Toilet troubles

[Charles Bishop]

There is a toilet which doesn't flush solid waste fully. It just swirls in the bowl without much going down the drain. (Thge same thing happens if there is no solid waste in the bowl-the water swirls and while some goes down the drain, the bowl doesn't empty as is normal). It worked better before and is about 20 years old, though I can't find the date inside the tank. The other drains in the bathroom and kitchen (which is nearby) are ok. There is about a 5-7 foot run from the toilet drain to the septic tank.

The small filler hole (I don't know what else to call it) that is at the bottom of the bowl, right where the drain portion begins, appears to be "salted up", that is it looks as if it is partially blocked, most likely by growth of "salts" or other precipitation from the water/waste combination. Is this the likely cause of poor flow?

I propose to test the main drain line by pulling the toilet, and pouring a bucket of water down the drain. If this tests ok is it possible there is something wrong with the vent stack (located in the wall immediately behind the toilet) that is easily diagnosed? If the bucket of water test fails I'll snake the drain.

My best guess is the "vent" in the toilet bowl. If this is the case, is this easily cleaned out, or is getting a new toilet the best plan?

Thanks,

Charles

[Molly Brown]

Pour some cheap vinegar down the overflow tube in the tank and let it sit for a few hours.

[rlz]

That small hole is the "Jet". If it's clogged up, the symptoms are what you are experiencing. A simple soluition is to get a small brush and clean the deposits in that hole. Most of the water in the tank should be coming thru that jet. This is what forces the waste to go down the drain.

Robin

[Joe]

Beter yet, some dilute muriatic acid and let it sit for a few minutes. If that is too scary, oxalic acid as found in old fashioned radiator flush at your auto parts store, will do a bang up job in probably 10 minutes. Rinse well and enjoy. Years ago a product called Sani-Flush was in all the stores. It used the moderately aggressive sulfamic acid as the motivator. Such products may still be found at a janitorial supply store. IIRC, they did a good job on all the toilet crud of the day.

Joe

[LSMFT]

worked

(which is

immediately

This is exactly right. I had the same problem. Clean out the 'jet'.

[Tony Miklos]

I still use Sani Flush, I find it at the local Wal mart.

[jimmy]

After a few years of the same problem I removed my toilet, carried it down to the driveway, power washed it and lots of junk (calcium) deposits came out. Reinstalled it and worked ok for 2 years. I found the older toilets were not finished internally as the new ones are..(lots of unsmooth internals) I replace it with a new toilet, worked ok for a while...plugged up again and I removed it placed a light & mirror in the cast iron pipe, found clumps of calcium deposits built up in the 3 inch cast iron pipes. Found cracks in the vertical pipe also when removed, would have eventually fallen apart. No amount of any chemicals is gonna help this problem, We took out walls, floors, etc. and replaced all pipes with ABS... If your going to stay there check for a final solution...it worked for me

[Charles Bishop]

I was able to clean out the jet of whatever solids were there (salts?) and now it works.

Thanks for the help.

[willshak]

Charles Bishop wrote the following:

I suspect that is what's wrong with one of my 26 year old American Standard Plebe toilets. It looks kind some kind of dark material has stained the hole and it may be much worse further in. How did you clean out that ~1" hole?

[chaniarts]

your teenage'rs toothbrush

[Vic Smith]

Think my kid used a short screwdriver to get the scale out of mine. Fixed the flushing problem. Others here have mentioned the rim holes too. When I get around to it, I'm thinking about shutting the water to the toilet off, and pouring a few gallons of vinegar in the tank. Sponge the water out of the bowl first, then flush. Let it sit as long as possible. Anybody think that will do some good? Works for the Mr Coffee.

--Vic

[Charles Bishop]

I did as someone suggested-

Shut the water off, and flushed the toilet. Removed most of the water from the bowl.

Then poured a cup or two of vinegar down the fill tube and waited.

An hour or two later, since the bowl was full (leak somewhere) I used a short blade screwdriver and carefully pushed on the built up salts. I was able to move the clog away from the opening, and the toilet flushed normally.

However, a short time later, the clog was back (probably after being pushed up the space, it came back down) At this time, I used the screwdriver and broke it up or moved it so that with the next flush, it flushed away.

I used care not to damage the toilet with the screwdriver, not using a large amount of force.

Charles

[hallerb]

use muriatic acid it cleans much better

put some in bowl and some in dip tube overflow.

this will clean out the interior toilet passages and works great.

wait 1/2 hour and flush repeatedly.

may not be good idea with a septic tank

[Sjouke Burry]

Carefully???

[Charles Bishop]

In article , " [e-mail]" wrote: [snip]

I'm on a septic and that's why I hadn't used it. If I'm inclined, I'll pull the toilet and take it out into the north forty and use the acid. Might be worth while to get a better flow out of the rim outlets.

charles

[hallerb]

I would use caution vinegar responds a LOT with baking soda. Muriatic acid might be much more violent:(

just add a little at a time..