increasing the force of a flush in a toilet

[Eric and Megan Swope]

Hi everyone. An American Standard toilet in our powder room does not flush with great force. Sometimes remnants remain and require an extra flush. The other 2 toilets in our house are exactly the same, but flush with greater force. Is there anyway to increase the force with which a toilet flushes? Can I buy a different flush valve?

I have tried increasing the water level in the tank, no good. I have cleaned out the little holes inside the edge of the bowl, no good.

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

[Rick]

Have you checkd to see if the drain is partially clogged?

[w_tom]

The problem is directly traceable to attitude of the company that manufactured the product. Better to buy a new toilet. Consumer Reports laid this out. Even less expensive European brands worked better than so many 'top of the line' (most expensive) American Standard products. Rather than engineer a quality product, some companies will instead cost control it. Price had no relationship to which brands performed better. Manufacturer's reputation for that product line will report more useful information. Did they engineer it or cost control it?

A previous poster who removed his American Standard product. Found no glazing in sections that you cannot see. That raspy surface only made the flushing even worse. American Standard - their designs being the problem. But don't take my word for it. Get Consumer Reports. I believe it is the May 1998 issue.

Why do some work and others not? Also the size of sewer pipes will have adverse effects. A larger pipe can cause additi> Hi everyone. An American Standard toilet in our powder room does

[borgunit]

I believe there is a "underground market" for older toilets. Ones that increase the quantity of water.

Here is a handy little link also...

[Speedy Jim]

Since the other 2 work, it's fixable.

Look in the bowl, toward the front, for a hole about 3/4" diam. If this model has one, it is the "siphon jet". They often get clogged internally with calcium. Without the jet, you get a "lazy" flush. When flush begins, you should see a flow of water out this hole. Compare to the other 2.

If this model does *not* have it, the rim jets need more thorough cleaning.

Jim

[Joseph Meehan]

In addition to Speedy's suggestion, which sounds like it is right since the other two (I assume same design) are OK, you can try just holding the handle down a little longer until it has a good flush. Most allow a standard flush or a full force flush when the handle is held down.

[Ned Flanders]

consumer reports is bullshit. they use the winning company ad for their layout is a lot of cases. I have seen them rate shit very high more than once.

[Jag Man]

Eric,

I have no idea on why one of your Am Std toilets is not working as well as the others. All I can offer is a suggestion for getting a good flusher. An independent study was done of flush performance of low-flus toilets. I don't seem to have the Web page bookmarked anymore, but you can probably find it with Google. It shows which ones flush and which ones don't. While Am Std. had at least one reasonable performer in the test, the best, low-cost wane was the Toto Drake. We have two, and they are excellent. As I recall, I paid about $185 sans seat.

Ed

[Richard J Kinch]

It is analogous to a tuned LC circuit. You can't change the Q or the time constant. If there's a restriction somewhere, you can clean that out.

[Mike Grooms]

"Eric and Megan Swope"

Try this experiment. As you flush the toilet, dump in a bucket of water. If it flushes well, then the problem is that that bowl isn't bringing enough water in fast enough to make it work. If it still doesn't flush well, then the problem is in the bowl or soil pipe. Report your findings to the plumbing newsgroup, and we'll provide additional suggestions.

Of course you can also post it on the DIYer board. That's always good for a laugh or two.

[J O E]

Not all American Standard toilets are the same, assuming that all yours are the same model, unless you bought them at the same time.

2 years ago, I purchased an A/S Cadet model - have had no problem with it - and recently purchased another A/S Cadet for installation in the powder room.

When I unpacked it, I found it to be different in design that the first one I got 2 years ago.

Both look the same, but the newer one has a different size opening outlet (larger) when viewed looking into the bowl.

On the underside of the bowl, the trapway outlet is the same size, but the inside of the bowl is completely different in design.

I'm thinking that American Standard is constantly redesigning - even the same model line - to improve flush characteristics.

Perhaps, although you say all 3 of your toilets are "exactly the same" .. the problem toilet is not as recent an aquisition as the others?

Or ... you may have a crack in the trapway - not necessarily visible - and that will play havoc with its' ability to siphon properly.

Get an new one - they're not that expensive - I paid $127 for my Cadet, bowl and tank complete.

BTW - the new Cadet I just installed will suck _you_ into the bowl if you stand too close while flushing.

Joe

[artinist]

Here is a couple of useful links:

i had a link to a site that had a list of the current "flush star" rated toilets but i cant find the link. i remember i printed the page. maybe the URL is on it. i will try to find it.

[Dick]

Here is the Flushstar list.

Here is another site with related information.

[Mike Grooms]

"Eric and Megan Swope"

Try this experiment. Dump a bucket of water as you flush the toilet. If it still doesn't flush well, then the problem is either in the bowl or the venting or the soil pipe. If it does flush forcefully, then the problem is in the tank or rim. Report you findings back to the plumbing newsgroup.

Of course, you can write the DIYers. They're always good for a few laughs.