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ian-d
Hi all, just signed up hoping for some assistance, so hopefully I can explain clearly enough.
We had problems with water rising to the top when flushing the toilet, which would then return to normal levels within seconds. Having explored further, I noticed water was remaining in the back of the shower, so had assumed a blockage further down. The noise of "glugging/gurgling" could be heard from the toilet when using the washing machine downstairs too.
However, when the plumber came out, he confirmed it was actually a problem with air pressure, and used an example where by he removed the plug from the shower and flushed the toilet, no water came up and it was working fine. He said that there was no blockage (didn't check) and that water should remain in the shower basin (below the part you stand on).
He checked some kind of air pipe in our loft and assumed the auto vent (which stops the smells leaking out!) wasn't working, so would get a replacement part. When that arrived, he removed the old one and tested the toilet and it worked fine, but when adding the new part, the same problem arose again.
The only assumption he could come to was that not enough air was getting into the system (think that is right) and the only solution will be to have a hole drilled through our outer wall from the loft, with some kind of air pipe installed. He said that something within the air system a number of houses share (we are detached!) must have changed which is why the problem appeared so unexpectadily.
What I cannot get my head around is why this is only affected the en-suite toilet/shower and not the toilet/sink/bath in the other bathroom, or toilet/sink in the downstairs cloakroom, or the kitchen.
Does what he has said make sense, or should I get someone else in to check? I'm just concerned that drilling a hole through the outer wall is an extreme measure to "force" more air in compared with doing the same through the existing system in the loft.
Hope someone can help.
We had problems with water rising to the top when flushing the toilet, which would then return to normal levels within seconds. Having explored further, I noticed water was remaining in the back of the shower, so had assumed a blockage further down. The noise of "glugging/gurgling" could be heard from the toilet when using the washing machine downstairs too.
However, when the plumber came out, he confirmed it was actually a problem with air pressure, and used an example where by he removed the plug from the shower and flushed the toilet, no water came up and it was working fine. He said that there was no blockage (didn't check) and that water should remain in the shower basin (below the part you stand on).
He checked some kind of air pipe in our loft and assumed the auto vent (which stops the smells leaking out!) wasn't working, so would get a replacement part. When that arrived, he removed the old one and tested the toilet and it worked fine, but when adding the new part, the same problem arose again.
The only assumption he could come to was that not enough air was getting into the system (think that is right) and the only solution will be to have a hole drilled through our outer wall from the loft, with some kind of air pipe installed. He said that something within the air system a number of houses share (we are detached!) must have changed which is why the problem appeared so unexpectadily.
What I cannot get my head around is why this is only affected the en-suite toilet/shower and not the toilet/sink/bath in the other bathroom, or toilet/sink in the downstairs cloakroom, or the kitchen.
Does what he has said make sense, or should I get someone else in to check? I'm just concerned that drilling a hole through the outer wall is an extreme measure to "force" more air in compared with doing the same through the existing system in the loft.
Hope someone can help.
