toilet fluses sometimes, backs up other times, bubbles...

my toilet flushes okay sometimes and then backs up other times. it backs up so the water is at about rim level. the water will go back to normal level in about an hour.
don't know if this is related but when it does flush okay, i hear gurgling noises from the tub drain. also when i drain the tub, the toilet starts bubbling. the tub always drains okay.

why is the toilet backing up only sometimes? i'm stumped!

thanks,
kerry

You have a partial blockage in the drain line. It depends on how long since you've drained anything, how far it backs up and how well anything you dump down it can go...recent uses, little room; long time since anything drained, more room for stuff to fill up the pipe. So, you probably need to have the line cleaned out. Now, this could be more serious if you have a septic tank...you may need to have that pumped out, or the leach fields could be staturated and there's no place for stuff to go.

thanks jim. no septic tank.

i just found a lot of info in the 'drain cleaning' forum!