Sunday, March 28, 2010

Toilet Disaster

If it's not one thing, it's another. My toilet overflowed. I did dump mop water down the toilet today, when I was cleaning up before the Crusty adoptors came. I think there is a missing sponge. I used the same bucket with soap and water to hand clean. I remember dipping my hand down in the bucket to make sure the sponge wasn't there, but I bet I missed it.

I tried plunging. No help. I emptied all the water out using an old plastic container, then ran a piece of cable rope up, a fake snake. Nothing. Water I pour into the bucket will flush down but only so far.

I don't know any way to get a functioning toilet back but to take it apart and see if that sponge is crammed up in the ceramic bowl, before it goes down into the sewer pipe. I only know how to do this because I had to install a new toilet, well a used one from the habitat store, into the slum shack. That one had a cracked bowl so it was always leaking into the very poorly installed vinyl flooring that was many many layers thick, each with water, from the long leakig toilet trapped beneath the next. It was so foul and moldy. Slumlord thing.

So I unhooked the water hose so far, took the tank off and am about to remove the bowl. I do not have another bowl seal but for now, I just want to get whatever is clogging it out. I am hoping it is clogged and has nothing to with our excessive severe rain going on, or backup from the city sewer line due to excessive rain. There's supposed to be some backflow prevention valve in the line, but who knows when this house was built in the 70's if they actually installed it. That would suck so bad. I am very much hoping just to find a wayward sponge up in there.

Sometimes I wish I had the Lovable Loo!

UpDATE: I took the thing completely apart, then ran a home made snake up from the bottom hole and got it clear through to the bowl. No clog. No clue why it overflowed then did so repeatedly, after I turned off the water, and tried to flush it by dumping water in with a bucket.

I even dropped a bead into the bowl and manipulated the whole thing until it dropped out the bottom clean as a whistle. The sewer pipe itself, going down beneath the house was clean too. Nonetheless I poured some buckets of hot water down it, then dumped baking soda down it and added a half bottle of vinegar.

I could feel and hear wind whipping up through the sewer pipe into the bathroom. That was odd. It must have a vent pipe that was responsible and if so, depending on where it attaches, the sewer pipe also must be clean, to allow wind through like that. I've never seen the sewer vent pipe around the perimeter of the house however. Guess I never looked. It would have to be somewhere that it would catch wind.

So I put it all back together quickly enough. There's disintegration in the rubber components in the tank. Suppose I'll have to replace the tank components soon enough. But the float works ok and isn't overloading the bowl when flushing.

Well, I don't know why it overflowed like it did, with nothing in there clogging it. Strange stuff. But at least I cleaned everything out and up. And then I used it.

1 comment:

  1. We have a problem with our downstairs one occasionally overflowing, and what often works is putting soap - esp. liquid or other dishwashing (for a dishwasher) detergent into a bucket, adding hot hot water, and pouring it into the toilet. Even if it flushes - lightly or otherwise, let it sit for about an hour. That often breaks up whatever might be causing the clog. It might take two such attempts. that is good if it is something like the thicker cheaper toilet paper. For spongebob, I have no idea other than a snake! What would crusty the crab say?

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