Another plumbing mystery.

[jinman]

That's right and it never required a back hoe in my back yard! Of course a back hoe in my back yard on Christmas morning or Father's Day _might_ be a whole different story.

Anyway, he snaked the vent stack and that solved the problem, but even now I don't think it was the vent. My wife said each time he snaked the vent stack he came up with hair and soap residue and finally he came up with a huge wad of hair and the gurgling stopped. I don't see how there could be hair and soap in the vent stack. I'm guessing the snake went past the vent stack into a partially clogged drain line.

George, when you first flush a toilet, the water rushes in and pressurizes the drain, pushing air up the stack. If there was a ball of hair in the drain, it could have been pushed back up the stack and partially plugged it. After the stack is plugged, the air would flow in and out from the path of least resistance, your shower drain. Even if the hair was not physically in the stack, it could have been just below the stack and moving to cover it with the inrush from the commode.

 

[N80]

Good point Jim. Glad I went into medicine, this plumbing business is beyond me. And speaking of similar things, I have a friend who is a carpenter. I've hired him to put some steps down from the porch on my cabin. I just never got around to it. Anyway, I watched him for a while as he calculated the stringer cuts and cut them out. I'd have made a big mess of that! He made it look easy and they came out perfect.

 

[Pops15]

That's right and it never required a back hoe in my back yard! Of course a back hoe in my back yard on Christmas morning or Father's Day _might_ be a whole different story.

Anyway, he snaked the vent stack and that solved the problem, but even now I don't think it was the vent. My wife said each time he snaked the vent stack he came up with hair and soap residue and finally he came up with a huge wad of hair and the gurgling stopped. I don't see how there could be hair and soap in the vent stack. I'm guessing the snake went past the vent stack into a partially clogged drain line.

Bingo!

 

[Pops15]

George, when you first flush a toilet, the water rushes in and pressurizes the drain, pushing air up the stack. If there was a ball of hair in the drain, it could have been pushed back up the stack and partially plugged it. After the stack is plugged, the air would flow in and out from the path of least resistance, your shower drain. Even if the hair was not physically in the stack, it could have been just below the stack and moving to cover it with the inrush from the commode.

Jim,
I don't believe the ball of hair would be pushed back if the drain is vented properly. Of course there's plenty of plumbing around that wasn't done properly.
Anyway, glad the OP got his problem fixed and no major work was required.
Pops

 

[RadarTech]

Jim,
I don't believe the ball of hair would be pushed back if the drain is vented properly. Of course there's plenty of plumbing around that wasn't done properly.
Anyway, glad the OP got his problem fixed and no major work was required.
Pops

I think it will depend on where the shower drain, vent stack and toilet are in line...


if the toilet is after the shower, then the vent then the sink...

anyway-- as you say the problem is solved...


J

 

[dave1949]

Jim,
I don't believe the ball of hair would be pushed back if the drain is vented properly. Of course there's plenty of plumbing around that wasn't done properly.
Anyway, glad the OP got his problem fixed and no major work was required.
Pops

If the drain line was plugged at some point, could have been a long time ago, I was wondering if the hairball could have floated up and got stranded (good pun) somewhere as the water seeped away?

Hair and the soap scum it catches are about the worst enemy of drains I think - aside from the stupid stuff that should never be there to begin with.
Dave.

 

[RadarTech]

If the drain line was plugged at some point, could have been a long time ago, I was wondering if the hairball could have floated up and got stranded (good pun) somewhere as the water seeped away?

Hair and the soap scum it catches are about the worst enemy of drains I think - aside from the stupid stuff that should never be there to begin with.
Dave.

stupid stuff..
I think that is covered here: Stupid People Doing Stupid Stuff | stupidstuffbooks.com
J

 

[Pops15]

I think it will depend on where the shower drain, vent stack and toilet are in line...


if the toilet is after the shower, then the vent then the sink...

anyway-- as you say the problem is solved...


J

Toilet, shower, sink should all have their own vent. The vents can be tied together overhead, but each drain needs to be vented.

 

[Ken]

One day at work the yard man asked how to clear a stopped up drain. Told him to take a towel wrap around the water hose and have wife turn on the water as he held the hose in the commode. Next morning could tell he was mad at us and me so asked what the problem was. he said he did as we mentioned. water was running good into the commode when his wife outside under the valley of the roof started to scream at him. The water filled up the vent pipe ran down on her and then he removed the towel from the commode getting a bath. water from the commode and then the hose. Never did find out what the blockage was or was it cleared.
ken

 

[RadarTech]

Toilet, shower, sink should all have their own vent. The vents can be tied together overhead, but each drain needs to be vented.

yeah, now that you say that I remember when they did the vents for our master bath they were tied togather in the attic..

J

 

[coffeeman]

I have a snake and could have done both of these jobs myself but in all honesty with the move, family problems and craziness at work I really didn't have the time anyway. I think it is ridiculous that it cost $200 to have a line snaked but when you need the service you pay for it and I feel better about leaving the new owner with a functioning system than with a problem.

Live and learn.

P.S.: Thanks for all the diagnostics guys.

Seems like the economy ain't so bad in plumbingville

Cheers

 

[angel07]

Something must have gone wrong with the drainage system in your house!
Why don't you hire a plumber?

 

[Redbug]

George...When things go afoul and are beyond what you think your skills can handle that's when you call someone out that has the skills. That's what we all are forced to do sooner or later, (I know I have and it hurts to spend the money but there's no choice sometimes). Then you try to watch and learn. I'll bet next time you have a similar problem you will be able to tackle it head on then.

By the way...when selling a house...aren't you supposed to have the septic checked or pumped as part of the sale? I don't know for sure...