieces but smelled like rotten eggs. My landlord tried to use a metal snake and said he might have felt something but he couldn't get anything out. They are calling a plumber again. Do I have a cause to be scared of this shower now? Is this a normal thing that happens - I'm used to living in the city where when your shower gets backed up, you just have to let it drain. I don't know what could be clogging it - I think the amount of hair that falls out of my head is normal and not something I notice. The landlord mentioned that the previous tenants had drained their cooking oil into the drain sometimes. Thank you for your answers.
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Author:
stuckinlodi (MO)
In a bathroom the toilet flushes into the sewer drain pipe under the floor, and the bathroom sink and tub/shower will have their drains connected at some point to the same sewer drain pipe as the toilet. When a clog happens in the bigger drain pipe the water and other stuff that goes down all those drains will accumulate at the clog, then start backing up in the pipe. If you keep using the drains(sink, toilet, shower) then at some point the backup will overflow into whatever openings it rises to, such as the tub/shower drain. The stuff you see coming out is the stuff you (or someone in the house) put down the drain, could be from today or from some time ago.
If the backup stuff was just shower water then the clog would be in the shower drain line, with hair and soap scum. But seeing toilet solids come up the shower drain means the clog is further down the sewer line in the bigger pipe that the toilet empties into.
You need someone competent to thoroughly clean the sewer drain. If you have other drains such as a washing machine, kitchen sink, another bathroom, and they are all working then the clog is in the sewer pipe related to this particular bathroom. But if every drain in the house is backing up then the clog is likely in the main sewer line for the house. A good plumber or drain cleaning service will know all this and will find the clog and remove it.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
poe (TX)
Thank you for taking the time to respond. It comforts me to know that it's normal to have both the shower and toilet connected to the sewer pipe. The plumber came a second time on Monday (they'd been here a couple of months prior for the same issue). He said he poured acid in the main sewer line and it was dry...That there was not a clog and it was all fine. Then as an added measure, he poured acid down my shower pipe. I went out of town for a night and tonight, I flushed the toilet and all seemed fine. Then as I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, I heard the shower gurgling but the only water running was the sink. I looked in the drain with a flashlight and saw there was still standing water in the pipe. I flushed the toilet again and heard the shower responding. I waited for the noise to stop then looked in the drain again briefly but the smell was overwhelming. I don't understand how acid didn't work. I know that I don't put anything down my drains. I may use more toilet paper that I should but I don't know how that would cause the problem. I'm considering just staying in a hotel because now I'm scared of the shower.
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