We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it. We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Try the "bucket test".
Get 2 or 3 buckets of water and dump them rapidly into the bowl.
Does the water go right down or does it overflow?
If NO overflow, there is nothing clogging the drain and snaking will not help.
Jim
If you have more than one toilet, how are they working? Also, how are other major drains working? If others are OK, that would narrow down where the problem is. Then, figure out how to get a big snake into that section of drain pipe. There should be cleanout plugs located at spots along the way. Even if it's the main line, you can snake that yourself with a big rental snake, provided you're willing to do the job.
its pretty common in hard water areas for sediment to build up in the bowl rim holes, causing poor flushing. if flushing with a bucket works good then i will goive you the acid answer
Did you use a "wimpy" snake or a high quality toilet auger. The larger head on the auger will be more likely to dislodge objects that are large enough to partially obstruct the trap but small enough to let water pass.
Here is what I use:
Good luck!
JK
The two best answers, and if they work the OP saves $300.00 ! :-))
-- Oren
..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..
A couple days ago, I knocked the remote control from my bathroom tv into the toilet, and I'm not even a renter!
But maybe since I"m not a renter, I did remove it. The light was off in the bathroom and it took me a few seconds, 5?, to see what had happened.
I got it out and wiped it off, and didn't try to use it for a while since I figured it was fine. It didn't work! I opened the battery compartment and there was water inside. I didn't expect that. I spun the batteries but that didn't help. I let it sit for almost 2 days, and now it works again. I thought I would either have to do nothing, or in this case, do more.
Sounds as if, your household needs to be regular more often.
Have you tried stool softeners?
Maybe, you just poop too much at one time.
The device Jake mentions. You can get one similar to this at Home Depot for about $25. I needed one when cat litter got flushed through my bowl, and this was the only thing that cleared the drain. worth every penny.
if it flushes fine using a bucket on solids the drain is NOT a problem.
plunge as much water out as you can, sponge the remainder from the bowl.
insert funnel in dip tube inside tank, wear safety glasses and rubber gloves, no splashing. open window. take deep breathe
pour muriatic acid into dip tube and some in bowl, get out of room close door wait 15 minutes,
then flush normally 10 times to dilute any acid in lines.
you will likely see brown scunge running down from bowl rim thats the sediment disolving. this really works.
if not enough water enters the bowl not enough leaves to generate the force to carry solids.
generally watching a afflicted toilet you see water just swirling in a circle, rather than going down fast
[Insert] Use exhaust fan when available..
..and saves dollars.. as the OP desires.
-- Oren
..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..
I ma having a similiar problem. I already tried using muratic acid, and replacing the float valve, and I've also tried the bucket test. The acid cleaned out all the rust stains really good, but other than that, no effect. Water pressure and drains all work good in the sink and tub in the same bathroom. Any ideas? Seems like I've rules out everything! The only thing I can think of that's left to do is to use my 25' snake from the sink and make sure that the main from the bathroom to the basement is not having any major problems. Any other ideas? I suppose I could get a toilet auger, but I fail to see the point of doing that when it passes the bucket test. It's not like I got kids dropping stuff down the toilet either.
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