Toilet intermittently clogs and gurgles at apartment.

[Guest 23]

Eleven days ago, I noticed that my toilet gurgled a bit when a fellow tenant in a nearby apartment seemed to flush their toilet. When I flushed urine down the toilet that same morning , it backed up. Thinking that it was an average clog (as fecal matter and toilet paper was flushed the night before) which I would deal with once I got home from work, I left it alone and then tried to plunge it once I got back that night. I couldn't unclog it after several attempts, though the water did drain slowly. As time went on (and I continued to plunge on and off), the flush was mostly back to normal. There was still occasional gurgling when not in use, but the water would clear out as usual (though it seemed to have trouble filling back up). Yesterday, it basically worked without any problems whatsoever... until I heard it gurgle again late at night when the toilet in a neighboring apartment was flushed. As of this morning, it has become almost completely blocked again. Aside from about three squares of thin, generic toilet paper, I did not flush any solids between yesterday afternoon and today.

Despite not having received any notifications about plumbing issues from the management company that oversees my apartment complex, I'm under the impression that something is likely wrong with the main line. While I have caused clogged toilets in the past, I am usually careful not to flush anything other than regular toilet paper and bodily waste. I've also never had a problem like this in the years that I've lived at apartments. Am I mistaken in thinking that the issue lies in a shared line? What would you advise for this situation?

 

[Aquarius]

It does sound like a partial blockage. It depends on what has been flushed down from your neighbour, as to how to tackle it.

 

[Guest 23]

Sorry to necrobump this thread. However, I want to explain what happened in case someone else goes through a similar problem and comes across these posts. It turned out that the problem had, in fact, been in a shared line. Someone in the building (not me) flushed part of a toilet brush and plumbers had to basically tear open my bathroom wall to get it out. Ever since then, my toilet hasn't gotten backed up or made gurgling noises.

So, if you are in the same situation as I was, call the building management people/main office for your apartment and let them know. Try not to postpone making that call for too long as you could be held accountable if the problem gets worse.

 

[WC1]

True, when something happens to your plumbing when another resident does something in their own apartment then it really has to be a communal problem and should be attended to by the management. Thanks for letting us know.