Earlier today I removed the toilet to use a power auger to unclog the drains. The drains are unclogged now without any water backing up in the drain pipe. I resest the toilet When I flush the toilet the water just builds up in the bowl all the way to the top. If I tilt the toilet breaking the wax seal the water drains out (not on the floor, but down the sewer). I took the toliet outside turned it upside down and ran water through it with a water hose. I stuck a drain snake through it with no problem.
Would a clogged vent cause the toliet not to flush? The shower and sink are draining fine. Any ideas?
Update: I reset the toilet again. After first placing the toilet I dumped a bowl of water in it and it flushed properly. I then proceeded to put the nuts on the bolts and tighten it down. The toilet now slowly drains, after dumping a bowl of water in it, but does not flush. Any ideas. Could it be when I tightened the toilet it made the wax ring interfere with the drain?
misalignment of the wax seal when seating the bowl.
I clean the floor flange and surrounding floor until it very clean. I do the same with the "horn" sewage exhaust port under the toilet. I tilt the toilet 90 degrees and push the wax ring on the horn until it sticks firmly. Then I lift the toilet and align and seat it in one motion.
clogged vent pipes
The sewer lines will have vent pipes that go all the way thru the roof and vent pressure. If these lines have pine straw or leaves in them, it can cause the water to drain slowly. In this case, I get on the roof and run a rotary cutter thru the vent pipes.
clogs in the toilet itself.
A child can flush the lid off a tin can and the lid can get caught in the internal toilet passage. The tin can lid can pivot and block the passage one minute, the next minute it can pivot again and allow sewage to pass. A snake can pass right by it.
The last slow toilet I encountered, someone had flushed Q-tips down the toilet. When exiting the toilet into the sewer line, those Q-tips that were mostly oriented straight up-and-down would pass smoothly. The Q-tips that were oriented sideways were wider than the horn exhaust port, so some of them had caught and would not pass. In this example, three or four had hung up and created enough drag to stop the flushing action.
The toilet is flushing now. This morning I went on the roof and put the snake down the vent. I got it as for as it would go, which I think was the bottom. I could hear some water sloshing at the bottom. I came inside and the toilet flushed.
The full story was yesterday I rented a power auger for $40, brought it home and ran it down about 90' and returned it. I did not check if it was unclogged before I took back, Doh! I then called a plumber for $200 he used his power auger. It took him 5 times down to clear. (I think he was worth the $200) It was clogged with baby wipes. My 4 year old had been using my babies diaper wipes instead of toilet paper, so that was the cause. I guess when pulling up the diaper wipes a little bit got caught in the vent. That is my uneducated guess.
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