Sloooow flushing toilet.

July 26, 2006 8:17 PM

This toilet has been good to me. However, it has become so slow in flushing that it barely flushes at all.

The mechanical parts work perfectly and I've done the "5 gallon" test by pouring a 5 gallon bucket of water down to see if it is in fact plugged up. It is not plugged up. I can actually cause it to have a perfect flush by pouring a cup of water in as it is flushing.

I'm guessing that the jets beneath the rim are clogged with calcium deposits (but that seems pretty weak in a design sense). They do flow but probably with less force than is needed.

Do I need a new toilet? Is there any way to improve on this toilets performance? I daydream of having an $800 super flush but that's not happening.

posted by snsranch to home & garden (6 comments total)

So when you push the flush lever, an insufficient amount of water flows into the bowl? Have you raised the tank lid to see if the flapper is being pulled up properly when you push the flush lever?
posted by intermod at 8:26 PM on July 26, 2006

Are you sure you are getting full lift on the tank flapper valve? The flapper valve is the cause of 90% of flush, refill, and leakage problems on standard toilets, and it is a very easy and cheap part to replace. $3 for a universal flapper at Home Depot, 3 minutes to replace. Be sure to clean the flapper seat, and tank bottom thoroughly, while you're at it.
posted by paulsc at 8:31 PM on July 26, 2006

Yea, folks, absolutely. That flapper jumps right up and is no hindrance to the flow. Just one of the reasons I am so puzzled with this.
posted by snsranch at 8:40 PM on July 26, 2006

I'd shut the water off, drain the tank, take the tank off the base, and see what's fallen in. Something is making the flow out of the tank turbulent and slow, before it hits the bowl vents. Might be an old bowl cleaner's plastic cage, or something like that, but there are usually so many bowl vents of so much greater area that there is very little chance of them being occluded by calcium buildup to the point of being your problem.

Drain and take off the tank, and snake out the obstruction from the bowl passage.
posted by paulsc at 9:35 PM on July 26, 2006

If you really think it's deposits then you can turn off the water, flush it empty and pour a shitload of CLR into the tank and bowl.
posted by phearlez at 5:16 PM on July 27, 2006

It's possible that the tank is not getting enough water in it initially to cause a proper flush.

You should be able to adjust the floater-arm such that it will stop later (move it up whatever it's attatched to) thereby letting more water into the tank.
posted by beerbajay at 5:47 PM on July 27, 2006