Last Spring, we had a clogged drain at the water softener - the softener cycled in the middle of the night, and backed up into the kitchen sink, onto the floor, down the stairs and back into the basement. It was a huge mess. The problem - sludge so thick in the drain pipe that it clogged solid. It was easy enough to replace the affected pipe in an unfinished basement ceiling.
This weekend, the issue is the toilet in the main bathroom backing up into the bathtub when it drains. The sinks have been slow draining for a while. Then on Friday I noticed the toilet would bubble after draining a bath, or after flushing...until Sunday, then it just wouldn't flush. Well, the toilet would fill when you flushed it, but it wouldn't drain. I decided to leave it a bit to see if it would slowly drain on its own. And when I started the tub water to have a shower, I noticed that the water started filling up in the tub. It would then drain slowly. Tried again - same thing - wouldn't drain. The main floor and basement lines seems fine - the only problem is with the upstairs bathroom fixtures.
So, off I went to find some heavy duty Liquid Plumber or Drano, figuring that would solve my problem. Found the one that was right for standing water, and would only take seven minutes to work...nope, didn't work. As soon as I ran the water in the tub again, it started filling again.
Then I tried plunging the toilet, then the tub, then the toilet again, and that's when it started backing up into the tub.
Do a google search on "toilet backing up into tub" - it's quite a common problem.
It's interested to read all the solutions people have to such problems, but the best answers I found were on the following sites:
http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/plumbing/toilet-keeps-overflowing-backing-up-into-tub-help-597029.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071227161723AANuAaK
There's no doubt in my mind that you have a clog downstream from the tub in the branch drain line.
This can be snaked from one of two p[laces:
1. Pull the toilet and snake from there, **OR**
2. Remove the tub overflow plate and snake from there. (see image) Once you have the line cleared your backups should go away.
So, my husband and I tried plunging (even bought a new accordion style plunger, that's says it's the most powerful) both the toilet and the tub drain...nothing, except more sewage coming up into the bathtub. We also tried snaking the tub, after removing the tub overflow plate (as described above) - the snake wouldn't go any further than about 2 feet before it stopped, but nothing came back. Same with the toilet - snaked through the toilet bowl until it stopped at about 3 feet in.
Two days and several hours of labour later, we're no further ahead...actually, it's even worse (let's just say we're keeping the bathroom window open, using lots of air freshener, and keeping the bathroom door shut). I think it's time to call the plumber!
Problem solved...but not without a call to the plumber. Lessons learned: remove toilet to snake the drain; be careful what you flush down the toilet (on septic or not); DON'T call a big name plumber (they are extremely over-priced!). Ask friends & family for referrals - a local plumber will likely cost a lot less. If you must call a plumber, ask what they would charge for the service call (high level price range), and whether they have any minimum charge. You should understand they're fee structure before they show up at your door.
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