Toilet not flushing front of bowl

[Theo Markettos]

1980s porcelain toilet, nothing special. Recently it's developed a problem where the front 180 degrees the bowl aren't flushed. There's plenty of flush on the back half, and the flush works as far as clearing the contents of the bowl, but it doesn't rinse the sides at the front.

Having a feel, there's a slot all the way around the bowl (I was expecting holes). We're in a hard water area, but I can't find any limescale blockages. Toilet has been cleaned with Toilet Duck equivalent which should keep down the limescale?

A few years ago I put a Hippo water saver in it. Taking it out it's better, but still the front 90 degrees aren't flushed.

At the hole at the back where the water emerges into the bowl, the hole seems to have an irregularly shaped plastic stick in it, maybe 1cm wide that goes back towards the cistern junction. I'm guessing that's what divides the water around the two sides rather than going straight down. The stick is loose - I can jiggle it and turn it around with my hand - but I can't remove it because I'd have to take off the cistern to get access. It doesn't feel like it has a naturally 'right' way to fit.

Should this bit of plastic be there, and if so is there a way to adjust it? Or what else might be causing the uneven flush?

Thanks Theo

[Bob Mannix]

Never seen a "stick" as you describe. I would be tempted to try and remove it and see what happens.

[Rick... (The other Rick)]

I bet that it is a part of one of those toilet cleaners that are suspended in the cistern, or even part of the siphon itself that has broken off.

Every toilet I have seen has an unobstructed flow to the pan and the water flow is distributed by the channels under the pan edge. Rick... (The other Rick)

Science and sound engineering will always prevail in the end "for nature cannot be fooled" [Feynman]

[The Natural Philosopher]

the cistern, or even

flow is distributed by

...and they definitely scale up where you cant see them

Only thing to do is keep dumping descaler acid in the *cistern*

[Theo Markettos]

I did wonder about this. But I can't see how anything would get in - it would have to go up and over the siphon (which is green plastic and is stamped 1996, so I got my date a bit wrong), around the tight right angle bend and then down into the bowl.

I've had another feel. The object - I can't tell if it's plastic or ceramic from feel because it has surface scale - is about 3cm wide by 1cm high, in a roughly back-to-back L section. The front end isn't square but seems to taper, and there's a square section cut out underneath the bottoms of the Ls.

It's in no way blocked up with scale as far as I can feel... the ball has about a quarter millimetre of scale surface on it, but this easily flakes off. Tiny flakes of scale come off the rim, but nothing significant.

I can't see how it could possibly have got flushed down from the cistern, as it's a snug front-to-back fit: I can move it front to back maybe 3mm but that's all. It's not flexible enough to be able to bend it to get it under the rim. From the back of the bowl it's about 20cm to the right-angle bend to the cistern - if it's 20cm long I can't see how it would have gone up and over the siphon then around the tight radius right angle bend to get lodged against the rim. If that was the case it would be able to move back into the pipe. The cistern has never been removed as far as I've lived here, and that's what I think would be necessary to remove the rod.

If I adjust it with the Ls in an upright position, the flush gets all but about 7cm x 7cm at the front of the bowl. So it's obviously doing something to the flush, but I can't work out exactly what. It may be that that's the position where the front butts most neatly against the inside of the rim, but it doesn't feel a particularly snug fit.

Or perhaps something (a rubber seal, perhaps) has broken off this 'stick'?

Theo

[Amature]

I have same problem I think it is ceraramic. Make shore the pointed button is facing foreward the push the “thing” back as hard as you can. Solves the problem but it will work loose again. Surprised the “Xperts” on here on here haven’t come across it surely we haven’t both dropped the same shape thing down toilet.

[Andrew]

No shit !. 11 yo post.