# Solved: Burping Toilets and Drains?



## LauraMJ

So.......the last few days, the toilets have not been flushing well, and when someone takes a shower, the toilets and drains in both bathroom make constant burping noises the whole time. One night, after a lot of water usage, the toilets would not flush at all, and when we tried to plunge them, stinky stuff that smelled like the septic tank backed up into the tub and shower......eventually, after we left it alone for a while, it quit doing that and the toilets began flushing normally again, but taking a shower still causes burping in the drains all over the house BUT the water never backs up in the shower (and I take half an hour to shower). Hubby has been up under the house and removed and cleaned the traps in the black water lines and so far as we can determine, there is no actual clog anywhere, at least as far as we can follow the lines. Don't know about after they go into the ground. 

Anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this? Would the septic tank being too full cause something like this?


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## wacor

check the vents for a blockage

could be a birds nest or something where the vents come thru the roof


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## hewee

Take a water hose up on the roof with you and run water down the air vents to the drains. 

Where I was living we had a slow draining tub and it got to where taking a shower you was standing in water because it was not draining fast. 
The toilet would work OK but then not OK when you used to much paper and it was hard to deal with when plug up. Wait and try again and maybe later in the day or next day all was OK. 
This went on for a couple years and happen more and more and running water down the vents helped some times.
But later found out the real trouble was the tree roots got into the drain line to the septic tank. It was cracked on top so dirt etc would fall into the drain and it take time for water to wash it away. Then you get a break and a week or when ever it happen again. 

Your out in the woods so bet you got things growing around the lines also unless you made sure not to have anything along the sewer line.


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## jiml8

Probably a clog in the main drain.


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## Koot

jiml8 said:


> Probably a clog in the main drain.


I agree - it's probably a clog in the main drain. Since numerous toilets and drains are all affected multiple vent pipes would have to be blocked ... which is highly doubtful. I suspect the Roto-Rooter man is what is needed.


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## Cheeseball81

Hehe....burping toilets. 

We had a sorta similar problem here. Whenever I'd run the washing machine (and sometimes when taking a shower), the toilet would "gurgle" and make blooping noises. Yes blooping. Like bubbling noises. 
And then finally when the washing machine ran, our toilet and tub both filled with dirty gray water.
We ended up having a major clog in a one of the main pipes. Plumber had to snake it and use all kinda tools to get rid of it. 
It was pretty nasty. But it never happened again after that. 
Call a plumber or roto rooter.

Otherwise, maybe your toilet just has gas


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## hewee

What is cool now days is they can fish a camera down the sewer lines to see things. 

You know this place here the toilet sounds just like what Cheeseball81 said. It acts up also now and then so there could be something wrong.


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## ngk0585

Call Roto rooter. OR - when was the last time you got the septic tank cleaned? If more than a couple of years, I'd call the septic people and get them to clean and fix the problem.


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## LouCopits

We had burping toilets caused by blocked vent pipes up on the roof.


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## LauraMJ

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! 

Cheeseball81.........yes, blooping.......that's it exactly.  

The septic tank has never been cleaned since we bought the place, about nine years ago. We are currently building a new house (log home) up here, and the county is requiring us to have the tank pumped before we can hook it all up to the new house this fall......so maybe we'll just go on and have that done now, since most seem to think it's a clog or full tank. We'll check the vents in the roof just in case, but if those are fine, Hubby says we'll just go on and have the septic cleaned out now, since it will have to be done in a couple of months, anyway.


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## Cheeseball81

Hehe, I know my bloops!


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## jiml8

You'd better hope it's not a full tank, since that would imply that your leach lines are clogged. If they're clogged, you'll be digging them up...


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## Bernardo

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......dare I say anything here?


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## LauraMJ

Bernardo said:


> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......dare I say anything here?


I suggest you quietly walk away.


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## Bernardo

As to the question about the septic tank being too close to full.........yes, time to pump it, or drill baby drill as some folks would put it


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## Bernardo

LauraMJ said:


> I suggest you quietly walk away.


As usual, I type first  then read later   

*backing away slowly now *


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## wacor

LauraMJ said:


> Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
> 
> Cheeseball81.........yes, blooping.......that's it exactly.
> 
> The septic tank has never been cleaned since we bought the place, about nine years ago. We are currently building a new house (log home) up here, and the county is requiring us to have the tank pumped before we can hook it all up to the new house this fall......so maybe we'll just go on and have that done now, since most seem to think it's a clog or full tank. We'll check the vents in the roof just in case, but if those are fine, Hubby says we'll just go on and have the septic cleaned out now, since it will have to be done in a couple of months, anyway.


You do realize that ignoring the tank for years is a sure fire recipe to ruining the field don't you?

It is preventative maintainence and should be done once a year.


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## valis

Cheeseball81 said:


> Hehe, I know my bloops!


how about this one?


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## valis

LauraMJ said:


> The septic tank has never been cleaned since we bought the place, about nine years ago. We are currently building a new house *(log home)* up here


very nice....:up:

my pop has been wanting to build a log house forever, but never found the proper piece of land to dump it on. Now, alas, in his words, it too late.......

congrats, laura, and I can't wait to see the pics of the non-blooping house. how many stables you gonna have?


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## Cheeseball81

valis said:


> how about this one?


That would be it. See? I was right.


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## LauraMJ

valis said:


> very nice....:up:
> 
> my pop has been wanting to build a log house forever, but never found the proper piece of land to dump it on. Now, alas, in his words, it too late.......
> 
> congrats, laura, and I can't wait to see the pics of the non-blooping house. how many stables you gonna have?


Got pictures of the construction of the house in my Facebook page. That album is public so anyone can see them.  We are doing all the work ourselves, by hand.

We've got the windows in now, I'll have to update the pictures, and we've also got the logs on the inside of the house sealed. Gonna start the interior walls soon.


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## LauraMJ

wacor said:


> You do realize that ignoring the tank for years is a sure fire recipe to ruining the field don't you?
> 
> It is preventative maintainence and should be done once a year.


ONCE A YEAR?? Ick!  Don't think I could do it that often.


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## jiml8

LauraMJ said:


> ONCE A YEAR?? Ick!  Don't think I could do it that often.


Once a year is usually a fairly safe interval, unless you have a tank that is substantially too small for the population in the home or you have soil that doesn't leach well (high in clay, typically).

If you have a big tank, a small home population, and good soil, you can go without cleaning for many years.

I suggest you google on the subject, learn a bit about the soil where you live, and then know what you can do and can't.


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## valis

LauraMJ said:


> Got pictures of the construction of the house in my Facebook page. That album is public so anyone can see them.  We are doing all the work ourselves, by hand.
> 
> We've got the windows in now, I'll have to update the pictures, and we've also got the logs on the inside of the house sealed. Gonna start the interior walls soon.


very nice......told nic I had been away from f/b so long I forgot my password, going to have to reload that one, I reckon.....it's totally cool that you are building that yourself. Sorta picked up that desire from my pop, going over the possible blueprints and designs.......heck, who knows what the future holds, eh?


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## valis

Cheeseball81 said:


> That would be it. See? I was right.


dang. 

thought I could slide one past you there.......not many have heard about that......still bugs me that they don't know *what* it was........


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## Cheeseball81

I'm pretty shocked myself that I knew that. Sometimes I just whip out the most useless information. But this time, it happen to come in handy. Yay.


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## Drabdr

LauraMJ said:


> Got pictures of the construction of the house in my Facebook page. That album is public so anyone can see them.  We are doing all the work ourselves, by hand.
> 
> We've got the windows in now, I'll have to update the pictures, and we've also got the logs on the inside of the house sealed. Gonna start the interior walls soon.


What's it under, Laura? I looked under Mane Street, the only pictures there were of some stupid horses.





Those were some beautiful horses. I assume you assisted in breeding them.


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## Bernardo

I can't find anything under Mane Street


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## Drabdr

Bernardo said:


> I can't find anything under Mane Street


Hi Bernardo!

See if this link gets you there:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=139590235284&v=wall&ref=ts


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## wacor

LauraMJ said:


> ONCE A YEAR?? Ick!  Don't think I could do it that often.


Ummm

you pay somebody else to do it silly 

Soil conditions do have an impact on how often it needs to be done. I still stand by the advice to do it regularly. Consider it pretty cheap insurance compared to the alternative of replacing the field.


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## LauraMJ

jiml8 said:


> Once a year is usually a fairly safe interval, unless you have a tank that is substantially too small for the population in the home or you have soil that doesn't leach well (high in clay, typically).
> 
> If you have a big tank, a small home population, and good soil, you can go without cleaning for many years.
> 
> I suggest you google on the subject, learn a bit about the soil where you live, and then know what you can do and can't.


We have mostly shale and rock.  EVERYTHING drains up here.  We didn't even have to put in a base under our ring, just dumped the top footing sand on it and even in a heavy rain it's drained off within hours. 


wacor said:


> Ummm
> 
> you pay somebody else to do it silly


I know that!  But just the very thought.......ick. 



Drabdr said:


> What's it under, Laura? I looked under Mane Street, the only pictures there were of some stupid horses.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Those were some beautiful horses. I assume you assisted in breeding them.





Bernardo said:


> I can't find anything under Mane Street


It's under my NAME, people! Not my business. 

Here, for you Facebook-challenged people:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017961&id=1461930238&l=df73d98f23


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## Drabdr

LauraMJ said:


> It's under my NAME, people! Not my business.
> 
> Here, for you Facebook-challenged people:
> 
> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017961&id=1461930238&l=df73d98f23


I'll admit I'm dumb, but not that dumb!!

I can't pull up the link where I am, but I'll look tonight. I put your name in the Facebook search (even spelled correctly) and nothing came up. It yielded Internet searches for Mane Street, but no Facebook account.

Thanks Laura.


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## Drabdr

Laura, I've been following this to an extent.

Did you check with the company that installed the septic system? They may have a pretty reasonable rate for servicing. 

Too..... you might want to read the riot act to the family that they need to take it light what they try to flush down in one flush. 

My granny and pa always had a week septic system at their house, and everyone knew to kind of take it easy on what they flushed. It significantly minimized their issues with the system.


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## Bernardo

Drabdr said:


> Hi Bernardo!
> 
> See if this link gets you there:
> 
> http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=139590235284&v=wall&ref=ts


Thanks :up:


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## Bernardo

LauraMJ said:


> We have mostly shale and rock.  EVERYTHING drains up here.  We didn't even have to put in a base under our ring, just dumped the top footing sand on it and even in a heavy rain it's drained off within hours.
> 
> I know that!  But just the very thought.......ick.
> 
> It's under my NAME, people! Not my business.
> 
> Here, for you Facebook-challenged people:
> 
> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017961&id=1461930238&l=df73d98f23


Thanks!  I AM FB challenged  Took me forever to get an account, and then figuring out what to do once I was there


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## JohnWill

I had this issue and I discovered that the vents had a long horizontal run in the attic. The pipe filled with water, then had a bow in the middle, blocking the venting. The solution was to have a drop from the vent location to where the pipe when down and to brace the pipe so that it wouldn't flex.


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## LauraMJ

Drabdr said:


> I'll admit I'm dumb, but not that dumb!!
> 
> I can't pull up the link where I am, but I'll look tonight. I put your name in the Facebook search (even spelled correctly) and nothing came up. It yielded Internet searches for Mane Street, but no Facebook account.
> 
> Thanks Laura.


Don't know why it would not find my name in a search on Facebook.....I'm in there.  Of course, once you went to that page you linked to for The Mane Street, you'll see my name in there and can then just click on my name to get to my profile. Either way works.


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## hewee

Make sure all new drains in the new home have seals on them till it's time ti finish so nothing gets down in the main drains and sewer because I have seen 2x4 in them and it can take time for the 2x4 gets to where it really blocks things and then you got to find and dig the sewer to get to it and fix it.


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## LauraMJ

Thanks, hewee! We'll make sure to have them covered.


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## hewee

You're welcome

Then as you go along if you got lots of animals out there in the woods then they like to check things out so they can also get in anyplace the fit into. 
We had a cat get into the duct work and that was fun trying to get the cat to come out. Would of been worse if the cat went inside the duct because you would have to replace it and even worse if it did go but we did not think it did and months later it starts to smell so now you got to replace it but also all the added work getting to the duct.

So any opening something can get into from falling to someone putting something in there to it walking in there because you got animals and pest of all sizes.


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## LauraMJ

Sooooo.......it ended up with a broken pipe between the house and the septic tank, that probably cracked this winter because it was backed up half the time because the tank was so full the tank contents were nearly covering the entry pipe. 

So, we are going to wrap the cracked pipe with some shingles just to get us through another few months until we have the new house built, and we had the septic tank pumped today.

No more burping or blooping. 

Thanks, everyone!


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## Bernardo

You can't solve burping and blooping in only 3 pages  Can't be done!


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## EAFiedler

It's only one page for me.


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## Bernardo

EAFiedler said:


> It's only one page for me.


I have a small monitor


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## LauraMJ

Bernardo said:


> You can't solve burping and blooping in only 3 pages  Can't be done!


I'm talented.


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## hewee

If you want to put a cheap fix on it wrap plastic all the way around to because you want to keep anything from getting into it. The burping was the air getting into the pipe and the other trouble was dirt etc falling tru the crack into the sewer line.
So take some thicker plastic and wrap it around 2 or 3 time tight and a foot to each side of the crack and duct tape it off.
Or 
Just fix it the right way because you know it needs to be fixed and you found the trouble so fix it and get it over with.


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## Cheeseball81

So long, bloops!


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## LauraMJ

hewee said:


> If you want to put a cheap fix on it wrap plastic all the way around to because you want to keep anything from getting into it. The burping was the air getting into the pipe and the other trouble was dirt etc falling tru the crack into the sewer line.
> So take some thicker plastic and wrap it around 2 or 3 time tight and a foot to each side of the crack and duct tape it off.
> Or
> Just fix it the right way because you know it needs to be fixed and you found the trouble so fix it and get it over with.


Hewee, we just need a quick fix, because in a few months, those lines won't be used anymore, since our new house will be finished and we'll be using the new house's lines. Once we tear down this house, those old lines will be irrelevant, so we're not going to put any money into fixing them properly.


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## hewee

OK just plastic and tape then to cut off air getting into the line.


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## Bernardo

You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.


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## LauraMJ

Bernardo said:


> You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.


:up:


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## guy2

hewee said:


> What is cool now days is they can fish a camera down the sewer lines to see things.
> 
> You know this place here the toilet sounds just like what Cheeseball81 said. It acts up also now and then so there could be something wrong.


That's so freaking expensive it hurt me and i wasn't even payin ,i was a laborer for a few contractors an would talk to the plumbers quite often and they charge over 800-1000$ on top of the 250-300$ for just showing up ''gangsters i tell you''.


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## Cookiegal

Bernardo said:


> You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.


Good one. :up:


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## hewee

I got a friend who just got a camera. Not like the ones to go into the sewer but a snake type I guess can be use under homes and in walls etc to see.

Wait Laura likes horses.









See Laura you may want to have a outhouse. 
This Outhouse, built in 1892 and located

[url=http://debylin.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/well-i-guess-im-going-to-need-an-outhouse/]Well I Guess Im Going to Need an Outhouse!


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