what's wrong with my toilet

[realredpanda]

so i get home today to find the toilet has overflown and flooded the bathroom, pretty sure no one had used it today, so after we clean up the mess hours later i go to find it started overflowing again, and again no one has used it or flushed, why is it overflowing when it's not even being used?

 

[OdiN]

oyu shat ion it!!

 

[altonb1]

It sounds like the water is overflowing the bowl and running onto your floor.

I mean, just a hunch....

Edit for disclaimer: I am not a plumber.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: altonb1
It sounds like the water is overflowing the bowl and running onto your floor.

I mean, just a hunch....

Edit for disclaimer: I am not a plumber.

Thankin you captains obvioust!

 

[Coquito]

I've had this happen a couple times when it rains heavy. The main leaving my home was clogged & slowed down the drainage. My bathroom is the lowest point in the house, so rainwater was coming up the shower & toilet to escape. We dug up the front corner of the basement & cleared it from there.

It could just be a everyday running toilet. Pray that it is.

 

[Blain]

If it's actually "overflowing" the bowl, it's clogged somewhere down the line.
There's now drain valve in the waste line. A trap holds a certain amount of water to keep out gases and give your "deposits" some liquid to float in.

If it's coming out between the toilet and the floor, you need a new wax ring.

> Here's a visual for you <
The wax ring seals the outlet to the drain. Cost is about $3 to replace yourself.

 

[jagec]

A combination of a mild clog in the drain, and a leak in the tank.

Too bad modern toilets suck so much. There are piles of older designs that use less water for the same effectiveness and never leak.

 

[Captante]

Too much fiber in the diet?

 

[moshquerade]

toilet monster :evil:

 

[Paperdoc]

I think Jagec got it right. Since nobody has used the toilet, you have not proven to yourself that it IS plugged up already! I would bet if you flushed it, it would overflow. Now, combine that with a leaking tank fill valve that does not shut off, and you have a constant flow of water into the tank, thence into the bowl that is plugged. Presto, overflow.

Use a plunger to clear the pluggage until it does not overflow when flushed. Then check out the tank fill valve and get it fixed so it shuts off completely when it should.

 

[Rubycon]

Where's the toilet? If it's on a ground floor or in a basement the main line going to the municipal drain may be partially obstructed or have a belly (dip) trapping water. A partial drain from above will slowly fill the main until it backs up and overflows the toilet bowl since it's the lowest open point. Water always seeks to its own level.

You may need to hire a plumber to videograph your main line to see if it's been breach ed by tree roots or settlement, etc. Tree root breaching can be cleared temporarily with a cutter on a cable rooter but the roots come back quickly. The proper remedy in this case is to dig up the yard. If it's below concrete than pipe bursting technique is employed.

Of course this is assuming you have municipal sewer service. If you have a septic tank the same rules apply to videograph the line to the tank. Most tank faults are dropped baffles and drainfield collapse. Proper remedy is costly but is necessary.