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Toilet flushing issue

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  grand_canyon 
#1 ·
I have a toilet in my second bathroom that has never seemed to flush properly. I'm on the second floor in a condo of one level. One neighbor below and one above. The problem I'm having is that it doesn't flush consistent. Sometimes it will flush properly and sometimes it will partial flush and sometimes it will double flush as it just varies. I had a flapper that was leaking so I replaced it with a red Korky one. That lasted about 2 months and it started leaking again. I then replaced it with a hard plastic one that hasn't leaked at all for 9 months.

The original flapper had a float and all the replacements ones I purchased had a float. The last one had a large float and I ended up having to remove it as it would get trapped between the float and the overflow pipe every so often thus it wouldn't let the flapper shut. I'm bit at a loss as to why the flushing varies. I could see it always doing one type of flushing but it doesn't. Anyone have any tips on what the issue could be.
 
#2 ·
There could be two separate things going on.

Before going any further, the question is if all the water is draining out of the tank each time you flush. Or sometimes a lot of water and other times not so much water draining out.

So remove the lid on your toilet tank and keep it off. Each time you flush, notice if the water always drains out of the tank the same?

If it is not draining out the same and that is when you have the flushing problem, then it is a problem with your tank/flapper sometimes not allowing all the water to flow out.
 
#3 ·
Hmmm...

I've had this situation, too. The problem is that the basic design of toilet flushing has never really changed, so it's really an antiquated system. Take the top off and flush and watch, it's incredibly early 20th century.

The issue is that when you pull the lever, what happens is a little metal arm lifts a chain that lifts the flapper off the hole which lets the water drain out and flush. However, after it's open, it's basically a gravity feed system, so sometimes the flapper stays open too long (resulting in numerous flushes and a waste of resources) or it snaps closed to fast, resulting in an incomplete flush.

The solution (assuming the flapper fits the hole properly) is to either hold the lever a few seconds longer, or (and don't laugh here) crazy glue a penny to the top of the flapper so there's more weight on it. This, in conjunction with holding the lever a few seconds longer guarantees proper flushing..I know this sounds crazy, but it works...when you're dealing with (literally) antique technology, you have to improvise accordingly.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the responses, for two days I've left the top off and watched it flush. Sometimes the flapper stays open long enough, sometimes too long, or sometimes not long enough. Nothing is impeding the water from flowing. I'm also having a problem of the bb style chain getting caught on the lip of the flapper when it shuts. The catch is between to of the chain's bbs. Which keeps the flapper from shutting. Ugh may just have to live with it. I agree for all the hitech we have a toilet flush is a lowtech.
 
#5 ·
first test the flushing action by pouring a bucket of water as quickly as possible directly into the bowl. this should create a siphon and cause the toilet to flush normally. if the toilet flushes properly, you know the problem lies in the toilet, not the plumbing. if not, you most likely have a partial clog in your drain or vent pipe somewhere.
 
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