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WANTED: Tell me your worst basement toilet horror story.

14 years ago

Hello - I'm writing an article for my bathroom renovation blog about basement toilet disasters and I'm looking for people with harrowing tales of overflows, floods and other disasters. Email/post your stories (and how to solved the issue) and any pictures if possible!

Thanks so much.

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Comments (4)

chicagoans
14 years ago
We finished our basement several years ago and put in a full bathroom with a nice big walk-in shower. I was so excited when we had overnight guests who could use the new guest room and bathroom! Well, DH was sweet enough to clean the bathroom before our guests arrived, and (unknown to me until later) he flushed a bunch of paper towels. Not good in any toilet and certainly not good in one that's below ground!

Well, things got all backed up... including into the shower. Luckily our friends had a great sense of humor about it. DH cleaned it up and then we had to have Roto-Rooter rod out the system. That was the last time DH ever flushed a paper towel (and luckily that was the last time we ever had a problem with it.)
palimpsest
14 years ago
An apartment building I lived in had a number of people who flushed cat litter down the toilets. It apparently accumulated in the stacks somehow until it blew out with force through the toilets in the basement apartments which were subsequently flooded with sewage.
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davidro1
14 years ago
Upflush systems work well, when you know what could go wrong and how to take care of it.

I rebuilt a house, where we put a basement upflush tank and pump for the new toilet and shower. The next occupants had their 25 year old son living in the basement. (He sold me a cell phone, and then later became an apprentice electrician, and I worked with once, somewhere else. A nice guy.)

He held a big party for everyone he knew. They all came, and as could be predicted, a circuit breaker popped, and the lights went out. No problem, he thought, as he knew a lot about electricity. His guests flushed the toilet while the circuit was inoperative. Long story short, he took time to get the circuit live again, and the holding tank had filled up by then, and (maybe someone kept on flushing) and the toilet overflowed. Nice basement party ruined. Floor too.

He has now learned to communicate. And to connect the dots. A pump needs electricity, so he could have figured that out instead of waiting to be told, on the next day. His guests need to be told to wait for the lights to come back on, before flushing; and above all not to flush continuously.

hth
grettawallace
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for all your great responses, so far. Some truly harrowing tales (and good lessons learned). Anyone have any pictures?

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