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.

Yes this always works!

Glad you got it sorted...for future reference, and for anyone else facing such unhelpfulness:
The Landlord and Tenant Act from 1985, requires property owners to:
“to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences) but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity”
The landlord has to provide you with running water and sanitation facilities to use it. You need to have a working toilet and a shower or a bathroom. You need to have at least one sink where you can do dishes and wash up. These facilities can come in unconventional interior layout, but they must be present or your landlord breaks the law.

As someone who also suffers with IBS I'd be very stressed and if sewerage is coming up from the toilet, into the bath etc that is a health hazard so is an emergency! Call environmental health

I’d honestly buy a camping toilet they were on sale in Aldi that way waste can be discarded safely. There’s a powder in the bags that absorbs liquids. Double bag and outside bin.

Birds might be dropping stuff down the pipe, we recently bought a lid for ours to stop that they are about £7. Looks like a little chimney top. You need to look for a ring seal vent terminal or soil pipe cover. I got mine from Amazon

This has happened to mine occasionally.

I've found that pumping the loo with a brush or mop works.

Mine seems to get an airlock and you hear it gurgle and then everything getting sucked down.

And when I say occasionally I mean once or twice a year so I assumed it wasn't the plumbing but rather just drainage down the line somewhere. I've noticed it's usually after copious amounts of rainfall.

There are emergency plumbers in all areas….usually found online….what about dynorod? I would also sue the bastards that have ruined your bathroom….

Call house insurance and they should send emergency plumber out - as long as you have insurance. I got my toilet fixed on emergency cover as it wouldn’t flush. Had to our buckets down each time we used it. Not practical with 2 children, one who’s autistic. Insurance sorted it pretty quickly.

It's not just a clogged toilet, it's your whole system. It's a health hazard. If they don't respond soon, I would consider calling the health department and issuing a formal complaint.

Very glad you are sorted.
We have had several incidents including sewage in the shower which I had to clean up !
Then the time the loo stopped flushing and I ended up having to pour buckets of water in it 3 times a day for 2 weeks. My not so DS refused to do it.
The latest is that water is draining into the loo so It's the equivalent of leaving a tap running 24 hours a day and I am on a meter. Also, it has been making intermittent funny noises like someone groaning or a rumbling noise.
We are waiting for a new part for it if they can find one without having to replace the whole lot.
We are housing association as well, so we know what it is like getting them to fix things. I think they have been hacked !

I don't have any advice sorry but surely a functioning toilet is a necessity. Aside from the basic need there are plenty of people who need to use the toilet regularly- chrons disease, pregnant women, people like my dad in recovery from prostate cancer.

OP I’m glad to see it’s been sorted. Was it a blockage / drain specialist firm, not a plumber? I have the same problem but my house isn’t rented so I’m going to have to pay for it. I live alone, fortunately, I’m peeing in a big bucket of water and emptying it under the hedge, and visiting the supermarket or the public loo in town for a “number 2”, though if it was too urgent to manage a few miles in the car I’d use a bucket with carrier bag and cat litter.

There’s no visible manhole at the bottom of the soil stack, which doesn’t sound hollow when tapped, so I’m sure the blockage is high up the stack. Previous owners could well have concreted over it. Also the drain goes to a shared septic tank so we have to be very cautious with chemicals.

To rod it from the roof, did he just use a ladder, or scaffold?

I'd just emailed my house insurance back when I read this. I have emergency cover, I'm too deaf to ring them so I emailed yesterday to say neither toilet was clearing properly. My response came this evening, a form to fill in, 29 hours later! Impressive service? Good luck OP, I hope all is well.

Can you get into a cheap b&b or hotel for a couple of days?

Omg you poor love, I’d be furious if that were me and be refusing to pay any rent until it was sorted. Not only is it disgusting you have to put up with this but it’s a health hazard too. Get on to environmental health x

Another idea, if you can get to go outdoors you can get a portable camping toilet (about £15) it’s a tall bucket with a loo seat and lid we have one in our campervan. You can empty it down the outside sewer drain once a day. Chemicals are £7 in go outdoors too. Just add about 2 cups and some water to the bucket. Sorry you are in this situation I’d be having kittens x

It is an emergency and I’d be telling the council that if they don’t come out within the hour you’ll call your own plumber and deduct the cost from their rent! (Send them copy of the bill)
This is disgusting, different if you had a 2nd toilet in the house, but only one toilet and it’s unusable is an emergency…
sewage bubbling up through plugs means the plumbing is completely FKD up… they shouldn’t even be linked.
I would be putting in formal complaints !

Definitely an emergency, phone the HA back and explain its filled to the brim, you have sewerage back flowing into your bath and also cannot sit on the toilet at all, and it's your only toilet!

If they won't do anything about it and they should have this fixed in a few hours really, then see if your home insurance has a policy where they can send our people for urgent repairs. I forget what this is called. Good luck!

Oh I realised this is two days ago now. I hope you got it sorted.

If HA did the refurb work then go back to HA with pics and threaten to go to MP and local papers. If they refuse then do it privately and claim against them - it is an emergency.
if you did the refurb yourselves in their property - then it is your problem and you need to pay to get it fixed.

The fact that sewerage is coming through the bath drain makes it an emergency, it has to be dealt with immediately. When I had a burst water pipe I was told that because there was no sewerage and that because I had turned off the mains water, it was not an emergency. Therefore, sewerage is classed as an emergency!

Right this is grim but it's a solution. Use a small jug to empty the water from the toilet into bucket and tip down out side drain. Bucket can be used for wees. For poops line the now empty loo with a bin liner do your thing then remove and re-line. It's not ideal but it will get you through. Alternatively find and Airbnnd or Premier Inn if finances allow.

@YourWinter that sounds awful! What is actually happening when you flush? If the soil pipe does not sound hollow (it can be very tricky to tell) then the block has to be after it and not up the stack.

Looking at what connects where can help pinpoint where the blockage is. If your kitchen connects and is fine then the blockage must be above that point.

Manhole covers can be a short way away, lift and look how the pipe runs. If all clear then they are after the blockage. If you are draining but slowly there will be evidence in the drain (loo paper higher up the sides and the like) even if empty.you can trace back, the issue could even be off your property and someone else's issue to solve!

A comm one is bathroom only issues, you flush and it backs up the sink or bath, basically the lowest drain in the system before the blockage will be the path it takes. Block off all plugs/overflows and then plunge the toilet. Easiest with help but can be done with a mix of rubber gloves and duct tape, go overboard and make sure all is bone dry so you get a good stick! To punch through the blockage you have to stop all other pathways out. If you have multiple toilets then with the same problem then you have to all plunge together, synchronised poo pushing! If no luck and you have some drainage then slowly empty a bucket of hot soapy water down the loo, let it sit for a good while and plunge again it can take a

Use a proper loo plunger though, most seem to use sink plungers. One like this

www.amazon.co.uk/Monument-1453e-Suction-Plunger-5-1/dp/B0001P0F2W/ref=asc_df_B0001P0F2W/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=232329446377&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15650951566378672079&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045804&hvtargid=pla-437656696301&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Thank you for this. The kitchen doesn’t connect to the bathroom drainage. All the upstairs plumbing (bath, 2 loos, basins and a shower tray) drains to the soil stack and there is definitely no manhole between my house and the septic tank, which is shared with my neighbour. Their bathroom is downstairs and is draining normally, and they have a manhole which is clear, so the blockage is my side. There is no apparent access to rod the soil stack except from the top. It goes straight into the concrete patio (not slabs) and across the garden, under the lawn, past trees and under a hedge before reaching the septic tank, so it could even be roots. I hope it won’t need a camera survey but fear the worst.

@YourWinter it sounds likely that he has concreted over a cover. Is there any ground collapsing or areas which smell strongly down along the line?

Has it been a building up problem or did it happen rather suddenly?

If It was me (and I am not a drainage specialist) I would probably block plugholes off as described above and recruit a friend to plunge both toilets at the same time. Then a friend with a set of rods (pretty cheap to buy) and a tall ladder. If that failed I think a drain specialist would be the best option. Get a few in for free quotes and go from there. It may not be as expensive as you fear but you really cannot go on like this. Generally just leaving it can cost more in the long run.

No, there’s no smell nor any indication of subsidence, or eg increased grass growth over the route of the drain, assuming it does run in a straight line from the soil stack to the septic tank. I’ve been here over 30 years and I’m sure nothing inappropriate has ever been flushed.

Earlier I plugged the bath and basins, plunged both loos with a brush wrapped in a bag, then poured a large and very hot bucket full of water down one loo. It disappeared immediately so I repeated it in the other loo, lots of noisy gurgling ensued and then the shower tray quickly half filled with brown water and flakes of waste matter. No solids have been flushed for about a month so this was still in the pipes, mercifully no foul smell though. I used a sponge to empty the tray and collected only half a bucket, despite having tipped two full buckets down the loos. Some of it is going somewhere!

I don’t know anyone who’d go that far up a ladder - I’m not going to ask the window cleaner! - so I’ve looked up some drain and blockage firms and will ring around, and hope I’m not about to land myself and my neighbours with a five-figure bill to replace all the drains and the septic tank.