Why Random Air Bubbles Could Be Coming Out Of Your Toilet 

Thank you for solving a mystery that has longed puzzled me. I'm quite familiar with the experience of bubbles in the toilet because we went through a phase in our house when invasive roots were entering our main line and causing a backup -- usually about once a year. Bubbles in the toilet were a warning sign that disaster was about to strike. I was always curious about the physics as to how the bubbles were being produced but I never had time to think about it. I had more immediate needs -- a big mess to clean up and a line to get cleared. Thankfully the main line is all patched up now and the root problem solved. I can honestly say, though, that just the thought of bubbles in the toilet makes me tense, almost like hearing the screech of car tires skidding on pavement. Thanks for your video.

The knowledge I gained from this video led to me fixing my major plumbing problem. Thanks so much!

This was the BEST VIDEO! You did an excellent job of explaining the issue and the visuals were extremely helpful

Could also be a your sewage vent in the attic is pitched incorrectly water fills the vent and traps air in the system, air has to go somewhere so it goes out your toilet

Thanks for the explanation. 2 weeks ago my toilets didn’t drain and water backed up in shower and bathtub. Even I washed dishes, I saw foam came out from the clean out trap on the wall outside my house. I tried plunger then used baking soda, vinegar and boiled hot water to flush the toilet bowels several times but it didn’t work. I did that again and waited overnight. However the situation didn’t improve. I went to home depot to use bathroom and bought unclog product. I followed the instructions to wait for the water in the bathtub (closest to the main sewer drain) to drain completely before pouring the product. Then I followed the instructions to let it sit for at least couple hours. In the meantime I used the product to the toilet (closest to the main sewer drain) and followed the instructions to let it sit for at least 2 hours. I checked the building sewer line outside my house and barely saw water flowing down from my house, which indicated the main sewer drain in my house was clogged. After 2 hours I poured a big pot of boiled hot water in the bathtub drain and the toilet. It didn’t work immediately. After 2-3 hours I was about to call plumber and suddenly heard strange noises from the bathroom. Then I saw all backed up water was gone. I flushed the toilets, and turned on bathtub’s and shower’s taps and they drained well. I have called plumber twice within the past 12 months. The blockage I just mentioned was the worst one. I’d say i was lucky the unclog product worked and it helped save me a couple of hundred dollars.

Thank you for this comprehensive explanation. I thought my house was haunted. LOL The noise was coming when no water was being run even after about 10 minutes. I'll be checking my clean-outs tomorrow when it gets light.

One of my toilets does this, the other is ok, so I've stopped using the bubbly one...Curious whether plunging could make things worse. I'm in an old house with no cleanout, single mom who can't afford plumber to potentially collapse roots and really break it. For now, avoiding putting anything down the toilet. Kitchen sink has been serviced a few times, they say can't find any issue between house and street.

So well explained! Thanks for sharing! 😊

I can’t do this. I’m calling my dad!

Finally someone explained it in a way that makes sense! Problem is I’m on the 1st floor apartment of a 12 story building..and the plumbers keep telling me the air bubbles are trapped from above me, it can’t really be fixed and I just have to wait it out 😳😤🥺 Noooo! I’m tired of the mess it makes! I’m tired of walking on eggshells!

Yeah the other night while I was in bed and I heard a sudden loud bubbling noise come from the toilet. It actually scared me, I jumped. I looked over and (clear) water from the toilet had overflowed and was spilling out of the bathroom and onto our carpet. There was no sewage…again it was clear water. The toilet also was running so I fixed that and cleaned up the water. There was no more water coming out of the toilet at that point. No one had used the bathroom for at least 30-60 minutes before that happened. Fast forward two days later and our bathroom has the slight scent of sewage. It’s not overwhelming but it doesn’t smell all that fresh. No overflows since the other night and our drains seem to be draining fine. I’m just worried that these are red flags for a bigger issue that is in the works.

Excellent video and explanation. That is the exact issue I have. Outside is my clean out. Opened it and out came what was in the lines. Snaked a hose about 8 to 10 feet towards the septic tank and it a clog. Could not break it up after several attempts. Call to have it pumped.$650.00

What a great and simple to understand video. Thank you so much!!!!

Thanks for the informative video. I am at my wit's end trying to figure out my plumbing issue. I have bubbles in one toilet and gurgling every time water is running anywhere in the house, or a toilet is flushed. I have no draining issue though. No slow draining, no standing water in toilets or sinks. No sewer smells etc. I just have gurgling sound from sinks and bubbling water in one toilet when shower is running in another part of the house. I have snaked the toilets, snaked the vent stack and nothing changed the gurgling. Any suggestions on what to look into next? I'm considering tearing apart the laundry tub drain pipes next to see if there's a clog there. Any advice or suggestions would be great. Thanks. Forgot to mention that we did have professionals snake the line that goes from the house to the street a few months ago. We thought maybe we had tree roots. Having that done changed nothing with the gurgles/bubbles. Thanks again.

Makes sense, I run a hose with a high power nozzle down one of those toilet pipe in my front yard and a few mins later the water drains away, but a day later if happens again , the pipes gets filled water... how should it fix the problem for good? Help.

👍 Very good video. I like the diagrams and your explanation. However, there is one problem you did NOT include. What about a basement concrete floor drain? If water would be backing up/rising ( 2:17 +), wouldn't it be backing up thru the floor drain and flooding the basement? Then the plug-up could be further pinpointed. Comment please!

So, it's a good sign if my toilet wasn't flushing at all, and now it is flushing (not as well as it did before this happened) and toilet is filling up, again, but has bubbles now? It didn't bubble before? I went to Lowes and bought septic tank declogger, does this mean it's helping?

I had the clog removed multiple times, every plumber comes in and says it is roots and I don't think roots grow in winter so fast. This is the forth time I am calling the plumber, so it is not just the clog. It might even be the design of the pipes or the ventilation is clogged

Just got one of these issues. I flushed my toilet and all the "contents" so to speak just started comming up through the shower drain. Have tried a few things, pouring boiling water mixed with dish soap down the drain and plunging my toilet. None seem to have worked on the issue so called a repair man.

Perfect explanation 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

How do I fix this

Best video!!!! Thank you!!!

We have a small bathroom, where the sink , toilet, shower and tub on the other bathroom (not yet connected, shares the same wall) all share the same main sewage drain. We just moved in, we are remodeling (still in the middle of it), after two days the bubbling started. Fast Forward 2 weeks, and the shower is draining slowly, it's actually puddling. We noticed that when we flush the toilet after the shower, water is coming back out through shower, and the other tub drain. I have access to snake through the shower drain. Should I do that instead of the toilet?

Is there anything I could buy to slove this ...besides a plumber? At walmart or hardware store?

When we flush toilet the water is coming in to sump pump pit and after few minutes sump pump starts running and the same water goes into discharge pipe to my backyard. My sump pump is running non stop. What do you think is the problem? Please help. Thank you

? What if your air vent is blocked, could it cause the same problem ?

Where does the vent pipe go to?

Great info, thanks.

I already know the problem but was hoping you made a video on the diy solution.

My toilet is on the top floor & when I pour a 5 gal. bucket down the bowl it doesn't go down, what could that be?

Thank you good video !

This just happened to me

I'm having an issue with a big air bubble coming up the flush tank. this air bubble slows down the water going into the toilet bowl. so not all the solids go down on first flush.

This happens when the washer drains. The toilet in the half bath bubbles and then drains out and sewer gas comes into the bathroom and master bedroom.

Thank you so much

I have a problem, but I think it is just a old bowl, not dropping the water fast enough. Good Video.

Add dawn soap to all toilets and make it slippery.

Someone needs to show my school this 🤦‍♀️

so what is the fix??

Put a cup of dawn chased by a gallon of hot water not boiling wait 45 min. Log gone. It works

Well, for a moment i thought a snake was going out from the toilet

How about this scenario: My toilet gurgles but only when the washer is filling not when its draining?

You could always jelly a water hose down the vent stack with the water flow on high. Make your wife scream there's shit on the floor so you can turn off the water. Then call a plumber.

The pipe should be bigger I know it doesn't matter but the vent pipe should be small

Solution: call a plumber 🤦🙄

1:14

e toliets blocked

I have had this issue once a month at my new apt and my landlord keeps asking me if I threw something there

pooooop

What a brilliant explanation - thank you so much! I’ve got a gurgling toilet but I also have a smell of sewerage under the house… I’m hoping a professional drain clean will fix both problems but I suspect I’ve got a bigger issue at hand….

Well, for a moment i thought a snake was going out from the toilet

Four years later and you’re still helping people. I’m in north GA now and this is exactly what was happening to me. Thank you so much. We got the builder to come out. He cut our basement pipes and drained it. But 8 days later my toilet is bubbling while I have the washing machine running. (In one room/ draining into the same basement pipe is: the kitchen sink, master bath sink, shower, toilet, washer & dyer. I’ll add videos to my channel asap.

When i flush my upstairs toilet my downstairs toilet bubbles what can i do

Great explanation!! However, I live in an apartment building 4 apartments and my apartment has two bathrooms and both toilets bubble at the same time. Could this be a clog from the main sewer? Thank you in advance

Thank you! I had this problem, now i know why.

In the morning my toilet will flush, I see a few bubbles and the siphon doesn't seem very strong, my shower will make a glugging/bubbling sound right after flushing. Then if you flush it again it will try to make a whirlpool and suck the water down but it can't and starts filling up with water. My shower will also at that point not drain if I turn it on, I'm assuming because the clog is a little ways down and it takes a 1.5 flushes to fill the pipe. Do you think I should put chemicals down the shower drain/toilet? It's definitely either just hair from the shower, or a big poop and toilet paper down there we absolutely do not flush wipes or anything in this house. And I'll admit, this happened literally right after I took a monster dump. I pooped and then we only had a little toilet paper left in the bathroom, enough for two wipes so I hopped in the shower afterwards to blast my ass with the water, when I got out I saw there was still a little turd in the toilet so I flushed again and that's when the water started to rise.

Exceptional explanation and visual presentation of source and symptoms of air trapped in plumbing systems/ downstream plumbing clog effects.

Hi thanks for the detailed representation. This was helpful and appreciate you making a video on this.

What do we do if the toilet when flushed fills up the bowl but doesn’t go down immediately. the water slowly goes and then after the water is gone air bubbles start to come up ?

This has got to be the best demonstration/explanation on the web. Thank you so much.

Thank you! Everything you described is happening to us. This video helps us understand the problem.

How about bubbling toilet when taking a shower, water level does not rise, also no blockage detected by drain camera?

I dont have bubbles but after toilet fills then i hear bluup bluup bluup Im in a 2 unit apartment building. I can also hear the bubble sound when upstairs neighbor uses toilet. The exterior load bearing wall also. That both bathrooms are located on. Has shifted ..... The 3/4in gap between door and frame that for 6 years had been at the top left corner Recently. Switchrd to tue lower left corner. Disposal wont drain. And bathroom sink almost wont drain either.

Excellent explanation!!!

I thought venting was my problem, no it's roots in the main sewer line to the street from the magnolia tree out front. A 4" pipe shouldn't be plugging up as much as it does, I live here alone and don't eat that much.

I live on the 6th floor, Have new toilet installed month ago, and yesterday when i took a shower i heard bubbling fork toilet and water didnt run fast thru the drain at the bathrub (and its clean,normally i use baking soda and vinegar). And today when i used toilet and flush water stayed ,didnt went down.. how is it possible when i have new toilet and i am throwing only toilet paper... is that the building issue with main sewer drain, coz.i live on the lower floor?buildings has 14 floors... please advise.. never had this issue before... 😩🙁

I have this problem right now...im going to replace the wax seal and pour draino hopefully that will fix it😒

For goodness sakes, don't put 'wipes' down the toilet. They do NOT dissolve! My sister did this and after a while, one heck of a clog up. P.S. I told her not to do it but she said they were flushable per package, "checks in the mail too.".

Imagine showing and seeing the water turn brown or yellow

Thank you. It's been happening for a couple of days now, and I live in an apartment building on the main floor. I'll let maintenance know on Monday.

TY!

our toilet flushes without any problem at all . flushes without any delay all waste and than fills normally . there’s no noises or gurgling any time . what we do get is one bubble as i first flush the toilet but the toilet empties completely . never delays or noises. it’s allways done this. no noises anywhere else . all drains in the house and other bathroom all flush and drain.

BINGO! you hit the nail on the head with my problem...got a snake in my main and cleaned it out.

When my mom lets out the water after taking her bath, the downstairs toilet in the basement bubbles all the way up out onto the floor and causes the edge of the bottom wall to damage.

Mine is just growling really loud when flushed

Thank you! this is super useful and I think its the issue I have at home. I read in other places not to use a drain snake down a toilet as it can scratch the toilet really bad. Is the only way to fix this is to remove the toilet, then use the drain snake? Would those chemical solutions work for this?

Thank you for the amazing video. Do you know any solution?

I have this problem with my downstairs toilet. It only does this when it rains heavily here in Louisiana, like torrential rain. I had brand new underground pipes leading to the sewer line installed 2 years ago because of an overflow issue in this same toilet. So I have new underground plumbing and the bubbling happens when it is raining heavily, also I have very low water pressure in this toilet and constantly clogs where as my upstairs toilet flushes with no problem. I even installed a new toilet downstairs but nothing is fixing the issue. Could the roof vent be the problem?

I've seen toilet bubbles for six years in this house. It has a unified vent system (only one vent visible on roof) and I thought maybe that was the reason. Your explanation makes more sense. I don't have overflows in the basement so if it is backing up it must be one particular pipe that has a problem.

We added a new toilet on our upper floor and since then there is an air bubble that pops up when flushing but the toilet in the floor below does not. It shares the same stack and drain system? Why would the bubble come out in only one toilet and right after installation??

We call that a "line blockage"! Had it happen 3 times and it was a nightmare each time.

My toilet bubbles than the water comes out of my tub

Can Draino solve the problem? I want to get a Plummer as a last resort

This information is very helpful and the presentation of the information was excellent. Thank you!

S'il vous plaît quelques me expliquant en frence

Good example of House Water Mapping 💧 and Explanation. POTB =pat on the back ..lol

Omg I’m dealing with this now .....😫😫😫

no said what to do thua fff

Great info, thanks

I though it went to the sink and I was planing on never washing my hands ever

i have 3 upstair toilets only 2 are clogged the 2 sinks and 2 bathtubs are clogged we’ve had problems in the past where the toilet wouldn’t flush so we turned on the bath and it would flush but now that doesn’t do anything and we’ve had the upstairs pipes leak through the ceiling and the house is about 8-10 years old now what could be the problem?

How do I clean the pipe?

How do I clean the pipes?

So if you have to clean them out are you using a snake or are you going outside of your house and opening the cap and shooting water in it

How can this be fixed? I just moved into a house with this issue and it doesn't have a cleanout. I talked to a plumber over the phone the other day who said that a cleanout needs to be installed before he can address the clog. This can't be right, can it? Surely other homes without a cleanout have had this issue resolved without adding a cleanout first? I'm pretty sure I know which toilet has the partial clog. Can the toilet be snaked? Or can the clog be fixed through the roof? This is the most informative video I've seen about this issue so I appreciate you uploading this helpful content!!! I was quoted thousands of dollars to add a cleanout and I just bought this house so I don't have the funds for that and I'm hoping it can be fixed another way. Thanks in advance!

how do i get the clog out ? what is a good method?

This is fab thank you so much

How do we clean that pipe ?

Thanks

I have a question my toilet does not hold the water level in the bowl is a little lower than normal. all the components of the base of the bath are fine only when you added water in the bowl it goes down and makes a noise under the bowl like a small drip like a drip in this case I have it upstairs on the second level of my house but I don't look nor do I detect any dripping on the walls that could be thanks for your time.