Home repair: Older home may need larger plumbing vent
Q. My harbour is more than 100 years old. I've lived here for 35 years. Lately, my downstairs toilet won't empty out. I had a company get possession of and they ran a snake down the bowl. The toilet still wouldn't empty. Then they removed the bowl and ran an electric auger down the hole until they could see the end of the auger before it went to the row between the house and the road. They replaced the bowl then had me run water in the tub, sink and hold the lever down on the toilet for some period to see if there would be any back up coming from the main line. There was none. Also, there is no sewer gas smell.
The company's next step is to run a camera from the house to the thoroughfare to check for an obstruction. Can an obstruction be there for some flushes and be gone for other flushes? My other question is: Can the main vent woodwind (above the roof) either be snaked out or flushed out with a garden hose? Another minor problem is when the downstairs kitchen dive has drained, there is a gurgling sound after about 10 seconds. Even after the sink has been treated with liquid plumber, it still makes the gurgling right-minded. Could this also be a venting problem?
