Toilet question?

[Joe B.]

One of our toilets never seems to flush properly. I have checked and there is plenty of water in the reservoir. As I flush it empties out like it is supposed to and then refills properly, but the water in the bowl just swirls around and takes only have of the contents when it goes down. Although sometimes it swirls around and then flushes pretty well. Does this sound like a drain problem? Thanks.

Joe

[Harry Everhart]

Hi Joe -

Yes I think you have a drain problem.

I have a cheap and easy fix that works for my drains. I bought a device that goes onto the end of your garden hose. When you turn the hose water on - this device blows up like a balloon. It reminds me of the angioplasty they use to unblock arteries in your body :-) I got it at Ace Hardware - but it is available at many stores.

I go up on the roof and find the roof vent pipe for the device in question. I drop the hose with the "angioplasty device" on and turn on the water. The balloon blocks the water from coming out the back way and it seems to clean the drainage pipes. It works great for me.

I bought this 20 year old house about one year ago. The drains were too slow for my tastes. I went up on the roof and blasted each roof vent pipe. My drains are much faster now and have not caused a problem since.

It might not work for you - but it is worth a try - a cheap fix.

Harry

[Speedy Jim]

Here's how to find out:

Get several buckets of water. Rapidly dump them into the bowl. If the water goes right down, it is *not* a drain problem or a vent problem.

Most commonly, the "siphon jet" (3/4" hole in front of bowl) is clogged or the rim jets are partly clogged.

Jim

[thranjax]

not sure maybe need to look at your plumbing. try

for a good range of plumbing

[Joe B.]

Thanks for the responses. Now I know where to start.

Joe

[sleepdog]

Although

It's called a blow bag

[SteveB]

Try this:

Take the top off the tank, so you can watch what's going on. Flush the toilet, but hold down the handle until all the water has left the tank. If it works, there's yer problem. Either not enough water in the tank, or the flapper needs adjustment. The new kits come with an adjustable flapper that regulates when the flopper flops down on the hole. The old ones don't have this. You can get a total rebuild kit for $20 from Homer's and they ain't rocket surgery to install. BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERTIGHTEN. If it leaks a bit, then tighten a quarter turn and try again.

Second, if your toilet flushes when you hold down the handle, but not when you do it regularly, try increasing the water level in your tank by adjusting the mechanism. This will put more water on top of the load, pushing on it more.

I had a RotoRooter guy come out and charge me $50 when mine was doing the same thing. He said I needed a new toilet. I put in the new adjustable flapper, and set the water level high, and the thing works first time every time now. A lot cheaper than a new toilet. I couldn't figure for the life of me how a toilet wears out .............

Not saying you might have blockage, but this is the cheapest easiest way to try to fix it.

The things you put in there and blow up like an angioplasty baloon are okay, but if you have a vent in that line, you might just blow poop out and all over your roof if not careful. You start putting water in there under pressure and it will take the path of least resistance, and that is a vent pipe.

HTH, and let me know if it works for you like it worked for me.

Steve

[Beeper]