Why did water empty out of my toilet bowl

[richie51]

Last night I heard a gurgling noise coming from the toilet. Later when I lifted the lid I saw that all the water had emptied from the bowl.There looked like a powdery residue at the bottom, and there was powdery stains on the underside of the lid.I flushed and it filled up with water again. It hasn't happened again over the last 24 hours. Is this a sign something has gone wrong with the toilet itself. The toilet is just over 2 years old.

 

[Chuck]

That's not good. Not likely to be the toilet unless the porcelain has cracked in which case you'd have a couple of litres of water on the floor under it. More probably, the drain is/was blocked somewhere and/or there is a faulty air admittance valve or blocked vent pipe. Needs to be investigated and the cause found, you don't want to risk a loo with an empty trap passing sewer gas into your home.

If you are brave enough to try DIY and want guidance from the forum members please provide some more details about your drains, their layout, position of manholes, etc. Diagrams and/or photos if possible, please.

 

[rpm]

Whilst I agree it is not the toilet and more to do with the drainage I don`t understand the powdery stains on the underside of the toilet seat lid. Sounds like one almighty blow back.

All your other drainage working ok and have neighbours had drainage company out with jetter to clear their drains?

Last night I heard a gurgling noise coming from the toilet. Later when I lifted the lid I saw that all the water had emptied from the bowl.There looked like a powdery residue at the bottom, and there was powdery stains on the underside of the lid.

 

[Chuck]

I don`t understand the powdery stains on the underside of the toilet seat lid.

Thinking about it further, I think that those must have been papier maché formed from disintegrated toilet paper residue that got blown back.

Sounds like one almighty blow back.

Agreed. My guess it that a section upstream was blocked and backed up with water. When the blockage was released there was a surge in pressure sufficient to overcome the trap in the toilet.

 

[richie51]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what to do. It hasn't happened again yet,but do you think I need to get a plumber in to investigate?

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what to do. It hasn't happened again yet,but do you think I need to get a plumber in to investigate?

It might be a one-off that has cleared itself. I'm not usually that lucky, however, so...

I'd start by talking to my neighbours and asking them if they've had any blocked drains recently. I'd also look at the inspection covers on and near my property to see if they seem to have been dislodged recently (by a pressure surge). Then, I'd lift any on my property and see if everything looked okay down below. By this I mean dry and clean except for the gulley at the bottom which should run briskly and freely when you flush the loo, empty a basin, etc. (If you see evidence of rotting loo paper and mess up the sides it means that there has been a blockage downstream at some point.)

If all seems well, I'd want to establish that any vents on my property were working correctly. Finally, once I was sure that the problem wasn't in drains I'm responsible for, I'd report the incident to the water company and ask them to investigate.

 

[SimonG]

A neighbour had done rod out?