Why is it that when I flush my toilet?

Question

My sink and bath tub both gurgle. How do I fix it?

We are on the city's sewer system and it does this in the summer too.

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Answer 1

you have a vent problem, or improperly installed drain pipes. Clogged drains won't make your tub and sink gurgle when the toilet is flushed. The plumbing system needs air admittance to drain when it doesn't get it, it will pull from the point of least resistance, the water in your p-traps.

If you're not getting any bad odors and everything still seems to drain fine, no action may be needed. You'll just have to learn to live with the gurgling. Tim gave a very good analogy with the V-8 can.

Otherwise, call a plumber, this probably won't be an easy fix for an amateur.

Answer 2

The most likely cause is an obstruction in the atmospheric venting. The septic system (whether municipal or private) operate the same way. You need air to drain fluid. For instance, take an old round metal can of V8. You punch a hole in the top to pour the juice, but it doesn't come out without gurgling. So to fix it, you punch another hole in the lid and the juice flows out great. The same goes with the drainage system in your house. There is a possibility that a drain is clogged. If it was, there would be blockage though.

I would suggest calling a licensed plumber to determine what exactly the problem is. Feel free to email me with any other questions you may have. Good luck.

Answer 3

Hi Unicorn...

You are getting two basic answers. One saying your waste plumbing is blocked and the other saying your vent system is plugged. Since you said your other drains are gurgling (rather than backing up) I would GUESS its your vent system.

The plumbing vent system is on the sewer side of your plumbing and it allows that side to have a source of air so that when you flush or run a drain the water can go down without creating a vacuum in the plumbing. A vacuum would cause the water that supposed to be in your plumbing traps to get sucked from every trap. A partially plugged vent system allows a partial vacuum and this can cause gurgling.

The vent can get plugged by birds building nests, etc. but what used to happen to us is that when we got below 0 F outside (as is much of the northern US right now) our poorly constructed vent would ice up. I could tell by going out in our backyard far enough to see the plumbing vent on the roof and seeing an ice cap. Since I did not want to climb on the roof in these conditions I just waited it out until it thawed but while waiting I made sure that our traps on all of our plumbing were effective by regularly running enough water down every drain to make sure the trap stayed full. Without the traps being full sewer gas would have gotten back into the house. This is both nasty and dangerous.

We've seem to have solved our problem when we put extra insulation in our attic. I believe that this kept cold air out of our plumbing wall and kept the vent system warm enough to remain free.

I still don't know what your problem is, but I hope this helps.

Answer 4

Going through that now. If you have a septic tank, your leech field is the problem. Or the tank is full. If not on a septic tank, there is an obstruction in the sewer main going to the street

Answer 5

Cheap plumbing; Septic is supposed to be an independent line; it's not nice to have toilet water coming out othe shower drain is they backup. Maybe your system is starting to clog; act now before is too late.

Answer 6

The easiest way out is to keep the bath and wasbasin plugs in when they are not being used.

Answer 7

we had the same problem here for a long time the sewarage is backed up need to get it snaked by professional

Answer 8

sounds like you have venting problems, either a plugged line or maybe the vent on the roof has snow/ice plugging it up

Answer 9

Your vent is probably clogged. Call a plumber.

Answer 10

You might want to have a professional plumber take a look at that.