Sometimes you can just barely hear them, but other times it actually splashes the water up out of the bowl. Both of my bathrooms do this, and so does my kitchen sink occassionally.
2007-09-17 12:12:25 · 5 answers · asked by Mim 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It's because the draining of the dishwasher and/or washing machine is forcing air into the drain pipe.
A dishwasher and a washing machine have what's called an air gap to prevent sewer water from backflushing into the appliance. For a dishwasher, that's the little cylindrical thing that's attached to your sink next to the faucet. The drain water goes up a pipe, through a 180-degree loop, and then out of the pipe (through a gap of air), and back down into house drain pipe.
For a washing machine, the discharge hose has a 180-degree plastic or metal loop on the end. This is then inserted into a drain pipe. The water leaves the discharge hose, goes through a gap of air, and then into your house drain system.
When this water is passing through the air gap and into the drain line, the force of the stream is enough to carry some of the air from the air gap down into the drain system. It then seeks the highest point in your drain system, which is apparently the water trap below your toilet.
When a toilet is flushed, water is sent into the bowl and through an opening in the toilet tank that causes a siphoning action. This is what causes the water to drain out of the bowl. When the tank is empty, this siphoning action stops and while the tank is refilling, some of the refill water is diverted into the bowl to assure that the bowl fills with a few inches of water.
Since there is no cutoff valve for the toilet drain, the only thing between the toilet bowl and the drain system is a water trap. And, when the air bubbles from the air gaps get into the drain system, they apparently get forced into the toilet's water trap and come up through the bowl.
In a new and/or correctly functioning drain system, this should not occur. I suspect that you have some kind of blockage in your main drain line that you might want to get checked out. A tell-tale symptom of this is if you have slow drains, particularly in a bathtub where draining it would insert a lot of water into the drain system. If so, call a plumber and get it checked out. Slow drains are a flood waiting to happen.
2007-09-17 12:45:07 · answer #1 · answered by Paul in San Diego 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If all of your fixtures are making noises as you describe, then your vent system is the culprit. You have almost as much pipe in your walls designed strictly to allow air to move back and forth so that fixtures don't suck or blow out. Assuming you live in a house, you have something blocking your main vent on the roof. It could be a birds nest, a bee's nest, or any number of other items that could drop down and block the vent.
The best thing you can do is climb on the roof with a hose - BE CAREFUL - and run water in the 3" to 4" diameter pipe you see sticking above your roof. Make sure it is not a covered air or exhaust vent coming from a fan or heat source in your home.Clear it of any obstructions you can see. Run water in the vent for several minutes and see if it fills and overflows. Someone should be inside the house observing all the fixtures to make sure they don't start filling with water from the roof and yell very loudly if water starts to back up in a sink or any other drain. If the vent overflows you will need to snake the vent stack to unstop it. You'll need at least a 3/4" cable to do the job. If you know what I'm talking about you can do the job yourself and I don't need to say anymore (just don't let go of the snake when it's in the vent). If you don't know what I'm talking about, call a drain cleaning service and get it snaked professionally.
If the water flowed then you flushed out whatever obstruction was in there and things should be back to normal. If by chance you still have a problem, concentrate your efforts on the venting system for a solution. There are occasions when a line may have to be cut to repair/snake the area of trouble. If you need more info you can contact me thru my avatar link.
Good Luck!
2007-09-17 13:23:05 · answer #2 · answered by Pat C 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The toilet and Dishwasher both share a common drain pipe when draining. I would check the air vent on your dishwasher to make sure it's clear. There is a vent that is usually stick up on the back of your kitchen sink that allows air to flow into the Dishwasher as it drains. Unscrew it and make sure there is no dirt in it.You might also need some drain cleaner poured in your kitchen sink drain to unclog build-up that prevents air from getting into your drain...That should clear it up and stop the toilet "bubbles" Good Luck!
2007-09-17 13:41:27 · answer #3 · answered by JD 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The exact same thing happens to my toilet when the water in the washing machine drains (happens several times during a cycle). Can be a problem if one happens to be sitting on the toilet at the time! I've also noticed it in my kitchen sink, but not nearly as pronounced. I've tried to deduce why - I wonder if maybe the volume of water released by the washing machine is greater than the volume of the plumbing, and all that water has to go SOMEWHERE, and is dispersed through the plumbing system. I dunno.
2007-09-17 12:25:02 · answer #4 · answered by lightcommastix 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a blocked vent stack, a pipe which extends through the roof to provide air necessary for drainage.
Call roto-rooter and have them snake the vents.
2007-09-17 15:28:27 · answer #5 · answered by I am, I said 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋