is there something that can be installed in a basement toilet to prevent it from backing up. thnak you?

Question

my toilet basement overflows when it rains heavy. the sewers are not being cleaned out regularly so water backs up with heavy rain. i was wondering if anyone knew of some type of plug to install in the toilet to prevent overflowing, but can be removed so the toilet can be used on a daily basis. thank you all in advance for any help anyone can offer.

Answer 1

Hi,

I am assuming you are on a septic tank and field as opposed to city sewer system.

That is a common problem in some places where the septic field does not drain well because of a lot of clay in the soil. I am no expert on this type of thing but I have had some experience with it.

The quickest fix is to have your septic tank pumped out during hard long rains.

The idea of the plug in the toilet may or may not work. You might stop the water from coming into the toilet but after a while the water will find another way into your house, like through a sink.

The only correct way to fix this problem will be to have a new drain field put in. They will have to dig down below the clay layer and then fill the area with sand. It is called an "engineered field".
Of course that will be very expensive depending on how far down the clay layer is.

Now, I am reaching here but if you are on city sewers there might be two types of drains in your basement. One will be santary sewer and the other will be the storm sewer. If someone has hooked the toilet to the storm sewer (which is not code) then during heavy rains water could back up that way. The storm sewer does not go through the regular processing and you may be dumping sewage into the local lake or pond.

If it is the storm system backing up then there is a pump that can be installed that will pump out excessive water onto your lawn.
But......if you have a toilet on that system, you will be pumping sewage from the toilet onto your lawn. Not good!

You are welcome to e-mail me if you want to discuss this further.

Good luck,

Bob

Answer 2

Wow! Where I live the drains for rain and the sewer would never be close enough to make your plumbing back up. Does this problem happen to others in your area, or are you the only one? If everyone has this problem, that is sad, that your sewage is so close to the ground that it can backup into your house. I would ask your neighbors. If they have toilets in their basements and they don't back up, call a plumber. It may be that your pipes are messed up and you need a better fix. The only other thing I can think of is a plumbing test plug. It is a rubber balloon with a bicycle tire valve on it. You would basically get like a 2" plug, and stick your hand into the toilet pushing the plug up into the toilet drain. Then you would attach a bicycle pump to it and pump it up to stop the water. But since the toilet is made of slippery china, it could make a big mess. If there is enough pressure to push the plug out, what will happen is that the plug will hold until a lot of pressure builds up. Then the plug will slide out, and the sewage at high pressure will shoot out of the toilet all over the place. I would recommend checking with the neighbors and possibly calling a plumber. You may need something special to fix the problem. The other possibility is to just cap off the drain and remove the toilet entirely. I think I would prefer no toilet to a toilet that floods the basement with sewage ever so often. Good luck.

Answer 3

yes there is a device that can be installed in your basement to correct this problem it is called a back-water valve call a licensed plumber to have it installed it has to be done right or it will fail. basically you locate the sewer drain under the concrete and cut a section out insall the valve using appropriate code-approved material and then reinstall floor

Answer 4

Don't know of anything like that. I would call and complain to your local sewer district. This may get them to clean the lines and prevent the problem.

Answer 5

Hehe. Symbolically, valuable. i grew to become into at here for 7 years under yet another call. somebody have been given my account suspended. So I stayed off for sort of 6 months, made a sparkling account, and here i'm. :)

Answer 6

check- ezanga.com