Question

We have been having issue for last two weeks. Pipes continue to get clogged in our duplex home. Plumbers have come three times and have unclogged it or so they say. That is only a temporary fix because the issues continues to happen after a few days. The issue is that water leaks out from under the toilet regardless of whether the water is coming from sink, tub or toiler. Landlord has not addressed the major issue with his pipes. What do we do in this situation?

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Answer 1

call Board of Health or other local government housing inspection agency. This shows a clog somewhere down the main sewer pipe. that has to be found and corrected.

in most communities, if the clog is toward the house from the area roughly equal to the water meter, it is owner/landlord's problem. Below that, it is the government's problem.

either or both have the right, upon unclogging it and finding out that the clog was caused by inappropriate materials being flushed down the toilet, to give YOU the bill.

"inappropriate materials" includes EVERYTHING that is not human waste, toilet paper, items plainly marked "flushable", and/or the output of the garbage disposal.
Source(s):
grampa

Answer 2

It sounds like you have two issues...a major /recurring clog that causes drain water from other sinks or tubs, etc..to backup in the main drain line which in turn backs up into and leaks out under the toilet from a bad wax ring/seal. The clog will likely be in the main drain line which may require a plumber to power snake the main drain lines and possibly use a borescope to find the clog or issue....could be tree roots getting into the pipes, etc...or improper horizontal slope issues with drain lines. If horizontal drain pipes are not sloped properly, then waste debris will keep building up in pipe areas that sag or are not sloped right causing related drains to backup.

The toilet wax/ring seal is pretty easy to replace but could have other issues too such as a broken flange that allows the toilet to rock side to side and/or lose proper seal.That will increase any repair costs as would rot damage from an ongoing, long term leak if that is found out.

The main issue is the recurring clog which needs to be addressed. You can try telling the landlord you will bring in your own plumber to properly fix it and deduct the repairs from the rent but you may not have the funds to do so. If he does not agree to that, your only recourse is to check with local city housing laws and see what rights you have as a tenant or file with the city complaint dept.

Answer 3

Water leaking out from under the toilet is usually from failure of the wax ring. Repair is easy.

The problem will recur, however, every time you flush HOT water down the toilet. Some people think it's okay to pour a bucket of hot water in there, perhaps after having washed the kitchen floor, or because they believe that hot water will "help unclog" the plumbing. The hot water melts the wax ring, and it then needs to be replaced again. Eventually the floor rots and the bathroom needs to be rebuilt.

Landlords are particularly vexed by this problem, because of tenants who refuse to understand that the failure of the plumbing is not caused by the landlord, but instead by their own ignorance.