Why Is My Toilet Bubbling?
Is your toilet bubbling or gurgling at random times even when you haven’t flushed it? You may be having a bigger problem on your hands… The following discussion suggests some of the remedies that you can use to fix this plumbing problem on your own before you call the professionals at Tureks Plumbing Services for help.
Why the Toilet May Be Bubbling or Gurgling
The root cause of a bubbling toilet is negative suction pressure inside the drain line. Fox Valley plumbers explain that this negative air pressure causes an airlock within the drain. Consequently, this airlock may be released, resulting in the air traveling back to the toilet.
The air then bubbles through the water in your toilet and that is why you will hear that random gurgling or bubbling sound. In some cases, the toilet may flush itself. Scary, huh?
Several remedies may fix this problem, depending on what exactly is causing the clog and where that clog is located in your plumbing system. Try the options below and see whether the bubbling stops.
Plunge the Toilet
The plumbers at Tureks Plumbing Services suggest that the first step to take to resolve the problem is by plunging the toilet. This should be done after blocking all the nearby drains, such as the sink, the shower drain, and the bathtub drain.
If you don’t block the other drains, the pressure created by the plunger will escape through those drains instead of acting on the clog that is responsible for the airlocks in the system. Use duct tape to seal or block the other drains and pump the toilet plunger 10 or more times. Be observant and find out whether the gurgling or bubbling sounds emerge again.
Check With Your Neighbors
A plumber in Appleton, WI also says that the clog triggering the bubbling in your toilet may be in the municipal sewer line. If that is so, then the problem will not be unique to your property alone.
So, you should contact your neighbors and find out whether any of them has also noticed that their toilet is bubbling or gurgling. If your neighbors are having the same probelm, then you should notify the municipal sewer company. They will send someone to check the sewer line and fix it at no cost to you.
Use a Plumber’s Snake
Another remedy that could fix the problem is by using a plumbing snake to remove any clog in the toilet drain. Plunging the toilet only works to dislodge smaller clogs. Using a plumber’s snake is a better option when the clog is tougher.
You can use either a motorized or a manual plumber’s auger/snake to unclog the toilet. Manual snakes are usually good when the clog is located close to the drain opening since the snake can only travel to a maximum of 15 feet.
Motorized augers are better for clogs located deeper in the system since they are longer and attack clogs with more power. You can rent this motorized plumbing snake from at a home improvement store near you instead of spending much more money to hire a plumber to unclog the toilet.
The head of the motorized plumbing auger is unlikely to pass through the toilet bowl drain, so you may need to remove the toilet and pass the auger through the floor drain. A Fox Valley plumber advises that you also run the plumbing snake through the cleanouts located at regular intervals along the sewer line in your yard if you suspect that the clog is farther out in the system.
If you fail to locate or open the cleanout, contact Tureks Plumbing Services and one of our plumbers will come over and help you to unclog the pipe.
Inspect and Clean the Vent Stack
The vent stack allows sewer gases in the plumbing system to escape to the atmosphere. If anything blocks the vent stack, negative pressure can build up inside a drain and trigger the toilet bubbling that you have been hearing.
To check the vent stack, climb onto the roof and tie a flashlight onto a wire or rope. Lower the torch into the stack and peer down to see where the blockage is located. Tree leaves and small animals (rodents, for example) are the most common culprits when vent stacks are blocked. Use a straightened coat hanger to break through the clog, or use a garden hose to force the clog down into the drain. A plumber’s snake can also clear this clog in the vent stack.
Call a plumber in Appleton, WI for help if you are queasy about the prospect of climbing onto the roof in order to check and clean the vent stack.
In most cases, one of the four options above is usually sufficient to put an end to the bubbling or gurgling in the toilet. If none of those solutions work, contact Tureks Plumbing Services for professional help. A sewer pipe may have collapsed, or tree roots may have partially blocked a sewer line. We are equipped to trace the problem to its root and fix it so that the abnormal sound you are hearing from your toilet is put to an end.