I used a low flow toilet in an apartment that had been vacant for some time, and a toilet that had not seen much use. The bath in this area was never used. My recollection was that I flushed the toilet, and stayed around the unit for another 30 mins. without hearing or noticing an overflow. After leaving to the gym for 2 hours, I came back to find the apartment totally flooded to the extent that it flooded( or seeped to 2 I had heard gurgling in the past upon flushing. units below me). Only yesterday in my lease did I see mention that low flow toilets can overflow. Please provide me an explanation for this, and causes. Thank you.
Plumbing – Why are low-flow toilets more likely to overflow
plumbing
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It seems as if you have an obstruction that may be floating around in the pipe or valve. Sometimes it obstructs sometimes it flows clear. I would start with changing the water valve. If this is the old style "gate" valve there are several things that can clog the line. I would replace it with a 1/4 turn ball valve. That will give you much better flow than a gate valve. You will need to shut down the water probably at the main. The old valve is probably soldered, but you could cut it off and use a compression type valve instead. "Sharkbite" is one such supplier. Although I have never used their compression valve, I have used their end caps and found them to work well.
If you can have someone hold a bucket under the pipe once you cut off the valve and then a second person turns on the water main to fill the bucket to purge the line of any debris. With cast iron pipes it is common to get clogs from rust build up. The rust may not pass the small opening in the old gate valve when you first purged the line.. Although you did not mention what type of pipes you have, if it's copper than you won't normally find rust obstructions..
You may want to check to see if the sewer line vent pipe(s) that go up through your roof are plugged up. A plugged vent line cap prevent proper sewage water flow in the drain lines.
The foul smell in and around the bedroom area could also be caused by a plugged vent pipe that is keeping sewer gasses from dispersing in the proper way.
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Best Answer
I have seen something similar happen in an area with hard water.
Over a period of time limescale builds up around the water inlet into the toilet cistern. This in turn leads to the water flow not shutting off completely as the ballcock rises. The limescale keeps the valve fractionally open, enough for water to keep flowing slowly.
Usually this water should just go down the overflow and not cause a flood.
If this is your problem, it is easily cleared by breaking up the limescale in the cistern.