Toliet backing up randomly (tank, tanks, drain, cleaner)

[Johnnybomb]

My toilet flushes normal 50% of the time....and 50% of the time back up for a while then starts flushing normal again.....Any ideas? Can drain cleaner work in a toilet?

[texdav]

You really need to get a plumber as it could be either in your lihne or the cities . I would talk to neighbor and then see if the city should be called first. sounds like you may have a patial clogged ine possiblity the mainline as it can fill up and cause that on the next flush.DFrian cleaners would do it if so.

[Donn2390]

You either have a blockage in the toilet, kids toys, or in the main line. You can purchase an inexpensive auger to retrieve small items that may have been dropped in.
If the blockage is further down the line, you need a plumber. After you solve the problem, purchase a Toto toilet and never have a problem again...

[Padgett2]

Reminds me of some trouble we had. occasionally during the day, the toilet would back up. Never at night. One day, it dawned on me that it was happening only when the washing machine was draining.

I called the plumber....it was a fairly new house. Workers had left a rag in a pipe that partially blocked the line. There was enough room for routine use, but it couldn't handle both a flush and the washing machine at the same time.

Your problem could be something as dumb and simple as that. Call the plumber.

[Ynot]

You don't state whether your on city sewer or your own septic. If you are on septic, it might need to be pumped out. A lot of people with septic don't realize that septic tanks need to be pumped/cleaned out every 3 to 5 years, depending on usage. This could account for why sometimes the toilet is flushing fine, but not every time--because the septic is draining into the lines running out from the septic tank (like it is suppose to), but you're getting the bad flushing when the septic tank is more full. If this is your problem, soon the septic will back up into your home and be a very big mess.