# My toilet is burping **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012 "2009-06-07T15:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/1 "2009-06-07T15:26:33Z")
My toilet periodically burps – a lot of air bubbles rise up from the drain, followed shortly by what appears to be laundry soap run-off. I’m guessing this is from someone a floor or two up running their laundry machine. When I try to flush the soap scum, the toilet tries to back up. How do I fix this? I expect the issue is down-drain of me, meaning that working with whoever is sending the soap scum my way isn’t directly responsible for the problem. ---
**Author:** ![hroark2112](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6a8cbe/32.png) [@hroark2112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hroark2112)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/2 "2009-06-07T15:41:00Z")
Clogged main drain - need a plumber to come snake it. The air bubbles are being forced out of the toilet as the line fills up. Get it fixed before you have poo everywhere! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/3 "2009-06-07T15:49:19Z")
> [@hroark2112](#): > > Get it fixed before you have poo everywhere! Yes. Someone upstream of me when I lived in L.A. ran out of toilet paper, so she used paper towels. They clogged downstream of me. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/4 "2009-06-07T15:56:49Z")
I assume you are renting, I’d call the landlord ASAP, if it’s a apartment, I’d even call the emergency number and let them know, make it their problem, not yours. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/5 "2009-06-07T17:04:40Z")
Yeah, a poop explosion could be imminent. Call a plumber or your landlord, now. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/6 "2009-06-07T19:25:18Z")
It’s a condo, so the common drain is probably a Limited Common Element – meaning it belongs to the condo, not me. I’ll leave a message for the condo manager promptly. I tried to snake this out already, but whatever it is, it’s farther down the drain than I could work the snake. I think the snake didn’t get past the drain trap. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/7 "2009-06-07T19:49:45Z")
Good, but don’t mention that you tried the snake. Just tell them that your toilet is backing up with what appears to be water from someone’s laundry, maybe mention that you haven’t done any laundry today, end the call with “Could you please give me a call back and let me know when someone will be here to fix this, thanks, bye.” In both work and rental issues, I’ve found that last sentence to be particularly helpful as it tells the person you are talking to that it is THEIR problem and not yours. If you say something like “Could you please tell me how to go about fixing this/could you please tell me who to call/could you please tell me…” puts them in a position to toss the ball back in your court by giving you someone else’s phone number or giving you possible solutions. Using this sentence says “I refuse to accept responsibilty for this problem as I didn’t create it” but in a much nicer way. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/8 "2009-06-07T21:58:27Z")
I would weigh the cost of a plumber against the consequences. You may find yourself worrying less about who to assign the cost to. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/9 "2009-06-08T01:48:38Z")
One note – this is NOT a rental. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/10 "2009-06-08T04:09:44Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > It’s a condo, so the common drain is probably a Limited Common Element – meaning it belongs to the condo, not me. > > I’ll leave a message for the condo manager promptly. > > I tried to snake this out already, but whatever it is, it’s farther down the drain than I could work the snake. I think the snake didn’t get past the drain trap. If you have bubblling up the drain that also means that there is a problem with the vent. the liquid comming up the drain indicates a blockage. You need a plummer now. Get to the condo’s manager and find out if it is going to be yours to the condo association. ---
**Author:** ![hroark2112](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6a8cbe/32.png) [@hroark2112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hroark2112)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/11 "2009-06-08T04:54:57Z")
It doesn’t always indicate a problem with the vent. It all depends on how the system was piped in. However, checking the vents while the plumber is there is an excellent idea, if you can get him to get on the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-toilet-is-burping/499012/12 "2009-06-08T13:36:56Z")
Is anyone else hearing Jim Morrison singing _L.A. Woman_ upon reading the thread title? _I see my toilet’s burping…_