I live in apartments and water started coming through my celing. We cut off the main water and contacted our land lord. We went in the apartment above us and it looked as if the sewer was backing up in the toliet. We plunged it but that did nothing. We turned the water back on and the toliet started filling up again. It was also coming up from the bath tub. My question is....Why would turning the water off keep the sewer from backing up into the toliet? The people upstairs is not home and hasn't been for a week, so I don't think their toliet could be stopped up. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
2006-12-28 19:11:10 · 6 answers · asked by Danielle 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Its not really comming up through the sewer line. It's flooding the toilet and whatever nasty stuff that was in there is flowing out onto the floor. Look under/behind the toilet tank. There should be a valve by which you can shut the water off to just the toilet so you can have your water on. If water is backing up through the sewer tell your landlord to fix it or your calling the health department.
2006-12-28 19:16:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's a leak in the supply and possibly the drain system. You must find the leak before it can be fixed. Start at one end and isolate parts of the supply and drain systems and you will eventually find the leak. That's the hard part. Fixing the leak will likely be much easier but may require some demolition work to get at the leak area. It sounds like you are well into the problem isolation work, don't give up, keep chiping away at it until you see the leak. Then you will know what has to be done. Good luck. Use patience and persistence.
2006-12-29 08:55:44 · answer #2 · answered by Bullwinkle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turning off the water has no effect on the sewer. It back into the bath tub because that is the lowest point. The sewer is running down hill and could be stopped up anywhere down the line. Maybe there toilet was not shutting off completely and would then overflow. You just need to run an auger down the sewer line.
2006-12-29 03:20:46 · answer #3 · answered by Chris B 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I can't answer the question to why the toilet is backing up. I've had this happen: I had 125 four unit condos in Las vegas. If the toilet had something go wrong it would flush itself automatically and, keep flushing. Neighbors have called about this, the toilet being flushed constantly day and night.
If you turned all the water off, leave it that way, the landlord should thank you, it'd saving him great expense replacing the entire ceiling plus.
2006-12-29 03:23:46 · answer #4 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As others have told you, the sewer is backed up. It will probably be cleared by running a cable throgh the toilet drain after pulling the toilet. The leak was caused by pressure on a poorly installed wax seal. This will be be fixed when the toilet is reset.
2006-12-29 15:58:14 · answer #5 · answered by Paul B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depending on where the blockage is, & how many units are on your main, any one of 4 or more units around you could be adding to the problem!
2006-12-29 09:34:45 · answer #6 · answered by Bonno 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋