Venting pipe toilet issue

[thuisinthailand]

Hi all,

 

We have a long-time toilet issue (the flushing is not ok), and we, finally, may have found the cause. So this topic is to check if I am right, and what we might be able to do about it.

 

Our toilet is not flushing well. That is to say: sometimes it flushes perfectly, but more often then not, the bowl almost overflows when flushing, then the water goes down slowly. When we throw in a bucket, it almost always flushes ok though. The flushing mechanism is working ok. We thought to have found the cause, when we discovered a little leak behind the toilet in the bathroom, where the venting pipe is leaving the toilet to go outside the house. We sealed that off, toilet is not leaking in the bathroom anymore. But now we just discovered that the venting pipe outside the house is leaking water as well when we flush. Water (just a little bit) is coming out between where the venting pipe comes out of the house and the wall, while you can hear a gurgling sound. We never spotted this, because there is a lot of vegetation on that side of the house (the pipe is not blocked though, the end of it is clear).

 

So... could this leaking of the venting pipe be the cause of the flushing issues? And if yes, what can we do about it? Would it be sufficient to seal off the leaking spot with some concrete (not the end of the pipe of course!), or do we need to replace the entire venting pipe? Or something else?

 

Thanks a lot in advance for your thoughts on this!

[CharlieH]

How full is the receiving tank ? is it possible its near full and this is slowing down the out-flow ?

[thuisinthailand]

3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

How full is the receiving tank ? is it possible its near full and this is slowing down the out-flow ?

If so, how then could the toilet flush sometimes really good (especially when using a bucket)? I suspect this is mainly a vacuum issue, but I could be wrong of course ????

[CharlieH]

3 minutes ago, thuisinthailand said:

If so, how then could the toilet flush sometimes really good (especially when using a bucket)? I suspect this is mainly a vacuum issue, but I could be wrong of course ????

The pressure of a larger volume forcing its way in ? Why not just check how full that tank is, as a process of illimination ?, just a suggestion ????

[johng]

Seems to me the more leaks you have the less vacuum you would have ?

the receiving tank could be full and  overflowing slowly  when it gets back down to the overflow level  toilet will flush ok for a while  then be full up again and almost flood the bowl.

[Caiman]

Flushing OK with a bucket could also indicate a heavily scaled toilet rim slowing water entering the bowl. Many videos on YouTube.

 

 

[thuisinthailand]

1 hour ago, johng said:

Seems to me the more leaks you have the less vacuum you would have ?

the receiving tank could be full and  overflowing slowly  when it gets back down to the overflow level  toilet will flush ok for a while  then be full up again and almost flood the bowl.

If that were the case, the flushing and not-flushing should be more regular (imho), for instance you would expect that it flushes ok when first used in the morning after a nights rest. That is not the case however, this morning it hardly flushed the first 3 times or so, then with nr 4, suddenly a very good flush. That puzzles me...

Edited October 29, 2018 by thuisinthailand

[thuisinthailand]

40 minutes ago, Caiman said:

Flushing OK with a bucket could also indicate a heavily scaled toilet rim slowing water entering the bowl. Many videos on YouTube.

 

 

I have seen those videos, but this toilet is only about 1 year old. We had it replaced last year because the previous one did not work good....

[mahjongguy]

Just in case, let me add:  western toilets won't work well if the drain is built below floor level in the way that is traditional for squat toilets. The drain pipe should rise above the floor enough to use a wax seal.

[thuisinthailand]

9 minutes ago, mahjongguy said:

Just in case, let me add:  western toilets won't work well if the drain is built below floor level in the way that is traditional for squat toilets. The drain pipe should rise above the floor enough to use a wax seal.

The drain is certainly not build that way. But then again, how to explain why it (irregularly, sometimes even a week in a row or so), flushes really good? And how to ensure to have the wax seal? Completely rebuild the drain pipe/system towards the septic tank I suppose?

[thuisinthailand]

An additional thought/question: should there be water in the vent pipe in the first place, or is that normal?

[mahjongguy]

This is what is needed for a western toilet.

[livram]

4 hours ago, thuisinthailand said:

If that were the case, the flushing and not-flushing should be more regular (imho), for instance you would expect that it flushes ok when first used in the morning after a nights rest. That is not the case however, this morning it hardly flushed the first 3 times or so, then with nr 4, suddenly a very good flush. That puzzles me...

Same problem at my house with fairly new toilet. We have a cesspit and it seems a combination of problems.

1. Check level of receiving tank. If full get it drained. This is our main problem but unfortunately needs to be done monthly.

 

2. The reason it doesn't flush good in the morning is that you may have a slow leak in your toilet filling your receiving tank or inlet valve/ball set incorrectly causing overflow. Before going to bed turn off the inlet valve to the toilet. Check in morning to see if tank level has gone done. We have such a problem with limescale that I finally ditched the ball float and installed a one piece Fluidmaster Inlet valve from HomePro for 800 baht. Fewer problems.

 

3. When we have heavy rain it causes us a problem because the rain fills the receiving tank.

[thuisinthailand]

2 hours ago, livram said:

Same problem at my house with fairly new toilet. We have a cesspit and it seems a combination of problems.

1. Check level of receiving tank. If full get it drained. This is our main problem but unfortunately needs to be done monthly.

 

2. The reason it doesn't flush good in the morning is that you may have a slow leak in your toilet filling your receiving tank or inlet valve/ball set incorrectly causing overflow. Before going to bed turn off the inlet valve to the toilet. Check in morning to see if tank level has gone done. We have such a problem with limescale that I finally ditched the ball float and installed a one piece Fluidmaster Inlet valve from HomePro for 800 baht. Fewer problems.

 

3. When we have heavy rain it causes us a problem because the rain fills the receiving tank.

Thanks for sharing. We don't have slow leak in the toilet so that is not our problem. No cesspit here, but septic tank.

[Crossy]

Just throwing in some alternative ideas.

 

Does your septic have a vent? (and is it clear) I'm thinking more of a pressure build-up in the tank rather than a vacuum in the soil pipe.

 

Try flushing with the lid off the septic (care with kids and pets).

 

Does the septic flow into a drain field or (like ours) a local water course, does the level in said water course collate with flushing issues (covering the outlet and causing pressure build-up).

[steve187]

partly blocked pipe from toilet to septic tank, or septic tank is full

[thaiguzzi]

17 hours ago, mahjongguy said:

Just in case, let me add:  western toilets won't work well if the drain is built below floor level in the way that is traditional for squat toilets. The drain pipe should rise above the floor enough to use a wax seal.

Best answer and solution so far -

 remove your Western toilet and replace with a squat toilet.

  Bingo - no more problems....

   No need to thank me, thank him....  ????

[thuisinthailand]

7 hours ago, Crossy said:

Just throwing in some alternative ideas.

 

Does your septic have a vent? (and is it clear) I'm thinking more of a pressure build-up in the tank rather than a vacuum in the soil pipe.

 

Try flushing with the lid off the septic (care with kids and pets).

 

Does the septic flow into a drain field or (like ours) a local water course, does the level in said water course collate with flushing issues (covering the outlet and causing pressure build-up).

Thanks for your input, this is indeed very helpful, because it made me think of an alternative (which I should have considered before, but the situation around our house is a bit unusual...). We live right at the beach. The bathroom wall of our house is facing the beach, and the toilet venting pipe is going outside the house, seaside. (It is protected by a few palm trees and some vegetation, but not overgrown, I always make sure of that). Now, on the 'land-side' of the house there is a garden, where is an old cesspit. I never gave that much thought, but I suddenly realized it could be the overflow of the septic. The venting pipe of that old cesspit was indeed overgrown with vegetation (ivy sneaked into it), I just cleared it. So, now we will watch closely what happens with the flushing the next few hours/days....

[johng]

1 hour ago, thuisinthailand said:

The bathroom wall of our house is facing the beach,

Well then I'd also be watching the tide too...if it doesn't flush well at high tide and ok at low tide.

[thuisinthailand]

1 hour ago, johng said:

Well then I'd also be watching the tide too...if it doesn't flush well at high tide and ok at low tide.

Unfortunately the good and no-so-good flushing schedule is not that regular....

[sometimewoodworker]

On 10/30/2018 at 1:16 PM, thuisinthailand said:

The venting pipe of that old cesspit was indeed overgrown with vegetation

Is it really a cesspit? Or a septic tank? Though both collect the same stuff a cesspit must be regularly pumped out as that the only way anything gets out. A well designed and installed septic tank can go for many years without being pumped.