I know at the cabin when the toilet starts gurgling as I'm washing dishes the septic tank needs to be pumped....
Sewer gasses in bathroom
- Thread starter sxg6
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted By: Fsharp
Originally Posted By: sxg6
One more odd observation that I'm going to look into more. I notice that after I shower, often times the water level in the toilet goes down in that bathroom.
The water draining from your shower is doing the same thing as flushing the toilet, creating low pressure that sucks a bit of water out of the bowl.
I took a look at that picture, and that vent is in the wrong spot to do anything for the bathroom. The vent needs to come off the drain around where the shower and sink are, upstream from the toilet. You may be able to tie into the old vent, or look into installing a studor air admittance valve.
Saw an episode on This Old House about this type of problem. A trap was getting dry, and letting the stink in from a drain because the washing machine draining was sucking it dry. They installed one of those valves under a sink, and the problem was solved. Not sure it was a Studor, but it was something like it. Been a long time ago, so it's hard to remember.
Originally Posted By: sxg6
One more odd observation that I'm going to look into more. I notice that after I shower, often times the water level in the toilet goes down in that bathroom.
The water draining from your shower is doing the same thing as flushing the toilet, creating low pressure that sucks a bit of water out of the bowl.
I took a look at that picture, and that vent is in the wrong spot to do anything for the bathroom. The vent needs to come off the drain around where the shower and sink are, upstream from the toilet. You may be able to tie into the old vent, or look into installing a studor air admittance valve.
Saw an episode on This Old House about this type of problem. A trap was getting dry, and letting the stink in from a drain because the washing machine draining was sucking it dry. They installed one of those valves under a sink, and the problem was solved. Not sure it was a Studor, but it was something like it. Been a long time ago, so it's hard to remember.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
You might need a new toilet wax ring.
+1
Buy the "deep" wax ring, can't hurt.
You might need a new toilet wax ring.
+1
Buy the "deep" wax ring, can't hurt.
Originally Posted By: Fsharp
Originally Posted By: sxg6
One more odd observation that I'm going to look into more. I notice that after I shower, often times the water level in the toilet goes down in that bathroom.
The water draining from your shower is doing the same thing as flushing the toilet, creating low pressure that sucks a bit of water out of the bowl.
I took a look at that picture, and that vent is in the wrong spot to do anything for the bathroom. The vent needs to come off the drain around where the shower and sink are, upstream from the toilet. You may be able to tie into the old vent, or look into installing a studor air admittance valve.
This is it, exactly. You need a vent after the sink, before the toilet.
STUDOR ® brand of Air Admittance Valve
Originally Posted By: sxg6
One more odd observation that I'm going to look into more. I notice that after I shower, often times the water level in the toilet goes down in that bathroom.
The water draining from your shower is doing the same thing as flushing the toilet, creating low pressure that sucks a bit of water out of the bowl.
I took a look at that picture, and that vent is in the wrong spot to do anything for the bathroom. The vent needs to come off the drain around where the shower and sink are, upstream from the toilet. You may be able to tie into the old vent, or look into installing a studor air admittance valve.
This is it, exactly. You need a vent after the sink, before the toilet.
STUDOR ® brand of Air Admittance Valve
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
the part of the stack that you have labelled as vent appears to be something that was removed. do you know any history?
We have only owned the home for about 8 years now, so unfortunately I don't have a lot of history on the home. I see where something has been removed, and capped off. I'm not sure what was there, and why it was capped off.
I'll update this down the road when I get things figured out.
Thanks again for all the replies.
the part of the stack that you have labelled as vent appears to be something that was removed. do you know any history?
We have only owned the home for about 8 years now, so unfortunately I don't have a lot of history on the home. I see where something has been removed, and capped off. I'm not sure what was there, and why it was capped off.
I'll update this down the road when I get things figured out.
Thanks again for all the replies.
If your septic was to the point it couldn't easily accept waste water, your toilets and sinks would drain slow, or not at all, and sewage should blow out of the vent in your yard, upstream of your septic system. Regardless, if it's been 8yrs, you should have it pumped to remove the mass that doesn't break down.
Like said, gurgling and levels bouncing in the toilets when other fixtures are run indicates improper venting. Could you use a new seal ring for your toilet? Maybe. I like the foam/urethane "rubber" ones myself.
Like said, gurgling and levels bouncing in the toilets when other fixtures are run indicates improper venting. Could you use a new seal ring for your toilet? Maybe. I like the foam/urethane "rubber" ones myself.
Originally Posted By: Fsharp
Originally Posted By: sxg6
Another thing I've always noticed which is weird, when I flush the toilet in that bathroom, I can hear the trap water for the sink next to the toilet gurgle. Not sure if that's normal or not
That's not normal. The water from the toilet flush is causing a vacuum behind it, drawing air through the sink trap causing the gurgling sound. The vent is there to equalize the pressure, the trap gurgling means the vent is clogged or improperly installed.
I've used, several times,the studor redi-vent type. different brand, and we called them "cheater" vents. they are an easy install, and go on AFTER any trap, except a toilet.i usually put them on all sink traps, so this issue never develops.
Originally Posted By: sxg6
Another thing I've always noticed which is weird, when I flush the toilet in that bathroom, I can hear the trap water for the sink next to the toilet gurgle. Not sure if that's normal or not
That's not normal. The water from the toilet flush is causing a vacuum behind it, drawing air through the sink trap causing the gurgling sound. The vent is there to equalize the pressure, the trap gurgling means the vent is clogged or improperly installed.
I've used, several times,the studor redi-vent type. different brand, and we called them "cheater" vents. they are an easy install, and go on AFTER any trap, except a toilet.i usually put them on all sink traps, so this issue never develops.
Originally Posted By: yeti
I've used, several times,the studor redi-vent type. different brand, and we called them "cheater" vents. they are an easy install, and go on AFTER any trap, except a toilet.i usually put them on all sink traps, so this issue never develops.
I've used them on a few remodel jobs as well, but only when it was ridiculously difficult to run a proper vent line. They're basically a check valve that lets air in, but not out.
I've used, several times,the studor redi-vent type. different brand, and we called them "cheater" vents. they are an easy install, and go on AFTER any trap, except a toilet.i usually put them on all sink traps, so this issue never develops.
I've used them on a few remodel jobs as well, but only when it was ridiculously difficult to run a proper vent line. They're basically a check valve that lets air in, but not out.
Last edited:
Late to the party, I know, but looking at that picture, you can tell there was some previous homeowner repairs/remodels. The "vent" looks like at one time went to the roof judging by the hole cut in the floor above it, but has since been done away with. It could even still be open at the top, I would look at that. If you haven't had issues before, then you were venting from somewhere, but it's now clogged. Had the same issue in my house. First moved in everything worked great, but after several showers, brushing teeth, hands, etc. a day compared to it sitting 2 years. When the sink refused to drain any water, something was up. Come to find that section of piping that included the vent, was rusted/clogged up to the point of no return.
Glad it's resolved for you, but that's an odd cure that doesn't add up. Out of curiosity, how old is the septic system?
Was the tank water level higher than normal? I wonder if the output filter was clogged, leading to a higher level than normal, which may have backed up a bit, blocking off a vent. Normally that causes flushing problems, but maybe it just had too high of a level.
I'm not sure if the water level was higher than normal. I'm also not sure how old the septic tank is either, I'd like to find out. The main part of the house is from the 1920's or 1930's, and an addition was put in sometime in the 70's I think.
- Status
Similar threads
