What could be making the toilet bubble isn’t funny, but it makes your kids laugh. You may be able to fix some of the reasons yourself, but not all of them.
Reasons Toilet Bubble Clogs
A toilet might bubble for more than one reason. One reason a toilet might bubble is that the drain or overflow holes are filled with dirt or other things. Over time, air won’t be able to flow through these holes correctly if they get clogged. Because of this, the stored air turns into pressurized gas that can only escape by going up into the toilet bowl and out as bubbles in the water.
Toilet Bubbling: 6 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Air Bubbles
To fix this issue, you will need a plumber to find and remove any big things that are blocking your main drain pipe as well as any smaller things that are stuck in the holes.
1. Excess Air In The Water Tank
Too much air in the water tank is another reason a toilet bowl might bubble. If the toilet gurgles when it tries to fill up, it’s likely because there is too much air in the tank. Just turn on the filler valve in the back of your toilet and wait five minutes for some of the water to drain out.
Then try to fill it up again. This should get rid of any extra gas that is making noise inside. Call a skilled plumber to look at your toilet if these steps didn’t help. If you call a professional, you can avoid more serious toilet problems and overflows.
2. An Obstructed Vent Stack
Homeowners often have problems with vents getting clogged. If the vent stack on your roof is jammed, it lets out negative air pressure, which can make your drains take longer to work or make your home smell like sewer gas, among other issues. Most of the time, debris or animal nests that stop air flow are to blame for vent blocks.
We don’t think you should try to fix this problem on your own. Getting a professional to look at the problem is the better choice.
3. A Water Mainline Issue
Drain lines and mainlines are important for the water system in your home to work right. Drain lines link to the parts of your home that need them so that water can drain away from your home. The mainline, which is outside your home, takes wastewater to the public connection in your city. When you have a mainline problem, you may have to do a lot of work outside your house to find where the clog is.
The simple truth is that you can’t fix your toilet yourself if the gurgling sound is caused by a problem with the water main. To fix the problem, you will need to get help from a professional plumber or your city or town government.
If the central pipe gets clogged, it lowers the air pressure inside the pipe, which makes the toilet bubble and gurgle.
A plumber can tell you if the noisy toilet is caused by problems with the water main, but you may also notice other signs around your home. There could be clogs in other drains or in the shower on the lowest floor.
Any problem with the main line will need professional tools, like video inspection gear, to accurately diagnose and fix the problem with a water line repair.
4. The Toilet Isn’t Level
Last but not least, a toilet will bubble if it’s not sitting level on the baseplate or floor. To figure out what’s wrong with this, you might need to get help from a professional plumber or contractor.
5. Clogged Vent Pipe
Every piece of plumbing, even bathrooms, is linked to a vent pipe that goes through the roof and lets air into the drainage system. Things will go wrong if these vents get clogged.
Duda says that vents let air into the drainage system and let the water flow down the pipes. This can cause the toilet to gurgle or bubble if the vent pipe is stopped or clogged.
Outside, bird nests or other things that fall from branches can block vent lines. If you have a clogged drain line inside your home, flushed paper can end up in the vent pipe and cause a clog.
This is a problem that Siv often runs into. “The water goes down, and in the vent, the paper gets hard,” he says. “Even a small blockage will stop air from moving, which can cause the toilet to gurgle.”
A blocked vent pipe is probably something that only a professional can fix. Pros: To find the clog, send a camera down the air pipe from the roof. After that, a drain auger or snake is used to clear out the clog.
“Mostly, if I can see it on the camera, I can get it with the snake,” Siv says. That means the clog is in a pipe that is lying flat behind a wall. He cuts a hole in the wall to get to the pipe so he can find and fix these clogs.
Get a piece of rope, a thin lighter, and duct tape if you want to try to clear out your vent pipe on your own. Plan to work on your roof when it’s dry and wear shoes with rubber soles. You need to find your vent pipe and carefully climb up to your roof while wearing a roof safety harness and a ladder that is properly fixed. Glue and tie the flashlight to the rope, and then put it down the pipe.
Find the clog and use a drum auger to get it out. Put the bendy wire’s tip into the pipe and turn the crank handle each time you want to add more wire. If you run into trouble, turn the handle a few times to clear the way. Then, take the wire and the clog out of the pipe. When you’re done, pour water down the vent to get rid of any leftover dirt.
It’s best to hire a professional if your roof has a steep slope or if it’s more than 12 feet from the edge of the roof to the ground.
6. Blocked Drain Line
When you flush the toilet, bubbles can also be caused by clogs in nearby shower or tub lines. “This is more likely if the clog is near the drain vent and is stopping air from moving,” says Siv. This could cause the system to pull air out of the toilet bowl, which would make it bubble. Air can get stuck in the system if the drain line is clogged. This air will leave through the toilet bowl and cause it to bubble.
To fix this, clear out the clog in a nearby shower or tub drain with a plunger or drum drill. Another way to clear out a shower or tub drain that doesn’t involve chemicals.
Maintenance Tips For Prevention
- Take care of small clogs right away. Unclog a toilet that drains slowly right away to stop bigger leaks.
- Only flush toilet paper and food. Do not flush tampons, baby wipes, or papers down the toilet because they are not meant to be used there and can cause clogs.
- Cut back any branches that hang over. Keep things from getting into the vent lines and blocking them. If you can’t trim it, you might want to put a vent pipe screen in place to keep dirt out.