Where does the flushed water go!?

[Ian1981]

I have a problem with the downstairs toilet i.e. it takes a long time for water to drain away and loo roll does not flush. I have two toilets upstairs with no problems.

I have home emergency cover on my home insurance and a plumber visited today. He lifted the manhole in the back garden and demonstrated that water could flow in two directions. I flushed the two toilets upstairs and saw water flow through the manhole in the same direction. I then flushed the toilet downstairs and no water flowed through the manhole. A camera was put into the manhole in the direction where no water flowed (the direction we thought the downstairs loo would flow) and it was blocked - intentionally with a cap.

The plumber then lifted all the manholes he could find close by to the house and none seem to be for my downstairs toilet. The plumber is now talking about taking out the toilet and digging to find out where the water goes. Is there anything I can do to facilitate? Would Anglian Water know anything (the plumber thinks not)? Would the house builder be able to provide any insight? Are plans stored anywhere else?

 

[CBW]

How old is the property? Was Drain tracing dye used? You could try camera from wc connection?

 

[Ian1981]

@Chis_W, thanks for the reply. I put milk in the toilet (because the plumber had no dye at hand). I asked about putting a camera in the toilet, but the plumber said this would not work?

 

[CBW]

I asked about putting a camera in the toilet, but the plumber said this would not work?

I don’t see why it wouldn’t. How old is the property?

 

[Ian1981]

@Chris_W, it was bought for the first time in 2002. I bought it in 2014.

 

[terryplumb]

I assume the downstairs WC worked well in the past and has recently became an issue ?
You obviously have a partial blockage ,could plumber have overlooked a manhole ,possibly not even on your property ?
Digging should be an absolute last resort.

 

[Ian1981]

@terryplumb, I was with the plumber and we looked at every manhole nearby. I have lived in the property since 2014. I have had no problems until now.

 

[terryplumb]

The manhole that " lead elsewhere",did any milk appear in it ?

 

[Ian1981]

I flushed the toilet (with milk in) and then ran to the manhole the plumber was observing. I saw some light water running but no milk. I think the plumber proved this was not the manhole because he put in a very long pipe, which lead to another manhole i.e. no my downstairs toilet.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Anglian Water wont have plans showing that level of detail, anything 6" and above is usually shown, but nothing much below that. Individual properties are usually left to whoever lands on site to try and work out, and that only usually happens when there's an issue! Also would be cautious about describing anyone your Insurance company sends as a 'Plumber'. Having seen the state some of these leave jobs in, (including those in a fly on the wall TV show!), whilst they may be ok to changing a ballvalve, many haven't got a clue about drains.

Also unlikely the Housebuilder will know anything, chances are the house drainage across the site was left to the Groundwork teams to 'design' as they went, many modern housing estates have very ad hoc drainage systems, that ignore the basic fundamental rules of drainage design and are simply cobbled together to get the water away from the house with no regard to direction or fall.

Quite simply, if you know where the sewer runs that is taking the Upstairs bathroom, the downstairs WC should run in a straight line between the 2 points. Can you put a sketch up or some pics of what you have, i.e. position of manholes, direction of lows, and locations of WC's in the property? It's not unheard of for Builders to 'forget' to connect drains up, but I'd have expected the issue to manifest long before now if that was the case here.

 

[Notch7]

Could it be connected to the surface water system in error.....maybe going to a soak away.

I can't say I've ever come across a WC connected that way, but Ive seen plenty of showers and bathroom sinks connected to a soak away.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Buy some drain dye and start again.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/monument-tools-flourescein-drain-dye-133g/31595?_requestid=5775

Andy

 

[picasso]

I would go for a drain cctv survey , they can locate where the camera is with a radio signal, as said digging is a last resort

 

[HERTS P&D]

I would go for a drain cctv survey , they can locate where the camera is with a radio signal, as said digging is a last resort

The guy the OP called out did use a camera but said it was a capped off end.

Andy

 

[picasso]

I meant from the toilet end.