Tri Level Home Toilet Backing Into Shower, Not Lowest Level

[SoloMan]

Hello. I own a tri level home with basement (four separate levels) that was built in 1973. This morning I woke up and noticed sewage all over the inside of my downstairs shower, which is on a concrete slab. The force of this back up was somewhat powerful as the sewage splashed on the shower curtain and seemed to "ruffle" it up a bit. There was mostly fecal matter and toilet paper in the shower basin.

I do not believe that this is a main sewer blockage because I washed a load of clothes in the basement, beneath the floor with the downstairs shower, and I did not have any backing up in the basement wash tubs. My washing machine drains into the basement wash tubs.

I worked on the clog in the downstairs bathroom all day without much success, of course my snaking tools were not working out so well because they are so old. I definitely need to upgrade my snaking tools, but to be honest, I never had to snake a clog like this mess.

It seems as if the shower clog will drain SLOWLY over the course of many hours. The toilet, located directly beside the shower, is also clogged and will not drain. If I plunge the toilet vigiriously, it will sometimes come up through the drain in the shower. If I plunge the shower, it will sometimes cause the toilet to bubble. Also, using the sink in the same bathroom will result in water coming up into the shower basin.

There is another bathroom located directly above this bathroom on the top floor. I just did a quick test where i flushed the upstairs toilet, and the sewage came up through the drain in the downstairs shower. I assume the upstairs sink and shower will do the same.

This is the first time I have ever had a back up like this in this bathroom. I never use the shower down there, though. However, occasionally I will run water through the shower just to keep the drain P-trap filled and it is always fine. I do use the toilet down there occasionally, and I never have an issue as well. I also used the toilet down there a few days ago and didn't experience any troubles.

I scooped out most of the facal matter and toilet paper from the downstairs shower basin. It seems as if the flow of toilet paper is done, however, if I flush the toilet and try to plunge it, or use the sink, dark brown water (fecal!) is still backing up into the shower basin.

Any suggestions? I poured about 3/4 gallon of Draino down the shower drain without any impact.

 

[havasu]

Do not use chemicals! Call a reputable plumber and please let them know you have used caustic chemicals, so they can take the necessary safety precautions.

 

[Mr_David]

Does your basement have a sewage ejector pump system.
could be the basement fixtures are pumped up to the next level with the shower. That's way it splashed up onto the curtains. Just a guess.

Call a pro.

That kitchen sink I did last Sunday. For those who SEE all and KNOW all.
Customer used Drano. Did not have the courtesy to warn me. I guess he assumed I would see the empty bottle along with all the other crap piled on the counter top.

I treat all drains as though they have something nasty in them.

 

[SoloMan]

I have called a plumber. All toilets, showers, and bathroom sinks all back up in the downstairs shower. The only drains that do not back up are the basement washtubs and the kitchen sink, which are located on the opposite side of the house.

I went to Walmart last night and purchased one of those 25' snakes with the hand crank. I couldn't get it to go into the shower drain more than approximately 12" no matter what I did. I also used my 12 gallon Shop Vac to suck the drain in the downstairs shower. I'm not sure how many times I carried that heavy sucker into the basement to dump into the wash tubs, but I probably pulled out 80-100 gallons of water from the sewage system.

I don't think that the clog is anywhere near the downstairs shower or toilet, based on how much water it actually takes to fill up the sewage line to the point where it backs up in the shower. It takes awhile. Downstairs toilet is still clogged, but upstairs toilet dumps right into the downstairs shower regardless.

Out of options and I had to catch a plumber soon before the weekend prices began.

By the way, there is no sewage ejection pump in the basement.

The kitchen sink and basement washtubs are located on the opposite side of the house and are located directly above and below one another. I can see their sewage plumbing and it appears to go straight into the concrete slab in the basement, a few feet from the sump pit.

I am not sure how the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms are plumbed in, though. They must go into the concrete slab in the floor that is beside the basement, because there are no visible sewage lines running into the basement from anywhere. The house has a staggered configuration. The basement is directly below the kitchen and living room main floor, and then the downstairs level is beneath the top floor where the bedrooms are located, if that makes any sense. So the home is not stacked on top of itself with all of the floors in a straight line, if that makes any sense.

I assume all of these systems tie in together and that there are NOT two separate discharges from the home? I guess I'll find out in a few hours.

 

[Mr_David]

Hand snake is not going to do a thing even if you could reach it.
Good luck with that A Drain guy should be able to figure it out for you.
Just need the right equipment.

 

[SoloMan]

Roto Rooter large power snake device could not clear the clog. There is a sludge patch of about 5' in a 35' line running through the downstairs slab. it pokes through but then the sludge seals when pulling out.

Also had a supervisor with a camera come by and run a camera through the line to the sewer. There is really a heavy sludge in there that seals up after you poke through.

Tomorrow, another tech is going to come out to power flush it. That should take care of it.

From what they can see right now there is no damage to the line. There is a "belly" out in my backyard that is filled with water, but it is clean water so they doubt that is causing me any of these issues.

I personally blame the Charmin toilet paper! I think they did an exceptional job today and let me watch and view the camera inspection process. I can't wait to have running toilets again. Thankfully I have two sinks in the home that work and I can take a Tennessee shower in the basement. But no working toilets, going #2 is a problem! You never realize how much you depend on a luxury such as plumbing until it isn't functional.

No way in hell I could have accomplished this on my own with basic tools.

I also learned how difficult it is to get a local plumber to come out within 72 hours. Some well known businesses don't even return phone calls. Thank goodness for Roto Rooter. I know that they have mixed reviews online, but the two guys that worked here today were exceptional.

 

[havasu]

Glad to hear it is almost fixed. Let us know how it works!

 

[SoloMan]

To be honest, up until Thursday morning, I didn't have any plumbing issues. No slow drains or anything. This was most certainly out-of-the-blue with no warning signs.

 

[Matt30]

Okay...I'll bite

What the hell is a Tenesee shower?

 

[SoloMan]

Okay...I'll bite

What the hell is a Tenesee shower?

My Dad told me that one guy that he knew used to take Tennessee showers, at least that is how he described it. I don't know if it is any official term or not.

Regardless, in my basement I have one of those coiled hoses and a nozzle that has an on/off switch that doesn't require you to hold it.

Basically, since the basement is unfinished and you can see the wood floor above, I just let the hose hang over the floor trusses and used the nozzle as you would a shower head.

There is a floor drain that drains right into the sump pit, so it was convenient for an emergency situation such as this.