Plumbing question

[Scott K]

Every once in a while, I will notice that my drains dont drain well, mostly the toilets wont go down well. Other times they work great. I have tried replacing the toilets, thought maybe something stuck in them, possible water flow into them plugged partially, but that didnt help.

Everything will work great, not even a hint of it being partially plugged, then a windy day comes. I have noticed that it will happen everytime after a windy day, the toilets will not flush well, before I have just plunged it a few times then everything is fine again until we get a very windy day again, such as a couple days ago.

What could the wind have to do with it? I was thinking something in the vent, that the wind pushes down? Any ideas?

[BobT]

Maybe your system ventilation is poor. The goosenecks and water traps are used to seal the system and prevent toxic gases from entering your home. When you drain water or flush, you need some place for the air in the lines to go as the water displaces it. Your vent pipe allows this to happen. If your vent pipe is plugged with ice or other stuff, you may have trouble as you describe.

Bob

[mikemac]

Sounds like a vent problem to me as well. How new is your house? Is this a new problem or has it happened other years? Summer or winter problem? I have seen on new construction that the plumber will cap off the vent pipe to test and then they forget to take the cap off the sewer vent pipe on the roof. If you don't have alot of snow on the roof it might be worth your time to go on the roof and check it out. Be carefull up there!!!

[Scott K]

It has happened in the summer and winter, it has been happening for a few years now atleast. The house was built early 90's, it was the first house of a new addition in town then, so the main suer pipes would be that old as well. I have lived here for 7 years, I guess it may have been a problem since I moved here, and just didnt notice it right away, or think it was a problem because before this week, all I had to do was plunge it a few times. The water still goes down, it just goes down slow, and will gurgle. Now this has only happened a couple times a year.

If I dont see anything in the vent, how could I verify, if it was or wasnt plugged?

If it was a plugged vent, and was down further then I could reach to unplug, what could I do to blow/suck/dig it out?

[Redlantern]

Sounds like a test wafer got knocked down into the vent, the wind causing it to act like a butterfly valve, not letting the vent pipe work as it's supposed to. It's just a guess, though. A test wafer is a lightweight, glue on cap used just for testing the plumbing system at five pounds PSI. After the final inspection, you are supposed to go up on the roof and take these off, letting the plumbing system work at atmospheric pressure. If the plumber was lazy, they might have just knocked the plug into the vent. The knocked out wafer is just slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the pipe. If it fell into the pipe, it's probably stuck at the first fitting it came to. When the wind blows hard, it may cause it to shift into such a position that it's blocking the vent pipe. Since you tried replacing the toilets and you mentioned that some of your sinks drain slowly, too, I'd suggest first going up on the roof as mentioned earlier, take a flashlight with you and look down the vents to see if you can see an obstruction. If you do and you can't get it out from up there, you might have to go into your attic and cut the pipe close to the first elbow, on the horizontal. If you do this, leave enough room from the fitting to where you cut so you can use a coupling to join them back together again. I hate to tell you to do this since you will probably have to break the seal to your attic and it still may not solve the problem. If it were my house, though, this is what I would try.

[Scott K]

I plunged it good, forced water in it with the plunger and now it works again. I will wait until it warms up some and the ice is off the roof, then go up there and check it out. Thanks everyone for the ideas, when I do check it out, I will post back what I find.

Redlantern, that sounds like a good possibility.

[Surface Tension]

Only happening when its windy. Could be an obstruction in the vent or just causing enough negative pressure to exacerbate a slow drain. Kids will throw the darnedest things down the toilet and sink drains.

In the end you might have to auger the sewer line out. That is best done between slow drain times.