I'm in a bind

[pipehelp]

Hey guys. I'm hoping for some advice here. I moved in to a 50-60 year old house about 6 months ago. I'm in central CA so the winter temps are not extreme in case that's relevant. I never had (serious?) plumbing issues here - on the rare occasion the bathroom drain might have moved a little slow, but it wasn't very noticeable. and a few times i flushed the toilet and it seemed to have a little trouble getting everything down, but that didn't seem out of the ordinary. it didn't have trouble draining or anything.

Today - I was running the bath water for the first time in a week (i have no hot water currently), and after about 5 minutes, the toilet began to gurgle a lot. Then, the bath water stopped draining. I turned it off. I tried flushing the toilet and it didn't drain. I left them and checked back in about 10 minutes and everything had drained. However, I flushed the toilet it again, and it still had trouble draining. I tried flushing an hour later and it was fine. For the rest of the day - it was fine.

About 30 minutes ago, I went to run the sink in the bathroom. No problems with it. But after having it on for about 5 minutes straight - i noticed it too started draining slow. That sink has absolutely never drained slowly before. Though, I've probably never ran it that continuously before. I was using the sink as a substitute for the bath as i was afraid to use the bath pipes..

This is a problem for me because due to my health situation, i can not have anyone in my house right now to fix this. Furthermore, I have no way to leave my house to go to a store. I have at home the following: a beehive plunger, 1 plastic drain snake, and a bottle of drano max gel. This is really all I have. i read about baking soda + vinegar but i only have vinegar. I read recently that if you notice all the drains stopping up at once - that indicates it's an issue in the main sewer line. is that true? does that mean the city could come and fix it without coming in to my house? do you have any general advice - how to go about this? what should i plunge first? i only have one drain snake so i think i only have one chance with that. If none of this i can purchase things online, but it's not simple to get things delivered here so i'm hoping i might be able to make use of what i have.

In case it's relevant - my hot water went out about a month ago. I think the pilot light on the water heater went out. it is outdoors and hadn't been able to check it. since then i was only running the bath water about once a week. i'm not sure if the limited use of the pipes could cause this problem to get worse or something. or maybe it's all a coincidence.

anyway, sorry that was long but i'm looking for general advice here - what to do, what order to do it in. what to get online if needed. to be honest - i can go without using the bath pipes or even that sink if it comes down to it. all i need is the toilet. but it seems like maybe they're all connected?

 

[Jeff Handy]

It sounds like a partial blockage in your sewer line from the house to the street, which is probably your responsibility.
The longer you ignore it, the more packed up the sewer will get, until it forms a solid clog.
It could be roots, saggy sewer line, or just a big clog stuck at a fitting or joint.
Is there a cleanout opening out in the yard?
If so, you could have a plumber snake the sewer from there.
They can snake towards the house and towards the street.
As is, I think pretty soon you will flush and find water backing up into the tub.

Some cities install a sewer cleanout near the sidewalk, and they will come out and snake the sewer from there to the street for free.
Because it is their territory.

Drano Max might help for awhile, I would stop using all water for as long as possible first.
Like overnight, zero water down any drain.
So the sewer can be empty all the way to the clog.
Then carefully dump the whole bottle into your toilet.
Raise the seat, pour carefully, don’t splash.
Protect your eyes.
Wash hands afterwards.
Then flush twice, then zero water again for a few hours.

Do you own this house?
If renting, your landlord should deal with this.
If you are the owner, you might have to have the sewer snaked or water jetted, and you might have to deal with someone coming inside to work.
They might want to pull off the toilet and run a long sewer snake from there.

PPE and distancing work well, and open the windows.
You can leave the house, wait in your car, whatever.
Sit on the patio.

Good luck, sorry for loooong post!

 

[pipehelp]

thanks man. please don't apologize - i appreciate the length of your post. i am a renter. one of the additional problems i face is that my landlord is terrible about fixing anything, even if it's an emergency. it's promising to hear that perhaps the city has some option to do a cleanout from outside. who would i call to find out - the water company?

about the drano max - on their instructions it said not to use in the toilet. can i ignore that? thank you for the additional advice of using no water at all. that's not a problem. also - when you said it might help temporarily - do you have any thoughts on that - like, a day, a week, a month kind of temporary?

that's a good idea about going outside and sitting in the car btw. thank you for that.

if this is a sewer problem. i am going to be honest with you. i just moved from another city where there was some sewer problem in the pipes. once a year, raw sewage would come up in my garage from all the units. it was such an awful situation. it was never fixed. is this a problem that, if it's there in the house, it's just always there? that was one of the reasons i moved here, to get away from that problem so seeing it arise, really sucks. is this something that a plumber can actually fix or is it always just a temporary thing until the next time it happens?

 

[pipehelp]

sorry, i forgot to ask one thing. you asked: "
Is there a cleanout opening out in the yard?
If so, you could have a plumber snake the sewer from there. "

How do you know if you have one of these? i'm not sure.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Call your village hall, or the general line for city info.
Ask who to speak to about a sewer problem.
Mention your health issues, and ask for info on having your sewer connection cleaned out.
Ask if the city has installed cleanouts.

If you are leery of Drano in the toilet, pour it ALL down the tub drain, followed right away by a gallon or two of very warm water from the stove.
NOT boiling water, it can damage your tub or pipes.

If you have to hire a plumber, deduct the cost from your rent payment, along with a copy of the bill, not the original.

 

[pipehelp]

Wow. This advice is beyond valuable to me. I can not thank you enough, for offering me your time and knowledge. I wouldn't have even known who to call about that stuff. and to be honest i didn't even realize i could hire a plumber and deduct the cost. that's excellent to read.

if you don't mind , i had a couple questions left about the drano. just want to make sure i understand everything. i honestly don't mind one way or the other about which pipe it goes down (tbh, i'm not sure why the instructions say not to put it in the toilet). whatever works best is what i'd like to do. is there a reason you recommended the toilet first? does it matter which drain to put it down (since i imagine it's all going to go to the same place?) or is it best to put it down the one that stops up the most? (which i think is the bathtub?) about pouring the water down - i read that you're supposed to wait 15-30 minutes before flushing with hot water, and that you can even leave it overnight. but you recommended to put the hot water in right away, so i wanted to make sure i understood. is there a reason it's better to do it immediately vs. waiting? (should i also do the water thing if i put it in the toilet?)

thank you for letting me know about the boiling water thing btw. i was going to use boiling water until you mentioned that

i apologize for all my questions, and for taking your time. i hope these are my last questions. i just wanted to make sure i understood the drano process. btw - i imagine if it's a sewer line problem, plunging isn't going to do much right?

 

[Jeff Handy]

A few gallons of very warm water will carry the Drano down to the clog.
You are not “flushing” the pipes by doing that, just getting the Drano where it needs to be.

Yes, all the drain pipes lead to the same place, and the partial clog appears to be in the common drain line they all feed into.

Your landlord might get crabby or threaten legal action if you deduct a plumber’s bill from your rent, but that will at least force him to acknowledge the issue, and you can get him on record that way.

Pouring boiling water into a toilet can crack it, then you are screwed.
Boiling water can also burn you severely.
And can cause Drano to splash out of a drain.
Very warm is fine.
Use a big pasta pot.

You have enough info, proceed!

 

[pipehelp]

Thanks Jeff, this has been incredibly helpful to me. I've been up all night dealing with this, and will tackle it after a good nights sleep.

 

[Jeff Handy]

FYI, I foresee the most likely resolution will be that a plumber will have to pull the toilet, and run a long machine operated snake through there, way out towards the street.

Around Chicago suburbs, that would pbly cost $$250 to $500 dollars, low to high.

 

[pipehelp]

the thing that worries me about this, is it's exactly what happened at my old apt. Sewage would come up in the tub and the garage. They always sent a plumber out - he'd take the toilet out like you mentioned and run some tools down it. then 6 months later the sewage would back up in my garage again. it's one of the reasons i moved. when they run that machine down there, does it actually fix the problem? or this something where they have to do major work, and replace the lines? maybe my past experience is misleading me.

 

[pipehelp]

so i just spent some time looking this up and i think i might understand it a bit better. seems like a plumber can put a camera down and see if/where there's any cracks. and based on that, if the sewer line needs to be repaired.

 

[Zomar]

Jeff’s advice is spot on. The reason he was suggesting the toilet or the tub for the Drano was because they are normally the lowest drain points in the home’s sewer system. Where as your last home the tub and garage were low points. The last home the toilet would be a low point too but typically the toilet’s height and P trap system keeps back ups from coming that way and the backup will go the path of least resistance like the tub and/or garage drain.

Make sure wherever you live that you’re not putting anything down your toilet other than urine, bowel movements and toilet paper.

I would contact your landlord right away, and advise him/her of this problem as well as your hot water tank not working. Advise the landlord that if these matters are not resolved in a very resonable amount of time that you will be having the items addressed and deduct any costs from the rent. You may contact them by phone but you should also follow it up in writing so you have a record in case this becomes a legal matter

 

[pipehelp]

thanks a lot. ok, that makes sense about the low points. the only other thing i am concerned about is how and when to add the water after adding the drano. the instructions say to 'flush' with hot water after 30 minutes (though they say not to put it in the toilet - so they must mean something else by flushing with hot water?) but i know jeff was mentioning adding some hot water initially will help it get where it needs to go. is fully flushing it after 30 minutes a separate process i need to do to in addition to this? if so, what would you guys recommend for that part? i'm sorry for all these questions. i feel like i only have one shot at this so i just want to make sure i do it correctly.

as for the drain - i never put anything down the drain that's not those things. the fact that this is happening twice, one place after another, is making me wonder if this is just this common, or if i'm doing something wrong. my hair falls out easily. could it cause this to happen? i've only lived here a little less than 6 months.

 

[havasu]

Please make sure to let the plumber know that you have used a caustic chemical before his arrival, for his safety.

 

[pipehelp]

Thank you. That would not have occurred to me. Absolutely I will. Can it still cause safety problems for him, or is it something that's manageable as long as he's aware of it?

 

[Jeff Handy]

If the Drano helps for awhile, there is no problem.
It will all be rinsed away.
If the problem stays the same, running the sink, flushing toilet a few times, running some bath water, will rinse it out safely.

 

[pipehelp]

Thank you.

I am getting ready to turn in for the night finally. just in case this got buried in my many questions - i wanted to double the water step, since i plan to do this when i wake up. my plan is to pour it in the bathtub drain. i will pour in the entire bottle - followed immediately by 1-2 gallons of very warm water (not boiling). how long should i then wait to flush it with hot water again? the instructions say 15-30 minutes, but i read you can even let it stay for hours. do you have a recommendation here? how much water do i need to wash it with that second time once i'm done waiting? i'm not doubting your advice about the initial 1-2 gallons because everyone seems to agree on here, and you clearly know your stuff, but i'm confused because the instructions said to wait before adding water. so i want to make sure i'm not missing something here and mess everything up.

I really appreciate the tip of not running the water prior to using drano for several hours btw. I have even put sticky notes up to remind myself not to run any more water until i do the drano. wouldn't have known about that.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Contact your landlord first, this is all his problem.
Inform him you will be hiring a plumber for the sewer and water heater, unless he fixes both very soon, next few days.
He might object to Drano, don’t even tell him about that.
Just run plenty of warm water after you give it time to work.
I would fill the tub and drain a whole tub full, if you get the heater going.
Can you ask a neighbor or someone to look at the heater, it might just need lighting?

 

[Jeff Handy]

Our last posts crossed.

I would wait at least eight to twelve hours of zero water before doing the Drano.
So that the sewer line can drain as much trapped water as possible.
Otherwise it will be too diluted.
You want the pipe empty, so Drano runs right to the clog.

You can pee multiple times in the toilet, and one poo, just don’t flush.

Put a rag over the flush lever.

I would wait an hour, then do the follow up water to try to rinse out the clog.
You might need more than one bottle, shopping services can deliver it.
I don’t know if it is safe to be shipped online.

I am repeating myself, so good luck!

 

[pipehelp]

Thanks a ton for clarifying. i think i had misunderstood your directions initially but i get it now (i thought i was supposed to run water immediately after putting the drano in the tub). Yes I am planning to wait 8-12 hrs minimum of no water in any pipes before doing the drano. I feel prepared now.

About your last post - i found out the gas company here will come out and light the pilot for free. so i'm planning to do that.

oh. wouldn't have thought to fill the entire tub (if i have warm water) - thanks a ton. should i still wait a few hours after that final rinse (the tub full of warm water 1 hr after the drano), before running any water in the house again btw? i know when you initially suggested doing it in the toilet, you mentioned that afterwards - zero water again for a few hours. but im not sure if it's the same for the tub (if you aren't able to answer this it's cool btw - i will just wait a while out of an abundance caution before using the water.) thank you again for the help you've given me. i feel far better about this situation than i did when i first posted this thread.