Comments on: Large bowel movements + low-flow toilet = problems.

Question: Large bowel movements + low-flow toilet = problems.

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:27:10 -0800

Large bowel movements + low-flow toilet = problems.

So, all the units in my building have low-flow toilets (1.6 gpf). Ordinarily they work pretty well, but since I've made some changes to my diet I've been having monster-sized feces. 10-12", and dense. Pretty much every time I go, the toilet gets clogged and I have to plunge it to get things moving.

I've resorted to opening up the tank and depressing the floaty thing to add a bit more water, but even that doesn't always help.

Any advice?

By: heathergirl

heathergirl — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:28:20 -0800

Flush as you go.

By: Mizu

Mizu — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:29:58 -0800

Keep a jug in the bathroom. Fill it with water and use that to fill the tank when needed, prior to flush.

By: gnutron

gnutron — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:31:01 -0800

You can also just pour extra water from a bucket or pitcher into the bowl as you flush.

By: porpoise

porpoise — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:33:44 -0800

Whut heathergirl sed.

Dump a little. Flush. Dump a little bit more. Flush. Finish dump. Flush. Go have a glass of water. Flush again to get the last little bit down.

Make a game out of bowel control.

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:34:03 -0800

Stool softeners should enable the feces to break up more easily, making them easier to flush.

By: madman

madman — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:57:10 -0800

Perhaps you should reconsider your diet? More fibre perhaps?

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:02:11 -0800

I take it you tried and failed to use your sphincter to pinch off smaller pieces as you go?

By: Science!

Science! — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:03:50 -0800

Yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit I've clogged a few drains in my day, and since I watch what I can eat I know that they occurred during high protein low fiber periods. Add some psyllium husks to your diet somewhere (shakes/drinks work well). Also the courtesy flush isn't just for people in the next stall, it's for you too. "Flush as you go".

By: jayder

jayder — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:38:07 -0800

Inch it and pinch it.

By: jschu

jschu — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:07:47 -0800

I think it was here on Metafilter that I heard of someone keeping a spatula (a toy-sized shovel?) in the bathroom to break things into flushable-sized pieces.

By: ob

ob — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:12:29 -0800

I'll nth the people that are thinking that your dietry changes don't involve much fibre. This can be remedied easily and is a good idea regardless of the plumbing system in question.

By: sixcolors

sixcolors — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:37:30 -0800

Maybe you could somehow change your...schedule. So that you will go at work or school, instead of home.

By: queseyo

queseyo — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:55:29 -0800

Ugh, I had a low-flow toilet in my last apartment. Though pretty gross, my solution was to keep a tool in the closet (it was originally used to pry the nail out of a door hinge - a foot long piece of metal, more or less) to break things up. I don't care how much fiber I ate, nothing went down that toilet on the first flush.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's a once-and-for-all sort of solution.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:54:20 -0800

Bucket. Pour quickly.
Fiber: I don't know about the results of a protein diet, I will say, oat bran has this effect. Substitute (or add) wheat bran. Psyllium can also cause excessively hard stool, depending on water intake.

By: patnok

patnok — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:22:52 -0800

not all low-flow toilets are created equal. Make sure it has the correct flapper.

By: fleacircus

fleacircus — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:02:16 -0800

Drink coffee mid-day.

And perhaps your plunger technique needs work. Plunge up and down energetically; it's about agitation not force. And the plunger head can be used to break up the poo as well.

By: curagea

curagea — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:06:21 -0800

Toilet-clogger here. My mom always said to poo a little, flush, poo a little, flush, repeat. Of course, I never listen to her and end up cloggin the toilet anyways.

But yeah, that's the best way to go (pun not intended).