Toilet clogging

[Chisa]

My husband and I have been living less than a year in a house with 5 bedrooms n 4 bathrooms and every so often a toilet clogs which amazes me since we're just 2 people and a dog (dog doesn't know how to flush so he goes in the yard).

We've never had any guest in our house since we moved, we don't flush anything other than TP and our own bio wastes. There's one bathroom upstairs that's worst of all and it's in the hallway, not so much problem with the master though. My husband and I had a discussion over how to use the toilet paper, he's accusing me of folding it the wrong way - we buy the fluffy ones, I heard it can be a problem.

It's a second hand house, there was a family of 5 living here for over 20 years before we moved in.

Am I to blame for folding tp sheet by sheet instead of just crumpling or ruffling it? - not sure what verb to use here.

Thanks for your concern.

[Joseph Meehan]

Well you could follow your dogs example and there would not be a clogging problem. :-)

There can be several reasons. The quality of the toilets, their design, the condition of the pipes, clogged vents. adjustments of the toilet, hard water build up, blocked pipes and the list may go on.

Unless you are using a whole roll at at time or using the cardboard center as well as the paper around it, I don't think your use of toilet paper is at issue.

[Mike Grooms]

"Chisa" <

I'm going to assume this isn't some sort of joke, right?

If you're serious, then write back with how you've solved the previous problems. Did you just use a plunger, or did you have the toilet taken up and rodded, or what?

[ADC]

could be roots in the drain line. Maybe build-up? Once the house cleare flushed those clorox wipes and it clogged our drain, since they don't break down quickly. Probably not your TP.

[Chisa]

"I'm going to assume this isn't some sort of joke, right?

If you're serious, then write back with how you've solved the previous problems. Did you just use a plunger, or did you have the toilet taken up and rodded, or what?"

Hello Mike, it sounded like a joke to me too when my husband confronted me about my tp folding causing the clogging, I wanted to take his temperature, it sounded unbelievable, so that's why I posted this so you guys tell him!

He likes to unclog using the regular simple plunger, I find it messy and since I don't have as much strengh as him to jolt the thing down there, I use boiling water that usually works too.

I come from Brazil and houses I used to live have the hydra system - not sure about technical names - where the toilet tank is located at the roof of the house, not on top of toilet so there's much more pressure on the flushing water and there were fewer problems. Although the late apartment I lived in BR was built with tank on top of toilet so I figure either things have changed or you get what you pay for..

Thanks for replies.

[twfsa]

Maybe your turd's are over size?

Tom

[David Martel]

Chisa,

Please reassure your husband that improper folding does not cause clogs. It sounds as if your pipes are partially blocked by something. A plunger will not solve this. Where the blockage is located and whether you can use a snake to clear it must be investigated further. If you are not comfortable doing this then call a plumber or "roto-rooter" guy.

Dave M.

[nospambob]

[Art]

You could replace your toilets with pressure flush models from Gerber or Kohler.

[SQLit]

Newer Home? Low flow toilets and shower heads? I have the same problem with my home circa 1999 occasionally. I had to raise the level in the tanks to almost the maximum to keep the problem described at bay. I still have to plunge a couple of times a month. My brother has the same problem. He has a home by the same builder.

[herbpatterson]

Since you mentioned you had a dog... is it the same toilet? We had a similar problem -- our dog was dropping nylon bones in the toilet -- the symptom I noticed was that the toilet was draining/flushing slowly.

If there is a hard foreign object in the toilet, it may be really hard to see/get out. I had to remove the toilet, flip it, and use a coat hanger to get the bone out. The first time I took the toilet out (and flipped it), I didn't see the bone inside.

Hope this helps, Herb

[John Hines]

The toilet I replaced a few months ago, a 10 year old low flush model, had a big deposit build up in the back where the trapway inverts, and the water (or acid buildup remover) can not get to it.

Replacing with a new toilet, that has a larger trapway, solved my problems.

[Ned Flanders]

Is it the toilet or the drain that clogs??

I fixed a problem like you described by putting a toilet auger through the toilet after I pulled it up from floor. A bar of soap came out and a toothbrush. The toothbrush would slowly build up TP then clog; A plunge would clear it for a while.

[Mike Grooms]

"Chisa"

If your husband can fix it with a plunger, then, and this is coming from the plumbing newsgroup, there's probably something caught in the toilets themselves. When you plunge the toilet, the toilet paper gets forced through, but that which is catching the paper is still there. Either try a closet auger, or take the toilet up, turn it upside down, and do your best to find and retrive the obstruction. It could be a toothbrush, or toilet paper core, or shampoo cap, Q-Tips, or some similar item.

If you don't find an object in the toilet itself, then it's further down the drain.

[Ron Peterson]

If you have hard water the jets around the rim may be clogged giving reduced flow during a flush. You can alleviate the problem by pouring toilet cleaner down the standpipe inside the tank.

[kevlon]

[bpollen]

Yes, I've heard the same thing for years. Charmin is esp. bad for toilets.

With the new low-flow toilets, we can no longer use t.p. like we did in the old days. The rule is to use the less-fluffy kind, and use it sparingly. If your - ahem - product is voluminous, then you flush first, then wipe and flush the t.p.

These are new times.

[Michael Baugh]

Or get an American Standard Cadet.