Ok - for some reason the upstairs toilet is acting up - it doesn't flush reliably each and every time. But, it does respond to the use of the plumbers helper (aka plunger!) and will function properly for a while.
Could it just be some one be using too much paper? Or have I got a worse problem. I hate the idea of making use of the snake or worse, calling the plumber.
Cheryl
Our ensuite one did that for YEARS. A towel in a plastic bag, plunged vigorously up and down would do the trick for months at a time, but when even that failed we had to call the plumber, who found half a broken plastic drain cover which had got in front of the outlet - right in the depths!
Fortunately we pay a monthly premium to our Water Board to cover such eventualities.
It must have been there since 1985!!!
Pat P
>Tue, 28 Jun 2005 10:10:11 -0400 in MID: Cheryl Isaak sayed:
You need two things. A Plumber A Detective The first to fix your current problem. The second to discover WHO is the cause.
You may well need a third 'helper', an administrator. Someone to supervise the miscreant.
Who said one could not build a bureaucracy at home!
A [busy] Plumber
It could also be that you need a new fill valve for the tank innards to get the required pressure up to push the offending pieces down the way they belong, or if you have hard water, your water jet holes in the bowl might be crusting up and need to be descaled. Try finding a plumbing supply shop and asking for advice there first, and fixing it yourself if you dare....if not, find a good plumber that can find the problem and fix it for you!
Dannielle
I don`t think she means that there`s a problem getting the water to flush, but with draining it away - or that`s how I read it?
Pat P
Hi Cheryl
It could be a LOT of things, including cheap manufacture. Newer toilets just don't cut it anymore and have places where debris can easily lodge.
My first question would be, do you have children, especially those with small toys.
A well designed water closet will have NO places to trap objects if they are short enough to clear the trap curves. Meaning there are no ledges to catch things on top of. Most toilets built today and for the last decade or so have a ledge over the mounting flange that easily traps all kinds of things that should normally pass right through. The only purpose of this ledge is to keep plumbers busy with expensive house calls!
Since you had stated that the plumbers helper seems to cure the problem for a while. I can see two things right off. Either not enough water in the tank to flush properly OR an obstruction setting on this little ledge I mentioned above or in the trap itself.
It doesn't sound at all like a plumbing problem but a fixture obstruction or maladjustment.
I would check first to see if the water level of the tank is up to the marked line. This marked line is NOT an absolute. The water level in the tank should be adjusted above or below this line so that you get a clean flush. A double flush indicates too much water and a super low water level in the bowl after a proper flush before the tank fills indicates too low a water level. A fill tube in the tank fills the bowl to the proper height to insure an air lock, but you don't want to be wasting water at the same time. So the bowl should be slightly lower than normal after a proper flush. Once the proper tank level is determined, one should make a new line or remember the setting.
You should be able to use around 20 sheets of wadded toilet paper without affecting the flushing of the toilet while making your tests. If clogs become apparent during these test, you need to look at the trap to see if an object (toy or toothbrush, etc.) is blocking part of the trap from easy flowing. If you find nothing in this area, then you will need to remove the toilet from the flange and check the outlet area. Even a simple cardboard Q-Tip can be laying over this outlet causing the paper to build up and block the outlet. Remember that ledge that shouldn't be there but probably is!
In a properly designed toilet, most objects will not become trapped, not even feminine use products. But in poorly designed toilets, anything and everything can lodge on that ledge. The price of the toilet has nothing at all to do with the design. I've seen 26 dollar toilets of perfect design and 600 dollar toilets of very poor design as far as flushing functionality is concerned.
On another note, concerning the normal debris the water closet is designed to handle. They type foods one eats plays a roll in how well it is disposed of by the water closet function. Floating debris is very hard to evacuate from the bowl. High sugar content foods, candy and like, should be covered with the toilet tissue sheets to help them be evacuated from the bowl easier.
Good luck in solving your problem!
TTUL Gary
Cheryl Isaak wrote:
It's the law of houses working. That law says that something inevitably goes wrong (water heater) and soon two other expensive items will go wrong in quick succession. Sorry !
What I find even more awesome is that you can get an answer to nearly any possible problem or question or itch that needs scratching on this particular newsgroup.
Aint we a special and marvelous group !!!
Lucille
I think you have a valid point, it's a rare question that doesn't get sorted out one way or another lol
You my friend are BLOODY DISGUSTING..! ..and a FIGJAM to boot, I will wager. Ever had YOUR ARM up to the pubes in Shit, feeling around for Mrs Browns Eternity Ring??? That's "Down the Shitter"..not "UP her..." ermm, ah ..well... cough..the others will know what I mean, you wouldn't.... being, so far up your own ass you have difficulty breathing, never mind hearing!!
Listening to you they will NEED IT!!
Top posting Schmuck!!
A [busy] Plumber Vbs. [VeryBloodySenior]
Amen to that. This house came with a new Low Water Usage toilet. It can *usually* handle my nice little ladylike deposits, but let a man use it for solids and it clogs. I'd like to know what's so beneficial to the environment when it has to be flushed six times and on the sixth attempt have a kitty litter bucketful of water used to augment the low-flow.
Yes, but not getting things to go down can be caused either by blockage, which she has been dealing with, or by not enough pressure pushing the items down thus causing a blockage....
Dannielle
The pressure from above can only be the gravity/weight of whatever water is released into the bowl - as long as that`s normal the blockage MUST be due to a blockage somewhere on the way to the sewer from the toilet. Very unlikely that your cistern to fill to the proper level isn`t filling up properly, but you could check it. You might have a leaky ball-valve, which, being partly filled with water, wouldn`t float high enough to allow the cistern to fill to the proper level. I`ve only had that happen once in over
50 years but it does occasionally happen!Pat P
Whatever...
Dannielle
Pat EAXStitch wrote: > The pressure from above can only be the gravity/weight of whatever water is
In my experience, Pat's right...our toilets often slow down before a major blockage in the sewer line. We've finally learned to recognize it and call Roto-Rooter BEFORE things stop up entirely.
Sue
LOLOL! Too much information, Karen!
Pat P
I had to laugh last week when the drain unblocker man came, and said, accusingly "There`s an awful lot of Tampax down there!" For God`s sake - I`m seventy next week! LOL!
In fact, our outlet links with next door, where the lady of the house is only about 40!
Pat P
Someone will accuse you of being pregnant next !
You should just be glad it isn't a septic tank. Ours was 40 years old and the way we had to take care of it was unbelievable. My husband always said it was like having another child to deal with - but it was more stubborn than either DD. Margaret
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