Toilet flush issue.

Paradiselost

Can someone explain the factors involved in toilets? Namely what are the key principals involved in them flushing?

Since I moved to Ohio 3 years ago, I have had a never ending issue of solid waste not flushing. I lived 2 years in a town house with low flow toilets and now in my own home, I'm unsure if it is low flow as I obtained it used to replace a cracked one. I would assume that it's not as low flow have really only been around a short time so unlikely I would obtain a used one.

Prior to moving here I had this issue as often as a normal person, maybe two three times a year if that, here, on average? 3 out of every 5 times. (Go ahead make jokes~)

Do I need to invest in a new toilet? Is it just the water?

Nothing in my life changed really, I still eat the same, go as often as I used to etc. This is really, really, frustrating and I'd like to solve it mechanically rather than something I need to imbibe daily. The only thing that really would have changed in my life is the water, that I drink and cook with, that flushes the toilet.

Lightfoot

what's the brand name?
i believe you said it was used-do you know how old it is?
Is your tank filling to the proper level for a full flush?

Does it overflow, or does the waste just swirl around and not completely flush.

If it's not completely flushing,
First thing i would try is a coat hanger to clean out all the little holes under the rim, and the big hole at the front bottom. These holes allow the water in for the flush, and do clog after a few years with calcium and lime buildup and will definitely affect the flush power. It won't cost anything except a coat hanger and a few minutes of time. If they are partially clogged, cleaning them out good will make more of a difference than you would ever believe, until you see for yourself.

If it's overflowing, then you may have an obstruction in the drain or the toilet.

joecaption

Hear any guggling in the sink or tub when the toilets flushed?

Take off the tank cover and see if you can see the mark on the tank that shows were the water line should be when it's full.

A simple check to see if it's a plugged drain or the toilet is to remove the toilet and pore 10 gals of water down the drain. If it goes down fast then there's something wrong in the toilet area.

Homerepairguy

1. The water level in the bowl must be at maximum height. Note I said bowl, not tank. This is illustrated in the picture.

How is maximum water level in the bowl achieved? Remove the cover from the tank and look inside. Maximum water level in the "bowl" is achieved by water from the "tank's" fill valve going through a small tubing that is attached to the top of the overflow tube in the tank. When you flush the toilet, you should see a stream of water shooting out of that tubing into the overflow tube as the water in the "tank" is filling. After the tank's flapper closes, that stream of water goes down the overflow tube to fill the water in the "bowl" to maximum height. The duration of that stream of water going down the overflow tube and filling the "bowl" depends on the water level in the tank being high enough. If the water level in the tank is too low, the stream of water will not fill the "bowl" to maximum height. Water level in the "tank" is controlled by the float adjustment in the tank.

If the water in the bowl is not at maximum height when sitting idle, the toilet will not flush properly. To see what the maximum height of the water in the bowl should be, "slowly" pour pitchers of water into the bowl until the water level in the bowl remains the same.

2. Sufficient water must come from the tank to the bowl fast enough to start the siphoning action in the bowl's trap.

When you flush the toilet, water from the tank goes down to the rim in the bowl and then down through the many small holes on the underside of the rim. The holes must NOT be partially clogged, to allow water to flow into the bowl fast enough.

When sufficient water is flushed into the bowl fast enough, the water is forced through the S trap (indicated as "siphon jet" in the picture) which starts the siphoning action which then evacuates the water in the bowl.

See this web site for more info on how a toilet works:
http://www.raymondsbrain.com/words/s...ttraining.html

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To test your toilet's bowl and drain system while eliminating the tank and rim holes from the test, do this:

1. Manually fill the bowl to maximum height by slowly pouring pitchers of water into the bowl until the water level does not go any higher.

2. Get a container that can hold 1.5 gallons of water. Dump the 1.5 gallons of water into the bowl quickly.

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2.

4. If the toilet flushes perfectly, then put some toilet paper in the bowl to simulate solid waste. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 4 several times.

5. If the solid waste flushes perfectly, then the problem is in the tank or the rim of the bowl. If the tests fail, the problem is in your drain or the toilet's trap is probably blocked by a pencil type object.

How many toilets do you have, and do all them have flushing problems or just one?

HRG

jaydevries

wow that was great h.r.g.

__________________
be careful my advice only comes from general knowledge i know about the 4 rules it takes to plumb and they are
1 poop needs to flow down hill. 2 hot on left cold on right
3 i get a pay check on Mondays 4 do not chew finger nails at or after work.

Lightfoot

Wow, HRG, it's a shame it looks like this was a "google" post and he disappeared. The guy is missing out on a great explanation. You should write DIY books
Very well done my friend!

Paradiselost

No, this wasn't a "google" post. I didn't know that the post had posted. It ate the first one, and this one hung up for a while, when I refreshed the page it wasn't showing, so I gave up.

In this place I only have 1 toilet. In the first place I lived in here (Ohio) I had two, and both regularly had issues, but they were lower flow new toilets I'm told. I had been considering the bucket thing so I'll try that because this is almost getting to be a regular issue. I even flush halfway through and have issues.

It is flushing, but then clogging. I don't hear anything from the drains, but many times when it finally does flush, the pipe in the wall makes a shuddering noise. I am going to replace the toilet soon, and while I've got it opened up I'll make sure the pipe is clean of obstruction. I have a feeling the pipe runs weirdly and that may also be part of the issue. The prior owner was a complete imbecile when doing repairs and I know they had to do work in the bathroom because the floor had leaked or something.

Homerepairguy

*** Added info for the small siphon jet hole ***



1. The water level in the bowl must be at maximum height. Note I said bowl, not tank. This is illustrated in the picture.

How is maximum water level in the bowl achieved? Remove the cover from the tank and look inside. Maximum water level in the "bowl" is achieved by water from the "tank's" fill valve going through a small tubing that is attached to the top of the overflow tube in the tank. When you flush the toilet, you should see a stream of water shooting out of that tubing into the overflow tube as the water in the "tank" is filling. After the tank's flapper closes, that stream of water goes down the overflow tube to fill the water in the "bowl" to maximum height. The duration of that stream of water going down the overflow tube and filling the "bowl" depends on the water level in the tank being high enough. If the water level in the tank is too low, the stream of water will not fill the "bowl" to maximum height. Water level in the "tank" is controlled by the float adjustment in the tank.

If the water in the bowl is not at maximum height when sitting idle, the toilet will not flush properly. To see what the maximum height of the water in the bowl should be, "slowly" pour pitchers of water into the bowl until the water level in the bowl remains the same.

2. Sufficient water must come from the tank to the bowl fast enough to start the siphoning action in the bowl's trap.

When you flush the toilet, water from the tank goes down to the rim in the bowl and then down through the many small holes on the underside of the rim. The holes must NOT be partially clogged, to allow water to flow into the bowl fast enough.

ADDED: The volume and speed of water from the holes in the rim may not flow fast enough to initiate the siphoning action in the toilet's trap. In this case, there will be a small hole (about one inch in diameter) opposing the toilet's trap, right near the word "jet" in the picture. Water from the tank fills the rim to flow from the rim holes and the excess water flows out of this small hole to provide the additional water needed to initiate the siphoning action. This small hole is usually referred to as the "siphon jet".

When sufficient water is flushed into the bowl fast enough, the water is forced through the S trap (indicated as "siphon jet" in the picture) which starts the siphoning action which then evacuates the water in the bowl.

See this web site for more info on how a toilet works:
http://www.raymondsbrain.com/words/s...ttraining.html

----------

To test your toilet's bowl and drain system while eliminating the tank and rim holes from the test, do this:

1. Manually fill the bowl to maximum height by slowly pouring pitchers of water into the bowl until the water level does not go any higher.

2. Get a container that can hold 1.5 gallons of water. Dump the 1.5 gallons of water into the bowl quickly.

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2.

4. If the toilet flushes perfectly, then put some toilet paper in the bowl to simulate solid waste. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 4 several times.

5. If the solid waste flushes perfectly, then the problem is in the tank, the rim of the bowl, [ADDED: or blockage of the small siphon jet hole. (The siphon jet hole could be blocked by debris if the toilet was left uninstalled with the tank off and leaves, etc. fell into the drain hole for the tank.)]

If the tests fail, the problem is in your drain or the toilet's trap is probably blocked by a pencil type object.

How many toilets do you have, and do all them have flushing problems or just one?

HRG