Toilet flushes but waste comes back

Toilet flushes but waste comes back. It’s a very serious tragedy to see toilet flushing but waste returning to the toilet bowl. Usually, it turns back for many reasons, but the first thing to ensure is whether the issue is with the toilet itself or sewerage pipes.

Clogged toilets are an issue for everyone, so don’t worry about having this issue. It mainly occurs due to careless behavior by anybody in the home who throws tissue papers frequently in the toilet bowl.

Broken sewerage pipes, tree roots, grease, etc., are some other reasons for this issue.

Last month one of our toilets started creating the same issue as toilet flushes, but poop returned. When I investigated the issue, I learned that one of my children’s toys was missing.

That toy was thrown in the toilet bowl by my child, which was the main culprit of this issue. So always ask your children to do not to throw anything like tissue paper or toys in the toilet.

Keep reading this post to get information about this issue and how you can get rid of this severe problem.

Toilet flushes but waste comes back

The toilet is the basic need of every home, but in the same way, its proper care and maintenance are also very necessary.

Keep watching your sewerage line after two to three months because if you flush poop into a blocked or damaged sewer pipe, the waste comes back because it does not have any place to go.

When there is an issue with the toilet, the main thing is to find the main cause of the problem and fix it immediately.

Stop using that toilet because it can cause more sewerage issues if you keep using that toilet. So, let’s find out in detail the main causes of why your toilet flushes but the pope comes back.

Clogged Toilet

clogged toilet

A clogged toilet is the first and most common cause of waste coming back into the toilet after the flush. Toilets are clogged due to many reasons, like throwing many tissue paper. 

You can use a toilet plunger to push poop through the sewer pipes after flushing. You can also remove the tissue paper after sucking them with the toilet plunger.

You can also clear the clog in the toilet throw baking soda and white vinegar. Pour some amount of any of these ingredients into the toilet bowl and leave them to do their work for half an hour.

After thirty minutes, pour hot boiling water into the toilet. All the waste and flushing papers will clear through the toilet, and the blockage will be removed. You can flush the toilet to ensure the problem is solved or still waste coming back after this experiment.

Rusted sewer pipes

rusted sewer pipes

If your home is 50 years old, then there are chances that your sewer iron pipes are rusted and damaged from many places under the ground.

Cast iron pipes are strong, but if your home is too old, then they might be damaged. In that case, you will have to expend a lot in replacing the old rusted pipes with new quality sewer lines.

Tree roots

tree roots

Sometimes there is no issue with the toilet itself, but the waste comes back due to the tree roots that come to sewer pipes in search of water.

If your sewerage line is passing under the lawn, you have many trees on your lawn. You will face this issue because the tree roots will damage the pipes that come in their way.

Unfortunately, if your sewerage pipes are broken, and there is a crack in the pipe, then it will start leaking.

The tree roots will clog these pipes. As a result, the waste coming from the toilet will find no way to move forward and starts flowing back toward the toilet bowl.

It depends upon the damage to the sewerage pipe, but if the pipe is broken, hire professional plumbers to dig up all old pipes and replace them with new quality sewerage pipes.

Although this process is expensive, you will have to buy new pipes and pay the professionals. However, it is the only way to troubleshoot this problem; otherwise, the broken sewerage pipe can damage the whole building.

Mineral blocking

Minerals like Calcium or magnesium can gather in jet holes and stop the flow of water through sewerage pipes.

Minerals gather in the jet holes due to the extra amount of hard water in the underground area. The minerals also accumulate due to old toilets.

There are a lot of home remedies to break up the mineral collection in the toilet,  you can utilize distilled white vinegar, borax, salt, and a toilet brush to remove the accumulation of minerals in the toilet.

Drain cleaners

drain cleaners

If you use drain cleaners containing sulfuric acid, then it is also one of the main reasons for waste coming back into the toilet.

Sulfuric acid is very dangerous to metal pipes because it can ruin them.

So if you are using those drain cleaners with sulfuric acid as the main ingredient, then you are not clearing the pipes but damaging the metal pipes.

Stop using these drain cleaners and always purchase those cleaners in which sulfuric acid is not mixed.

You can use baking soda, table salt, and tarter cream instead of these drain cleaners to clear the drain pipes.

Toilet snake

toilet snake

A toilet snake is a handy tool when you have problems with a clogged toilet because it goes down deep in the trapway line to clear the clog where the wax ring links to the drain pipe on the floor.

Now, insert the toilet snake in the trapway at a bend angle to save the toilet bowl from scratches. Now hold the protective plastic sleeve firm and start pushing.

Use the tool handle and push the snake down and up, or you can twist it. The waste will not clear in only one attempt, but you will have to do this for at least 20 minutes to clear the clog completely.

Flush the toilet after completing your task and check if the waste is still coming back or issue is solved after doing this practice.

Grease

If your kitchen and toilet sewerage pipes are attached to each other, then do not pour cooking oil or grease down your pipes because they harden when they get dried, clogging the inside of your sewerage pipes.

Wire hanger

wire hanger

If you don’t have a plunger or toilet snake, then don’t get frustrated because you can also use a wire hanger to pull up the fishing tissue papers from the toilet.

First of all, shape up your hanger, but ensure the hook at the end. Now, pull out the pipe clog with the wire hanger hook.

You can repeat these attempts until clearing all the clogs. Lastly, pour some white vinegar or dishwashing liquid soap and hot boiling water into the toilet bowl to clear the pipe completely.

Flushable wipes

Toilet pipes are also clogged due to flushable wipes. Some people have the wrong concept that flushable wipes are easily washed away when you flush the toilet.

But it is a totally wrong concept because your sewer pipes can’t drain them.

Normal toilet paper easily breaks down inside your sewer pipes; on the other hand, flushable wipes are not washed away from the drain pipes. So, it is suggested to you prevent using flushable wipes and use normal toilet paper instead of them.

Conclusion

The final thoughts on this article are if you are having a serious issue of waste coming back after a flush, switch off the main valve to stop the water supply and stop using that toilet to avoid further damage.

In this article, I have explained all the possible troubleshooting methods that you can try if your toilet waste comes back after flushing.

I am hopeful this blog post will help you to open the clog in the sewerage line.

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