I'd really appreciate any ideas as I could really do without having to call out a plumber and want to make sure I've tried all I can first.
My toilet (downstairs) has been draining very poorly for a couple of weeks now, it eventually removes the waste after several flushes, then sucks the level down really low in the pan. I've rodded the external drain several metres down (which resolved a similar problem last year). However, the level under the inspection cover isn't high and rodding made no difference at all. The toilet (and bathroom sink) don't drain into this inspection chamber, I've never been able to find where the flow from these go, even though they are only a few feet away from this chamber. I've split the soil pipe from the toilet and it's perfectly clear. The soil pipe goes into the ground in the bathroom into (ceramic?) piping and the level is high there, about 4 inches below the bathroom floor level. The weird thing is, the problem hasn't got any worse despite using the toilet, and the level here always remains at 4 inches below ground level, regardless of whether its left for hours. Today I rammed plastic conduit (drain rods too rigid) into this pipe in the bathroom a couple of metres down and the level suddenly dropped with a whoosing noise. Thinking I'd sorted it I put all the pipework back together, then flushed the toilet three times with clean water, pulled the plastic pipe out of the floor to check and the water level was back up to the exact same depth as before. Water and waste is obviously draining away somewhere, but something is preventing the level dropping fully. The bathroom is a downstairs extension (60's/70's I would guess) to a Victorian terrace. Anything anyone can suggest I would be very grateful.
My toilet (downstairs) has been draining very poorly for a couple of weeks now, it eventually removes the waste after several flushes, then sucks the level down really low in the pan. I've rodded the external drain several metres down (which resolved a similar problem last year). However, the level under the inspection cover isn't high and rodding made no difference at all. The toilet (and bathroom sink) don't drain into this inspection chamber, I've never been able to find where the flow from these go, even though they are only a few feet away from this chamber. I've split the soil pipe from the toilet and it's perfectly clear. The soil pipe goes into the ground in the bathroom into (ceramic?) piping and the level is high there, about 4 inches below the bathroom floor level. The weird thing is, the problem hasn't got any worse despite using the toilet, and the level here always remains at 4 inches below ground level, regardless of whether its left for hours. Today I rammed plastic conduit (drain rods too rigid) into this pipe in the bathroom a couple of metres down and the level suddenly dropped with a whoosing noise. Thinking I'd sorted it I put all the pipework back together, then flushed the toilet three times with clean water, pulled the plastic pipe out of the floor to check and the water level was back up to the exact same depth as before. Water and waste is obviously draining away somewhere, but something is preventing the level dropping fully. The bathroom is a downstairs extension (60's/70's I would guess) to a Victorian terrace. Anything anyone can suggest I would be very grateful.