To think no toilet is an emergency?

[buggeringbuggery]

Our bathroom has been crap (no pun intended), since it was refurbished! The 'builders' who did it, bodged the whole thing, including having the pipe from the bath and sink, going flat and upwards to the soil stack, everything was just siliconed down (including the toilet cistern).

We've had problems with blockages from the toilet and even had a leak in our kitchen from the soil stack (raw sewage behind the cooker, lovely). The leak wasn't fixed because they'd have to pull up the complicated tiled box that the stack is connected to; this couldn't be done at a weekend, but when they returned on the Monday, the leaking had stopped.

I went for a wee a couple of hours ago (just a wee, one sheet of toilet roll). I flushed and was surprised to see the toilet half-filled with water. I assumed there was a blockage, so filled the bucket and poured it down (as I do at least once a week), but instead of draining, the water is level with the top of the toilet.

I tried to wash my hands in the sink, it just made bubbling noises and then sewer water came out the bath plug hole and it stank!

The bath now has water sitting in it, the sink does, but when you turn on the taps, big bubbles throw water out of the toilet onto the floor.

We phoned the HA, they say a blocked toilet is "not" an immediate emergency and they have 24 to 48 hours to fix it. That is fine if it was just blocked or not flushing and you could pour water down it, but it's filled to the top so cannot be sat on, not even for the tiniest wee!

It is the only toilet we have in the house and I have not only bladder problems but irritable bowel, and I'm not keen on shitting in a bucket that DD and DH will also have to use, let alone not having anywhere to empty the waste.

OK, I've literally just got off the phone with them. They are not the HA and they have no access to the HA computer, so have no idea if someone will be coming or not. They said they have six hours to come so we need to wait an hour before they can look into it. If they can't find out who is supposed to be coming they will put it in again, but it will be another six hour wait. It will be drainage who would come?

The HA are talking bullshit. My BIL is works for dynorod- a blocked only toilet is considered an emergency call out and they aim to be with you within 4 hours.

Ring them back explain tour medical condition to them also. They absolutely cannot leave you with raw sewage in the bathroom for that long, they should also be able to provide a portaloo to use in the mean time, you may have to ask for it though depending on the HA. Complain to environmental health if they don't sort out the problems your having.

Thank you both, I thought for a minute the issue had resolved as I was desperate and the toilet had emptied. Went for a wee, flushed, now water at the top, but worst, the gurgling in the bath started and liquid (the faint smell of wee), came up, so definitely not right and definitely don't want anyone to do a number two till it's sorted. Will phone in an hour, the woman has no connection with the HA and cannot see who is due to come (or if it was logged at all), and has no desire to help till the magical 6 hour wait is up.

Phone and ask them where you should poo?

Could you not just call out an emergency plumber yourself?

DH just looked on the HA website account. It has the job as 'completed'.

I suppose we could, but that's what the rent is for and if anything has to be fitted or goes wrong then the HA will not fix or touch it in the future as we will be culpable.

Yep, he's just shown me, it says the repair is complete and no further action necessary.

I’d name and shame your HA op. Sorry but this is shoddy work. It’s a health issue.

This is what is on his account, worrying that they had a target date of tomorrow, but you can clearly see they have it down as completed!

Ring them back. Tell them that the work is showing as "completed" when it is not. Tell them that unless something is done within the next x hours then you will be notifying Environmental Health who may take action against the HA. DO NOT be fobbed off.

as the HA and the repair dept have failed to take it seriously and then mess up the documentation so a repair has been marked as completed, I’d get a plumber out if you can afford to , get a receipt and then invoice the HA.

It is an emergency as well as a health risk if you have sewage coming back up. The HA I rent from shut at 2 today but if I’d have phoned, the voicemail would have given out OOH emergency contact and would have got someone out this aft/evening in this situation. They aren’t the greatest HA but would have treated this as urgent.

Ring them back. Tell them that the work is showing as "completed" when it is not. Tell them that unless something is done within the next x hours then you will be notifying Environmental Health who may take action against the HA. DO NOT be fobbed off

I agree. And tell them you will make a formal complaint if it’s not sorted tonight. If they haven’t got someone out by 9 or 10 pm I’d call a 24 plumber and send the HA the receipt.

@buggeringbuggery call back and say its now overflowing from the toilet and coming up into the bath and sink and there is no way you can contain it. That will instigate and emergency. Having called the council twice in one month I've learnt the key words.. cannot be contained

Oh my God, this is a nightmare for you. It HAS to be sorted out now, not in a few hours. The health risks of having raw sewage leaking into your house are immense. I would phone a plumber privately to come and sort the mess out if HA are as inept as they appear to be.

My mum had a toilet issue once (and nowhere near as bad as yours!!) and the landlord said he'd sort it within the week. She told him she'd be moving into a hotel until the repair was done as the house was uninhabitable without a working toilet and she'd send him the bill. He sent a plumber round straight away. Your house is uninhabitable and a health hazard!

Can’t you just call out a local plumber ? Most do emergency call outs.

Tell them the bathroom is flooding with sewage.

I was going to suggest that, the time I tried it it worked like a dream.

Scoop out the water in the toilet into a bucket. Put washing up liquid down the loo, a fair few generous glugs. Pour a fair bit of the water back in and wait. This will usually clear my loo. The washing up liquid lubricates any blockage and it should clear. Sounds mad but it always works for me.

@buggeringbuggery
There HAS to be a blockage somewhere if it’s backed up like that.
Do any female friends put tampons or wet wipes down it??
A mop with plastic bag might help shift the blockage, but depends how far down the blockage is.
My brother once had a Saniflo ( Saniblock)
it bubbled up with sewage into their bath-
Began Christmas Eve- Five days later, a plumber called and removed tampons.
Mercifully they had a second loo and shower.

Of course you need a working loo!
Grim.

“Cannot be contained”
Oh yes- When lavatory water rises… and rises.. ditto drains outside- with a slurry of turds and 🧻 loo roll
” Cannot be contained “ is the perfect description.

Best of luck, OP

Do you have a garden OP? And a spade? And possibly a tent? It sounds like you might need a very temporary solution and a bushcraft toilet dug into your garden might made the wait (of hopefully hours not days) manageable.
And obviously this is an emergency plumbing problem. Keep phoning. Don’t let them fob you off!

Plumbers supposedly call tampons “WHITE 🐁 MICE
They are more like “ Rat 🐀 kings” as they tend to tangle horribly by their “ Tails”

Google Rat Kings if you dare.
Tampons and wet wipes are the scourge of plumbing 🪠 everywhere.