The damn toilet

[Zaphodsotherhead]

Been in the new house for six months - all fine and dandy.

On Sunday night I had an episode of D&V (migraine, probably) and the toilet backed up. Okay, fair enough, it took some punishment.

Now I've poured boiling water down, used washing up liquid, bleach, I even bought a Luigi toilet plunger-thingie, practically guaranteed to clear any blockages...

...and it's still blocked. Not completely, water (and 'stuff') will go through eventually, but toilet roll just ends up plastered to the bowl. Next door had some concreting done in their garden last week - how can I tell if any of that has got down the foul drain? No other problems with drainage of anything else.

And what do I DO? I've only got one toilet and guests arriving later in the week!

I tried the mop. The floor got wet.

I have now discovered that there is a crack in the pipe where the toilet joins the floor, which leaked when I put sufficient pressure on the system (ie, mop and bin bag method). It doesn't leak when I use Luigi. But none of these things actually cleared it, although the mop did work at first (although I'm not sure whether it actually worked or just forced the water all over the floor).

All other drains seem to be working fine, no backing up in sinks or the bath. Toilet is on the ground floor, and house is 150 years old. I've messaged two plumbers but, of course, it's Saturday and nobody is answering.

It's the garden for me, isn't it?

Oh, and I live alone. NOTHING goes down that toilet that isn't produced by me, there are no sanitary towels, nappies or toys that may have made their way into the system!

And I haven't changed toilet roll...

I may try the Herriot method when the water level has dropped a bit more.

OK you seem to have established that the problem is on toilet alone. Do you know what the floor is being on ground floor is it floorboards or solid floor.
It is possible that pipework has shifted slightly causing a misplaced joint if its a timber floor then it could have been leaking under floor for ages.
Does the pipe from the toilet go straight back through the wall or straight down under the floor
Can you check house insurance some have an emergency clause where they will call out a person to sort out smaller emergencies

Toilet goes down into the floor. I am the middle of four terraced cottages, bathroom is downstairs, so I presume it goes down, under the (tiled, and concrete underneath) floor and out.

I wrapped a bag around my arm and Heriotted the loo. Cannot feel any obstruction anywhere, just a lot of goo. A lot. Scooped some out. Toilet is draining still very very slowly.

Am waiting for callback from plumbers.

Thank you, Star for you attempts to sort out my toilet problems!

Surely this is what dynorod are for?

Doing the Herriott is what works in this house (teen boys 🤢) and once it starts to drain a bit better, add washing up liquid and water poured from a height. At least I have passed one life skill onto my DC!

Goo?

Have you checked your insurance or if you have a packaged bank account to see if you are covered for emergencies.
Instead of plumbers it may be better to contact drain clearing firm, I can give advice if you are around Manchester do not call a well known firm whose name begins with dyno they are a franchise.
Just to check have you got a rodding eye on system that is either a patch which is fitted on outside pipe or a little about 10cm circle on garden /yard surface.

Dyno Rod are for blockages, and even they can't come out immediately. I now have a plumber booked for Tuesday. It may not be a blockage, being as my toilet also appears to have a crack in the waste pipe, there may be something else at work.

Yes. Goo. (look away now if you ever want to eat again)....

A mixture of poo and toilet roll that doesn't appear to have flushed away. The liquid is going but the...ahem...solid matter is just sitting at the bottom of the pipe and going nowhere. It's got a particularly unpleasant silty texture and is too liquid to scoop out and too solid to go away.

Sorry.

And thank you for the contact offer, Star but I am in very rural North Yorkshire, no cities closer than 30 miles and nearest sizeable town 15 miles away.

Here's hoping the plumber on Tuesday can advise. Or fix it. Either way at least I will know for definite what is going on down there...

Water poured from a height just fills up the bowl. Washing up liquid just gives me a foamy full bowl.

The water is draining very very slowly. Anything more solid isn't going anywhere...