How to handle a S***ty Plumbing situation

Raphael10
Level 1
San Francisco, CA

How to handle a S***ty Plumbing situation

This morning i had our guest contact me to mention that while it was unusual for them, they had backed up the plumbing..  After trying to plunge the issues myself, and having almost an entire roll of tp come up through our backyard drain (between the main pipe and the guest bathroom), i had to call a plumber for an emergency rooting which was quite costly. It was very clear the issue occured due to over use of toiletpaper.  Im just curious how would most hosts handle this?  We dont have especially delicate plumbing (it is a 3inch pipe pretty much from the toilet all the way out to the main) and ive asked the guest to be more sparing in thier tp usage, but they seem in a bit of denial despite visual proof that they used an entire roll. 

4 Replies 4
Ash-and-Dasha0
Level 10
Redwood City, CA

To be honest, it's really on you to maintain the space.

 

The plumbing might not be suitable for that living space, i.e. the pipes are narrower for the capacity you are using the space for and the pipes were routed at a wrong angle. Sometimes, contractors take a short cut in building and put in narrower piping, combine it with shower drain, angle it somewhere at 90 degrees which inevitably will lead to clogs. Or it's meant to serve only 1-2 people and if 4-5 are using it, it's not processing the waste fast enough. To really find out the reason, you need to bring in a contractor, not just an average plumber. 

 

Toilet paper even used in large quantities should still go down the piping because it dissolves. Try using single ply toilet paper, but then you go through it a lot faster. 

As i said explicitly Its definetly not a narrow plumbing issue. Its a full 3 inch pipe from the toilet out to the main housing line. We've had a contractor in to diagnose/assess the line for a differnt issue in the past (previously we had a tennat that broke a drain snake off in the line which was extreemly expensive to remove but the line is/has been clean since then with camnera proof before/after) and they were very clear the plubming itself is to code, with no wierd angles/shorcuts.   This is the only toilet in this plumbing line and only other devices on  line are washers which are filtered + Only pump out soapy grey water.  Everyhting in the unit is modern and up to code. 

 

 

Putting an entire roll of tp + whatever else into the line and having it backup only to this toilet made it very clear this was the based on the ammount of tp + waste that backed up into/out our backyard drain which is at the same level as the toilet itself.

Um. I've had 3 people have stomach issues in my home. And I guess out of embarrassment or necessity they have used whole rolls of TP and clogged the dickens out of my antique plumbing. I haven't had to call anyone to come out to fix. Though I think I'm going to start Leaving one of those notes like in older public restrooms. For example .. be kind to the pipes. We can't handle much TP or lady products. That kinda thing. People are definitely wierdos when it comes to poop.
Gill8
Level 2
St. Louis, MO

The trap in your toilet is the smallest part of the chain. If you're saying that paper made it through the trap and then clogged the lines, you have a problem with the lines.

There's no way anything that makes it through the trap can clog the lines unless the lines have an issue.

There may be a break, a root, a section without the proper fall, or any number of other things.

But it doesn't sound like the guest's fault.