Problem with soil pipe/down spot.....any ideas?

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Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
We have a downstairs wc and a main wc/bathroom directly above it.
Yesterday I flushed the downstairs loo and ALL the water syphoned out. I flushed again and it backed up-then syphoned out again.
So........I assumed blocked drains.
Just had manhole cover off.....no problem .....everything clear and flowing freely.
Upstairs loo flushes fine.

Spoke to a mate who thinks there may be a blockage in the stack between the 2 WCs. Said blockage may be preventing air being dragged down, therefor upstairs is fine while downstairs isnt.
Any WC/FLUSH experts on here ???
 

cosmicbike

Perhaps This One.....
Moderator
Location
Egham
Do they share the same stack? Sounds like a sticky air admittance valve perhaps?
 

Skibird

Senior Member
Other half has also just said it's probably an air block and asked whether it has got a DERGO on top of the stack pipe? I have no idea what he's talking about by the way lol :blush:
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Do they share the same stack? Sounds like a sticky air admittance valve perhaps?
Yes....same stack.
It is outside and finishes approx one metre above the roof. Its open at the top.
Where would the 'admittance valve' be?
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Other half has also just said it's probably an air block and asked whether it has got a DERGO on top of the stack pipe? I have no idea what he's talking about by the way lol :blush:
Nor me :blush:. But the top appears to be open so I guess it doesnt have one of those DERGO type thingies.
Edit
Just googled. Its a DURGO and no...we dont have one.
 
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Skibird

Senior Member
If the stack pipe is open it would not be air locked then........................other half said lol, he laso said if it is a blockage, it will start affecting the upstairs loo as well (taking longer etc).
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
So the downstairs toilet has the problem and upstairs ok..

I'd be looking at the pipe between the downstairs loo and the stack.
Give the toilet a good pumping with the loo brush.
Try that a few times and flush with a bucket of water.should clear it.
 

sight-pin

Veteran
Sounds like theirs a blockage at the top loo, either at the branch or above as the downstairs is sucking the the water out the top loo instead of air from the stack.
That's where i'd look first.
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
So the downstairs toilet has the problem and upstairs ok..

I'd be looking at the pipe between the downstairs loo and the stack.
Give the toilet a good pumping with the loo brush.
Try that a few times and flush with a bucket of water.should clear it.
Is there such a thing as a rod that will get around the U bend and to the stack?
 
OP
OP
Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Sounds like theirs a blockage at the top loo, either at the branch or above as the downstairs is sucking the the water out the top loo instead of air from the stack.
That's where i'd look first.
Sorry.....that has lost me (not too difficult tbh:blush:)
What is "the branch or above"?
How could the downstairs "suck water out of the top"?
 

Spiderweb

Not So Special One
Location
North Yorkshire
We have a similar drainage system, en suite bathroom waste directly above linked to downstairs cloak room waste. One day I heard a splashing sound in the cloak room, the toilet was overflowing following the toilet flush upstairs, it syphoned off eventually, upon investigation it was a blocked underground waste (years of baby wipes used by wife and daughters). We've never flushed baby wipes since.
 
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Globalti

Legendary Member
Yes if the exit from the upstairs bog is partly blocked the water from the downstairs bog will continue to syphon until air gets in and breaks the syphon.

Go up with a bucket of water, flush the loo and tip the water straight down the loo fast at the same time; with luck the force of water will dislodge all the wet wipes your family have been flushing down there. Best advice with them is to get wet loo paper, which comes in smaller sheets and even tear the sheets in half before using them. I have had the same problem with our downstairs loo getting blocked by wet wipes.
 
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Deleted member 26715

Guest
Surely you should never put wet wipes down the toilet, they will never degrade will they? But that doesn't help the OP, go buy a plunger, tip eatra water into tioliet use plunger, that should move any blockage between downstairs & soil stack.

I don't know what a DERGO is but suspect it's one of the close coupled units that allows air into the system, but not vapours out, we don't have an outside soil pipe now, just a short pipe with a unit on in the extension roof space.
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
Is there such a thing as a rod that will get around the U bend and to the stack?

Yes but you won't need it if you do what I suggested.

This type of thing will do it
15416893408217198137827196687058.jpg
if you get stuck.
 

sight-pin

Veteran
Sorry.....that has lost me (not too difficult tbh:blush:)
What is "the branch or above"?
How could the downstairs "suck water out of the top"?

Ah! I read it wrong, Thought when you pulled the chain on the lower loo it was sucking the water out the top loo.
The branch is the 'T' joint outside where the loo enters.
 
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