Toilet Keeps Blocking - Any thoughts please?

paintpot

I have a toilet in a BTL that keeps blocking up i.e. it doesn't take the toilet paper away properly and the bowl fills up when the loo is flushed and then the water gradually dissipates. I have had a plumber out twice, first time it was a plunging job which cleared the problem etc. Then it happened again, this time the toilet was taken off and there was loads of paper stuck in the back, this was totally cleared, the plumber stuck his arm up the way up the back of the toilet, rods were sent down the soil pipe, the man holes were taken up which didn't reveal anything and then the toilet was tested by flushing loads of toilet paper down and each time it appeared in the manhole. Problem solved - not! The problem is back again :mad: Water pressure seems normal, toilet is flushing normally. The tenant is not flushing anything down there that shouldn't be e.g. no sanitary towels, wipes, nappies etc, she is using the toilet in the same way as she always has which I believe totally. I really want to get the problem solved for her as soon as possible.

Any suggestions please as to what the problem could be and the remedy.

Thanks

wisewoman

paintpot wrote: »

I have a toilet in a BTL that keeps blocking up i.e. it doesn't take the toilet paper away properly and the bowl fills up when the loo is flushed and then the water gradually dissipates. I have had a plumber out twice, first time it was a plunging job which cleared the problem etc. Then it happened again, this time the toilet was taken off and there was loads of paper stuck in the back, this was totally cleared, the plumber stuck his arm up the way up the back of the toilet, rods were sent down the soil pipe, the man holes were taken up which didn't reveal anything and then the toilet was tested by flushing loads of toilet paper down and each time it appeared in the manhole. Problem solved - not! The problem is back again :mad: Water pressure seems normal, toilet is flushing normally. The tenant is not flushing anything down there that shouldn't be e.g. no sanitary towels, wipes, nappies etc, she is using the toilet in the same way as she always has which I believe totally. I really want to get the problem solved for her as soon as possible.

Any suggestions please as to what the problem could be and the remedy.

Thanks

Hi!
My sister had a similar problem with her loo...eventually the plumber discovered that the lid from a round tub of cotton buds had fallen down the loo. Its diameter was the same as the pipe-work, so it fitted snugly inside the pipe, but was able to rotate on its axis...so, sometimes it moved round into a closed position-and the plumber was called...and other times it rotated slowly round to an open position and allowed things to flow smoothly, so it appeared that the problem was sorted...for a short time. Hope this helps.

dander

You haven't got any water saving devices in the cistern, have you? I found the hippos and the like actually proved more trouble than they were worth and my loos needed a full cistern full of water to get everything flushed away effectively.

Bungarm2001

Sounds to me like she might be putting too much loo paper down there.

We had a child in a flat that would shove loads of paper down the loo when his Mum's back was turned. Trouble is, Mum would then just flush to try to get rid of it. Every time she did it, the loo backed up just the way you describe.

I'm not saying that your tenant is doing it deliberately, but some loos just can't take a load of paper unfortunately.

crankup

It might be the brand of toilet roll. Most should break down into bits really quick. Some take much more time to soak and end up simply blocking. Charmin had a bad name for it not so long back.

bookduck

Sanitary towel or nappy caught on the limescale?

firstly I'd go the sulphuric or hydrochloric acid pouring route. Then if this does not work then a snake. If that does not work, then it is plumber time.

The other question is how much water drains before the it seems to stop as that will roughly illustrate where the blockage is.

papalaz

we had this exact same problem, only thing that worked was switching to the cheapest value brand i could find. As crankup has mentioned, the 'luxury' paper always blocked our loo. I now buy 12 rolls of the cheapo for about £1, no more blockages as it seems to breaks down in the water more quickly.;)

Doozergirl

We had similar problems. Turned out that the plumber had shoved one of the smaller waste pipes from a sink right into the main one so the blockage was permanent. So if too much went down the loo it blocked (I feel sick)

Infinite possibilites for yours then!

mk_wotsit

Another fan of cheapo loo roll here. We used to have problems with the luxury kind...fortunately Mr.Wotsit has a set of chimney sweep brushes that double up as drain rods.
Since sticking to cheapo stuff, we've had no blockages!

Lewis_Gerolemou

It could be a poorly designed pan. We have just got rid of a 20+ year old siphon trap wc. It blocked no matter how careful we were in not putting too much paper down it etc. It's possible, as has already been mentioned, that there is not enough water in each flush to clear out the trap.