Shutting off water to toilet

Sounds like you need to replace the bad shut off valve. If you want to control the amount of water flush just stick you hand in the tank and manually lift or close the flapper. If the chemical, which I never use, doesn't work try the closet auger:

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Reply to
Fred
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Your shut off valve may be stuck. Spray your shut off valve stem with WD40 and let it set for an hour or so.

You should check your valves several times a year to make certain the handles turns easily and turns all the way on and off.

Reply to
Hound Dog

I'm stumped! I have two IDENTICAL Kohler toilets; they're about 3 years old. Let's call them "good toilet" and "bad toilet" since one is working and the other is stopped up.

I tried plunging bad toilet, which didn't help. I tried liquid drain unclogger (guaranteed to dissolve ANY organic material!--I guess we'll see).

So now I want to flush it, but I'm afraid! Why? Because the toilet this one replaced overflowed once...and flooded nearly my entire house before it could be stopped. So I'm a bit gun shy.

I turned off the water supply to the toilet--or at least I THOUGHT I did--as I want to flush it with a controlled (i.e., LIMITED) amount of water. Then I started emptying water from the tank, thinking I'd only leave about 1/3 or so, again just to make SURE it can't overflow if there's really something blocking the drain. But as the water level in the tank got down to a certain point, it started filling up again. Huh?! How can it do that if I've turned the valve off?

I went to good toilet and tried the exact same motions--turning the valve all the way to my right. Then I flushed it, flushed it again, and the tank emptied almost all the way. Period. It didn't start refilling until I started turning the valve to the left. So WHY is bad toilet refilling? There's nothing else I can do--I've turned the valve as far to the right as I can.

Reply to
ScrubsFan

If you want a controlled flush all you have to do is fill a mop pail or five gallon pail and pour it in the toilet bowl. Pour just a little, if it go's down pour more. Closet valves are not the best or most reliable valves in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not closing.

Bill

Reply to
berkshire bill

As Bill noted, just pour a pail of water directly into the bowl. If the toilet is still stopped up, come back with more information. Are you in the USA? Is this a reduced water flush Kohler, or one of the old style? Is the plumbing as new as the toilet, or was the toilet a replacement on old plumbing?

Right now, I am guessing you have a plugged trap. Something that you didn't notice may have fallen into the toilet and gotten wedged in the trap, which is located in the base of the toilet. Getting it out can be tough. If you are lucky, the drain cleaner may dissolve it.

Reply to
Larry Caldwell

Thanks for the speedy reply. I didn't mention that I'd already done that--with mixed results. At first, the water would go down--I don't mean the toilet would flush by pouring water into the bowl, I mean that after some time it would have drained nearly empty. But then when I tried it again, the water didn't go down at all, even after a couple of days it hadn't dropped a bit. (I manually emptied it. Yuck.) So right now I have an empty bowl and, as I said earlier, I want to do a controlled flush.

Just a side note: My friend and neighbor, who happens to be a contractor, just moved out of state. I relied on him to help whenever something like this came up, and now I'm lost! When the toilet stopped up and I realized I couldn't just pick up the phone and have him come over, I nearly started crying. :-(

Reply to
ScrubsFan

Reply to
nospambob

First principles:

  1. "Bad" toilet - and nothing else - is clogged.
  2. You didn't put anything in the toilet that could have clogged it.
  3. You keep the lid down so nothing can accidentally GET into the toilet (roll of TP, cat, etc.)

Therefore:

  1. Something grew there, or, more likely,
  2. A rat* came up through your system, found the lid down, and couldn't retreat sufficiently.
Reply to
HeyBub

Or, to be absolutely dead sure -

Turn off the water to the house, open a faucet on a floor below the bad toilet (to drop the line pressure), then flush.

I'm with these guys - you have a bad shutoff.

Replace it with a Zurn 1/4 turn stop. Best damn shutoff in the world.

Most all other shutoff fall to peices after 1 use.

Reply to
Matt

I thought I was clear that I had already done that (poured water into the bowl) and it ultimately didn't go down, so I manually emptied it. But for the sake of thoroughness I did it again last night--with the same results. It hasn't gone down one iota.

Yes, I'm in the USA, yes it's a reduced water flush Kohler, no the plumbing isn't new, yes the toilet was replaced on old plumbing.

I also didn't mention that this house has been PLAGUED by plumbing problems since I bought it. There's a recurring issue with roots in the pipes--but I DON'T believe that's the problem this time. My reasoning is this: The root problem ALWAYS manifests itself in one specific location, which affects the OTHER bathroom. Everything else, in BOTH bathrooms, is working fine--sinks, bathtubs, and the other toilet. If the roots were back, they'd ALL be showing signs of it (and I know this from lots of experience!).

Honestly, I just don't see how that could've happened. I'm the only one who uses that bathroom and I am 100% sure that nothing other than toilet paper has gone down it. I ALWAYS keep the lids down on both toilets, plus there's NOTHING anywhere near that could fall into it even if the lid was up.

I appreciate your help. Thanks. :-)

Reply to
ScrubsFan

I've actually done that. After the old toilet (that this one replaced) overflowed and flooded my house because the valve was IMPOSSIBLE to turn, I had it replaced. So the valves on both toilets are new (3 years old) and they turn freely and easily, which I check periodically.

But...since turning this one all the way to the right is NOT shutting off the water, I guess there *is* a problem with it. I just don't know what. And my friend/contractor who installed them is gone so I can't ask him to look at it. :-(

Reply to
ScrubsFan

I'm not sure about doing this, as I had very bad luck the last time I tried (again, that was with the old toilet that overflowed).

I know this isn't a binaries group, but I have a picture of the inside of the tank and would like to have someone point out exactly what to do or not do. Is there a binaries group I can post that to? Or would it be okay to post it here? (It's a small picture.)

Reply to
ScrubsFan

If the water you pour in from a bucket doesn't go down then water from the tank isn't going to go down. The only difference between the two methods is that water from the tank will swirl around and help to give you a cleaner flush.

Have your tried a plunger?

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

Looks like you need to call a plumber, my friend.

Reply to
GFRfan

-> I'm stumped! I have two IDENTICAL Kohler toilets; they're about 3 years

-> old. Let's call them "good toilet" and "bad toilet" since one is

-> working and the other is stopped up.

->

-> I tried plunging bad toilet, which didn't help. I tried liquid drain

-> unclogger (guaranteed to dissolve ANY organic material!--I guess we'll see).

->

-> So now I want to flush it, but I'm afraid! Why? Because the toilet

-> this one replaced overflowed once...and flooded nearly my entire house

-> before it could be stopped. So I'm a bit gun shy.

To stop an overflowing toilet before it's too late, just remove the tank lid and manually push down the flapper.

So, all you have to do is take of the tank lid and be prepared to put the flapper down when you flush the toilet.

Reply to
Suzie-Q

OK, then, your next step is either to snake it yourself or call Roto Rooter. If you want to try snaking it yourself, either rent or buy a power snake, either pull the pot or climb on the roof with a snake and garden hose and snake through the roof vent. If the roof is not too steep, snaking through the vent will maybe save the mess of pulling the pot. Snake first, then run a hose down the vent after it starts to drain to flush the lines while you snake some more. If you are very fortunate, there will be a sewer cleanout just outside the foundation line. If you unscrew the cap on the cleanout, that may tell you a lot about the condition of the line. If it's dry, snake back toward the house. If it's wet, snake toward the sewer. Sometimes the cleanout is under the house.

Since one toilet is working fine, the blockage is probably somewhere in the house plumbing rather than the outside sewer lines, but your old plumbing may join up outside somewhere, and roots could be the problem. If you have had perennial problems with roots, Roto Rooter is probably your best bet. In the future, fix your landscaping, use root killer, or do laundry with Boraxo to keep roots out of the lines.

Before you do anything, plunge it again, since you have tried drain cleaner. The drain cleaner may have loosened the blockage but not cleared it. Be sure to use eye protection, you don't want lye in your eyes. Be as violent as you can manage. The up stroke on the plunger often does as much as the down stroke. Unfortunately, if the line is completely blocked, the drain cleaner may not be getting to the blockage. If the blockage is past the vent, plunging won't do anything, since the vent will relieve the pressure.

Reply to
Larry Caldwell

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