Slow flow toilets in my home

Question

I live on the water and the last 3 months my toilets either flush perfectly, or they dont flush at all and need to be plunged to flush. I have 3 toilets in my home so I know they can't all be clogged. Just a regular flush does not go down and it eventually empties out and does the glug glug glug as the water trickles down. Someone told me it could be a main line clog, or rupture in the line. Are there tidal issues that prevent them from flushing correctly? I just don't know why this is happening but I cannot be plunging 3 toilets 5x a day when there is nothing in there that causes problems. HELP

Answer 1

Does the flushing/not flushing correlate to certain times of the day?  (Tide levels.)  Wouldn't a clog or rupture show up as a consistent problem?  So check the time of day, keep a log.  It sounds like you already think tides are an influence.  (It could also be that other folks are using more water at certain times of day.)  Does it make a difference if multiple toilets are flushed, or if water is being used elsewhere (watering, shower/tub)?

Intermittent problems are always the hardest to diagnose, so get as much information together as you can before calling a plumber.  Also, call your hardware store first, or go in - either a clerk or another customer might have ideas.

Answer 2

This should have nothing to do with the tides. Hopefully you are not draining the sewer directly in the ocean. It sure sounds like you have a main line clog that is gradually getting worse. More than likely they flush ok in the morning when they have not been used for a while. Or first thing in the evening when they also have been sitting for a while. The reason is the water is slowly seeping through the lines but the lines are full of water from the clog. This makes the sewer line to the house backup and eventually fill making a siphon to draw down the toilet eventually making the glug noise. In a properly operating line the air transfer happens between the line and the vent above the house making the siphon in the toilet work without the 'glug'. I would get going on either calling someone to do the work or rent a drain machine from a rental center and start in. Hope this helps

Answer 3

It is easy to find out where the problem is, take a bucket of three to four gallons of water and pour it down the toilet if it flushes fine the tank on the toilet is the problem. If the water does not go down like it should the waste line or a vent is the problem.

Answer 4

being you stated you are on the water, you may be on a septic tank system.  i'll assume your house is on the surf line.

your tank may be filled with larger debris which is simulating a mainline stoppage.  it may be time to have your tank sucked out and emptied.

check with the city to see what type of sewer system you are on so you will be able to make the correct repair.