slow flushing toilet

jlandry

My toilet seems to flush real slow or not at all. The water goes round and round but it just goes down very slow. Any ideas why or even better how to fix the problem?

Chemist1961

Based on your location, your vent stack isn't frozenso start with a plunger. Your swirling water pattern indicates the tank is flowing into the bowl. You likely have a blockage downline. If the plunger doesn't take care of it, the next step is a large pipe snake with a spiralled spring tip to auger out the obstruction.

jonathan03

Do you have PVC or iron drain pipes? Iron drain pipes are known to rust from the inside and create clogs. I couldn't believe it, but the iron drain pipes I just demoed were clogged with rust - both 2" and 4" pipes. Even the vent stack was clogged at a point where water never ran through.

If you have PVC, then its likely you have a clog somewhere. You may have to pull up the toilet and use an auger as suggested above. You can determine the location of the leak roughly by checking if the sink has issues or other drains nearby. If they don't clog, then the clog is upstream of them.

I assume that this toilet worked well for a long time and is now just starting to have issues? Not a new DIY install?

jporter5333

It could be that the line or a vent is stopped up. But before I went through all the time and mess of pulling the commode or paying a plumber to do so, I would check the jet holes. At least if it is an older toilet. If it is visible, check the main jet at the bottom of the bowl, and also there are several smaller ones around the bottom of the rim. If the one in the bottom is clogged, it can be cleaned out with a short screw driver, a wire coat hanger, or a combination of the two. The clog will be hard as it will be mineral deposits but it will break up. The holes around the bottom of the rim are easily cleaned with a wire coat hanger.