# Why did my toilets explode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428 "2011-03-29T20:45:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/1 "2011-03-29T20:45:08Z")
I came home after the morning errands, and found that both toilet bowls were empty and there was water all over the floor and surrounding surfaces. Do I need to call a plumber? What may have happened? I live alone in a house in flat terrain. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/2 "2011-03-29T20:47:55Z")
ETA: Sorry, just realized this is GQ. My bad. They are probably under the beds now. Put a ring of salt around each mattress to prevent them migrating throughout the house. They mostly come out in the dark. . . mostly. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/3 "2011-03-29T20:55:49Z")
Methane explosion somewhere in the sewers? ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/4 "2011-03-29T21:27:05Z")
Maybe call the water/sewer dept. and see if they know and/or turn on the local news. It does call into question the “let it mellow” principle. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/5 "2011-03-29T22:08:13Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > I came home after the morning errands, and found that both toilet bowls were empty and there was water all over the floor and surrounding surfaces. > > Do I need to call a plumber? What may have happened? > > I live alone in a house in flat terrain. If you are on a septic tank system, that’s different from a municipal sewer system. The muni system has vents all over so an explosion into you house is less likely. On a septic system, maybe you did have an explosion of gases. I don’t know what the ignition source would be. If it’s an old tank, maybe it collapsed. If so, go out and look for a sink hole in your yard\> and don’t fall in. So you either call a plumber if it’s your system or call the municipality if it’s their system. You must be glad you were not reading the New York Times when this happened. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/6 "2011-03-29T22:13:15Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > If you are on a septic tank system, that’s different from a municipal sewer system. The muni system has vents all over so an explosion into you house is less likely. On a septic system, maybe you did have an explosion of gases. I don’t know what the ignition source would be. If it’s an old tank, maybe it collapsed. If so, go out and look for a sink hole in your yard\> and don’t fall in. > > So you either call a plumber if it’s your system or call the municipality if it’s their system. > > You must be glad you were not reading the New York Times when this happened. I’m on the city sewer system. I’ve given them a call to see if they know what’s up. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/7 "2011-03-29T22:26:47Z")
Guy from Public Works just showed up. Apparently they were doing work on the line this morning on my street, and it may have caused the problem. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/8 "2011-03-30T03:32:39Z")
Now that the cause is known, do your sinks drain well? IE: do they drain quickly and smoothly, or do they go “glub-glub-glub”? If the latter, your sewer vent is clogged and isn’t letting outside air into the system. A properly-working vent should have allowed most of the back-pressure to well, vent safely outside, rather than eject the contents of your toilet bowls. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/9 "2011-03-30T04:07:06Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Now that the cause is known, do your sinks drain well? IE: do they drain quickly and smoothly, or do they go “glub-glub-glub”? > > If the latter, your sewer vent is clogged and isn’t letting outside air into the system. A properly-working vent should have allowed most of the back-pressure to well, vent safely outside, rather than eject the contents of your toilet bowls. My drains drain very well. I can give the vent stack a look anyway tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/10 "2011-03-30T13:29:29Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Guy from Public Works just showed up. Apparently they were doing work on the line this morning on my street, and it may have caused the problem. I work for a sewer utility. I’d be willing to bet that your utility was cleaning the sewers with a hydrojet. If the hydrojet operator used an excessive amount of pressure (allegedly in order to clear a blockage, or because the jet got stuck), it is possible to force pressurized water up the house laterals and out the toilets. This doesn’t happen often, but it does happen occasionally–and the cause is invariably due to operator error. When it happens during our cleaning operations, we get our claims department involved, and they pay for the cleanup in the homeowner’s house, usually from a company like [Servpro](http://www.servpro.com/). If the hydrojet operator is an outside contractor, we turn around and bill them for the cost of the damages. In my state, we also have to report the incident to the state Department of Environmental Protection, as it is considered an unpermitted release or “bypass” of sewage. If we have an excessive number of these, we can be fined or otherwise penalized by the state. It it were me, I would contact your utility, find out exactly what happened, and tell them you want to make a claim for damages. At a minimum, they owe you a professional cleanup. Finally, if the person you spoke to stated that the work on the sewer main “may have caused the problem,” you can take that to mean that they know they caused the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/11 "2011-03-30T13:43:46Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > ETA: Sorry, just realized this is GQ. My bad. > > They are probably under the beds now. Put a ring of salt around each mattress to prevent them migrating throughout the house. > > They mostly come out in the dark. . . mostly. Toilets migrate? That must be quite a sight! ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/12 "2011-03-30T16:24:20Z")
It’s when you hear them talking, there’s a problem. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/13 "2011-03-31T12:52:29Z")
African or European toilets? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/14 "2011-03-31T12:58:54Z")
Happened to me once, and I witnessed it. Freaked me right out for a second, and yep, there were sewer workers just up the street. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/15 "2011-03-31T13:18:21Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > African or European toilets? I don’t know! AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/16 "2011-03-31T15:36:51Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I’d be willing to bet that your utility was cleaning the sewers with a hydrojet. If the hydrojet operator used an excessive amount of pressure (allegedly in order to clear a blockage, or because the jet got stuck), it is possible to force pressurized water up the house laterals and out the toilets. Wow! This could basically turn your toilet into a bathroom-mounted rat cannon. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/17 "2011-03-31T19:13:07Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I work for a sewer utility. > > I’d be willing to bet that your utility was cleaning the sewers with a hydrojet. If the hydrojet operator used an excessive amount of pressure (allegedly in order to clear a blockage, or because the jet got stuck), it is possible to force pressurized water up the house laterals and out the toilets. That would also do a number of the washing machine and most sinks, too, right? Starting with whatever is lowest in the house, of course. I’m thinking **Patch** , you might want to rinse out your washing machine before you use it next. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/18 "2011-03-31T19:36:33Z")
Just a wild guess… was your pool filled with fizzies, and were your trees filled with underwear? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/19 "2011-03-31T20:19:18Z")
[Well, my toilet went crazy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IudPPlBmJs4#t=2m58s) Yesterday afternoon The plumber he says _“Never flush a tampoon!”_ This great information Cost me half a week’s pay And the toilet blew up Later on the next day ay-eee-ay Yeah ay-eee-ay Yeah ay-eee-ay Yeah ay-eee-ay Blew up the next day WOO-OOO ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428/20 "2011-03-31T20:50:20Z")
No doubt this scenario will get worked into the next _Final Destination_ movie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-toilets-explode/576428.md?page=2)