Have you been hearing some weird, rumbling sounds coming from your toilet? Are there bubbles coming out from it? Rest assured, you are not living one of the horror movies you’ve seen where a monster is going to creep out from the sewer, but unfortunately, you’ve got yourself a gurgling toilet. 

So, what is a gurgling toilet?

Tasked with disposing wastewater from your home, drainage pipes need to breathe and so poorly vented or clogged drain lines can create negative air pressure inside your pipes, creating large bubbles in the toilet bowl. In a worst-case scenario, you can get an airlock, which causes reverse suction; pushing the air back into the pipes and bringing back waste to the toilet bowl. Yuck!

Calling a plumber is the best thing to do, but I guess it won’t hurt to know what’s causing your toilet to gurgle or to indulge in a few home remedies, right?

Causes of a Gurgling Toilet

Clogged Toilets

Watching the toilet water rise instead of drop is a real pain in the neck.

It’s a fact that many homeowners have gone through this nerve-wracking situation. However, most are unaware that clogged toilets can also affect drainage pipes, which can result in a bubbling toilet. 

Luckily, unclogging a toilet doesn’t always require the expertise of a plumber; with the proper technique and a few enzyme-based products, your toilet should drain normally.

To know more about unclogging toilets, click here!

Calcium Deposits

No, you didn’t read that wrong, it’s exactly what it sounds like – a build-up of calcium elements in your toilet. 

These unsightly brownish/pinkish/orangish stains that are making your porcelain-made toilet bowls looking uglier are known as calcium stains. But they are not as harmless as people think they are; in fact they can get bigger and worse with time, leading to clogging and eventually those gurgling sounds in your toilet. 

And, if your toilet is already awash in calcium stains, why don’t you check out this article for some easy tips on how to remove calcium stains easily and quickly?

Too Much Air in the Water Tank

A simple reason why your toilet bowl is producing bubbles is due to the excess of air in the water tank. 

A quick fix is to open the filler valve (which is located at the back of your toilet) and wait around 5-10 minutes for some water to drain out and refill again. This step should get rid of any excess air lying in there. 

A Faulty Flapper

Located in a toilet’s tank, a flapper is a rubber piece that provides a seal for the flush valve and is responsible for controlling the volume of water released to the bowl. A defective flapper can damage the flushing mechanism, causing the toilet to gurgle. 

Diagnosing a faulty flapper is not that difficult and replacing it is not expensive, but you might need a plumber for that. 

Blocked Vent Pipes

If your toilet or your drainage system seems to be working just fine, maybe it’s time to focus on your vent pipe. 

In most American households where vent pipes lead to the roof, you’ll find that they are often clogged with debris, leaves, a bird’s nest or even the carcass of some small dead animals (probably a rodent or a bat). 

 For this kind of blockage, just remove whatever has been lodged in the pipe. 

On the Wrong Level

Another common reason why your toilet might be gurgling is that it’s not sitting level on the floor. 

A toilet can still function even if it’s not leveled properly, but the wax seal and flange might be comprised and eventually, you’ll end up with a gurgling toilet. 

Remember, fixing an uneven toilet will require the help of a licensed plumber.