BigBrain

Earlier today we had a back-up and raw sewage came out of the lowest toilet. Some water also came out of the kitchen sink drain that is a few inches higher than the toilet. Plumber came and snaked the sewer and confirmed water from the house went to the sewer. We cleaned the bathroom, and now that toilet is behaving quite oddly.

It was sort of plugged. I would let a little water flow into the bowl, level would rise. Plunger was ineffective. 5 or 10 minutes later, the water level in the bowl was all the way down - below normal. This occurred multiple times. I left it alone for 20 mintes, came back, and it flushed fine, except that the final watter level went way back down again. While watching it, I heard gurgling and saw water filling the bowl from the drain. Then it went back down again, low enough that air was sucked into the drain.

How can this be happening? How do I fix it?

I used to own a 1994 Honda Civic. When the check engine light came on, I could insert a jumper into the scanner plug and the Check Engine light would flash in a series of dots and dashes that I could then identify the diagnostic code. It was a poor man's scanner, if you will.

I now drive a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. Is there a similar means to extract the Check Engine diagnostics without having to buy a scanner?

I used to own a 1994 Honda Civic. When the check engine light came on, I could insert a jumper into the scanner plug and the Check Engine light would flash in a series of dots and dashes that I could then identify the diagnostic code. It was a poor man's scanner, if you will.

I now drive a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. Is there a similar means to extract the Check Engine diagnostics without having to buy a scanner?

I can replace all of the light bulbs in my house and a month later, I'll have to replace half of them. This is true for the cheap incandescent bulbs as well as the green/expensive flourescent bulbs. An interesting symptom: In the fixtures that have two light bulbs, only one of them will go. The other will last for a much more normal life span.

Is there an easy way to diagnose the problem with some certainty? Is there an easy way to fix the problem?

My two toilets don't flush properly. In a normal toilet, the water is completely sucked out of the bowl momentarily before refilling with fresh water. In my toilets, a couple of wads of toilet paper (4-6 squares per wad) will often prevent this.

The mechanisms (flapper valve and the float mechanism) seem to both be fine. The toilets don't seem to be stopped up. (If they were, the water level would rise during the flush, right?) My theory is that the water isn't flowing from the tank to the bowl as it should. If that's the problem, can it be fixed w/o replacing the toilets? And why is it happening to both toilets?

I am renovating a townhome. The kitchen and bathroom have linoleum floors which are lifting and need to be replaced. Unfortunately, both have asbestos, making removal expensive. Does anyone have suggestions for alternatives to removing the linoleum, such as putting a new floor directly onto the old linoleum? (Give details if you want to score big points.) The total flooring is about 85 square feet.

It seems to be the only profession where the good professionals are the exception. Can anyone suggest an alternative?