A hot shower really is one of life’s little luxuries, a chance to escape from the world for a few moments before the day begins. Anything that interrupts the peace is bound to leave you asking questions. One possible question you might find yourself asking is “why is my toilet gurgling?” and that’s not conducive to a relaxing shower.
What Causes A Toilet to Gurgle When the Shower is Running?
A gurgling toilet is most often caused by trapped air somewhere in your plumbing system. This system is made up of a network of waterlines and drains that lead from all your sinks, toilets, faucets, tubs and appliances. Sometimes, a problem in one part of this network of pipes will show symptoms in unexpected places.
There are a few ways that this can happen:
A Partial Blockage in Your Drain Line
When water from your shower drains away, it can push against a clog in the pipework. This can cause air to be pushed along the drain line, until it escapes via the toilet. Equally, the clog could be in a bathtub, sink or any other fixture with an open drain.
Clogs are generally caused by:
- Hair, soap scum and general debris
- Grease and mineral build up in older pipework
- Flushing non-flushable items like wet wipes, paper towels or sanitary products.
A Vent Pipe Blockage
Plumbing systems don’t just consist of in-lets and drains, they also require venting to allow air and gases to escape. Usually, this vent pipe connects to your plumbing at one end and exits through your roof. This is meant to stop air pockets and vacuums forming, messing up your drainage. Unfortunately, vent pipes are as prone to blockages as any other part of your plumbing and this can stop air escaping. One of the ways this might present is as your toilet bowl bubbling.
Possible causes of a blocked vent pipe include:
- Birds’ nests
- Leaves and other debris
- Ice build-up in winter
- Badly installed or damaged vent pipes
Sewer Line Issues
While finding yourself wondering “why is my toilet gurgling?” when having a shower is a dramatic example, the same thing can happen from any drain. If you find that you’re hearing the gurgling toilet sound or bubbling drains when using various drains around the home, the sewer line is probably to blame.
While they’re designed to be pretty sturdy, sewer lines aren’t immune from problems. Common ones might include:
- Tree root intrusion will literally dig through the walls of the pipe if allowed to.
- Collapsed sections causing blockages
- Broken pipes
- Severe blockages causing issues deeper in the system.
How To Diagnose the Problem
Now that we’ve covered what the potential causes of a toilet bubbling during showering are, how do you go about finding which one you’re facing? If you’re wondering “why is my toilet gurgling?” you’ll have to do a little detective work.
Check for Slow Drains
The first test to locate the source of the problem is also probably the easiest. Simply run water through all the drains in your home. If more than one seems to be draining slowly, the culprit is very likely located in your main sewer line.
Listen for Other Gurgling Sounds
While a bubbling toilet is a common symptom of trapped air, it’s not the only possible one. If more than one toilet bowl is bubbling, or you’re getting gurgling sounds from other drains in the home it’s quite likely to be a problem with your vent pipe.
If the problem seems to be contained to one toilet, there’s probably a clog in a drain nearby.
Perform a Plunge Test
If you’re wondering “why is my toilet gurgling?”, reaching for a plunger is a pretty natural reaction. Plungers force trapped air and water through the pipe in question with the intention of moving any blockages. If it helps a bit but doesn’t completely solve the problem, it’s probably a partial blockage in the line.
Check the Roof Vent
If none of the other investigations have produced a probable answer, you might have to get the ladders out. Inspecting the vent stack where it comes out of your roof for any sign of debris or blockages could give you your answer.
If you’re comfortable up there and do find something, you could try clearing it by running a garden hose into the vent.
Conduct A Sewer Camera Inspection
If your DIY efforts to find out why my toilet is gurgling produce no results, it’s time to call in the pros. A professional plumber could make use of equipment like cameras to conduct a thorough inspection from the inside of your drains. This will allow them to find deep clogs, tree roots intruding or damage to your sewer line.
How to Fix a Gurgling Toilet
Once you’ve located the problem, it’s time to set about fixing it. What you’ll need to do depends on the exact problem and location of the root cause.
Clearing a Partial Blockage in the Drain Line
The most common source of a gurgling toilet is a blockage in the drain line from a shower, sink or bath in the room. There are three fairly easy ways to dislodge these:
Use a Plunger
Plunge the toilet vigorously, using a dedicated toilet plunger. Hopefully, this will break up the clog and allow the trapped air to vent properly. If this doesn’t work, try plunging the other drains in the room, using the appropriate tool.
Use a Drain Snake
If a plunger doesn’t fix the issue, try using a toilet augur or a drain snake. These long coils of metal can be used to break up clogs and fish out clumps of hair that could be causing obstructions.
Use a Natural Drain Cleaner
While there are dozens of products on the market that claim to clear clogs, they’re generally best left for absolute emergencies. They contain very corrosive chemicals and while, yes, they’ll kill the clog, they’ll also start to act on your pipes.
Alternatives include things like running hot water through the pipes to melt and break up grease. Alternatively, use a little elementary school chemistry to mix baking soda and vinegar for a bubbly solution.
Unclogging the Vent Pipe
If the problem is located in the vents, you’ll have to access them from the roof. The first thing to try is flushing the vent stack using a garden hose. Be careful while working on the roof as slips and falls can be disastrous.
If this doesn’t work, try getting a plumber to clear it using a drain augur to deal with very stubborn blockages.
Install a Vent Guard
Once the immediate problem is dealt with, consider installing a vent guard to prevent it happening again. These small cages are attached to the end of your vent stack and stop leaves and animals from blocking it up.
Addressing Sewer Line Problems
If multiple drains are slow, you might be facing a serious blockage somewhere deep in the system. Your options for fixing it depend on the exact nature of the problem you’re facing:
A Sewer Line Cleanout
The first, and easiest, thing to try is a sewer line cleanout. Somewhere along the line, there should be an access point. Open this up and flush out the pipe with a garden hose.
Hydro Jetting
Hydro jetting is much like using a hose but under great pressure. Up to 6000psi, to be precise. Hyrdo jets can cut through concrete, so they should make short work of any particularly suborn clogs and blockages.
Trenchless Sewer Repair
If the issue is caused by a damaged or collapsed pipe, you might be dreading the excavations to fix it. They may not be necessary though: trenchless pipe repair absolutely shines in these situations. There are two possible methods your plumber might try; pipe bursting and lining.
In the case of pipe bursting, a small pit has to be dug, down to the level of your sewer line. A machine is then placed in the pit and used to ram new pipe through the old one, breaking it apart, length by length.
Pipe lining is even less invasive and offers a great way to repair a damaged sewer line. A soft resin tube is inserted along the pipe and then inflated. This pushes it up against the walls of the damaged section where it sits, creating a new interior wall in the existing pipework.
How to Prevent Future Issues
Once you’ve dealt with your gurgling toilet, the priority should be to ensure that it never happens again. There are a few simple steps you can take to avoid the problem reappearing later:
- Only flush waste and toilet paper: even ‘flushable wipes’ really aren’t.
- Use a drain screen to catch debris before it can get into your drains and cause clogs
- Pour hot water and vinegar down your drains at least monthly
- Inspect your vent stack regularly, keep trees nearby trimmed
- Schedule a professional inspection every 1-2 years, especially if your plumbing is older
When To Call A Plumber
Many of the investigative techniques and solutions we’ve covered can be done on a DIY basis, but sometimes plumbing needs the hand of a plumber. They have access to the knowledge and specialist tools like cameras, hydro jets and pipe repair techniques to get the job done quickly and simply.
It’s worth calling in the professionals if your DIY efforts haven’t yielded results or the problem is particularly bad. Multiple drains backing up, toilets overflowing, signs of a broken sewer line such as bad smells and wet patches in your yard are all reasons to place that call.