662-253-8493 “Toilet talk”, or “potty talk”, just might have gotten you into a heap of trouble when you were a kid. You know the kind we’re talking about.
For purposes of this blog, however, it’s the toilet that’s doing the talking, not you. And a talking toilet is one that’s gurgling. Any time that happens, it might as well be talking because it’s definitely trying to tell you something.
Here are the three most likely causes of a gurgling toilet:
Blocked Toilet
If a toilet gurgles after you’ve flushed it, chances are it’s at least partially blocked. And once it’s partially blocked, it can only get more blocked. To prevent that from happening, plunge it and/or flush at least a tea kettle’s worth of boiling hot water down your drain. If that still doesn’t do the trick, try snaking it. And if that doesn’t work, Service Pros is on hand to assist you.
A Problem with Your Venting System
If you’ve never seen yours or another home under construction, then you’ve never seen a home’s intricate venting system. The one visible part of it is the vent stack on your roof. Just like any other plumbing pipe, a vent stack can incur a blockage of its own, the kind caused by a build-up of leaves, twigs, and other vegetation. Or, a vent stack block up when a small animal climbs inside for the warmth it provides, ultimately to perish there for its inability to escape.
Regardless of the cause, a blocked vent stack prevents air from entering and that, in turn, restricts water flow. If and when your venting system becomes totally blocked, not only will your toilet gurgle, but you’ll start to smell sewer gases. So, well before you even need to think about that particular bit of unpleasantness, don’t let a gurgling toilet continue to do so. If your home remedies aren’t working, call in the Services Pros sewer and drain professionals.
Tree and Shrub Roots in Your Sewer Main or Lateral
Here are a couple of other elements of your home plumbing system not visible to the naked eye: your underground sewer main, and the lateral pipes that feed into it. Once even one of them gets blocked, a gurgling toilet is just one of the symptoms you might notice.
What can cause a sewer main blockage?
- Tree and shrub roots that have infiltrated the pipes
- Shifting soil that has damaged or crushed a pipe
- A pipe joint that has come loose or completely apart from poor workmanship
- And so on
The Moral of this Blog
As innocent and harmless as a gurgling/talking toilet might seem, it could be telling you “Something big is going on here: don’t ignore me!” Excellent advice, if you ask us!
So remember, anytime your home drain clearing remedies don’t produce the desired end result, the highly experienced sewer and train team at Service Pros is ready and able to get the job done for you. And always with your satisfaction guaranteed.
