Here’s a question for all you plumber types out there. Is there a test that can be performed in the field that shows how well a toilet is working? I have a client who has an older, low water toilet with a very small opening, that often backs up and overflows when trying to flush solids. I’ve heard that the early models of low water toilets often had apertures that were too small and would clog. I’ve also heard that there is some sort of test using a specified amount of toilet paper, rolled up and quickly flushed, to show if a toilet can handle solid waste without clogging up and over-flowing. Do any of you know of such a test, or some other way to test this toilet’s capacity?
Thanks in advance for your input!
D. Green
Replies
There is a web site that talks about toilets, but I forgot the name of it--I'm sure if you Google "toilets" several will come up. I bought the Toto toilet I have after reading about them on a web site (and reading good things about them at Breaktime). The web sites often describe tests that use pudding or plastic balls and so on (they usually mention how many grams of a solid a toilet can flush)--but I don't know that you'd want to be flushing plastic balls down a real sewer!
I'm sure others will respond as soon as they finish their Thanksgiving dinners!
I don't suppose we oughtta suggest the Gunner test, huh?Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
That would be extreme testing, but if it passes, you're good to go.
Probably not--lots of people have probably just had Thanksgiving dinner!
Why would he or you put up with this?
For $100 you can get a decent toilet and end the problem.
First time I was cleaning up the results of an overflow, that toilet would be gone.
Joe H
I'm trying to convince my client's landlord that the toilet needs to be replaced. He says it's fine, so I need some sort of test.
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I'm trying to convince my client's landlord that the toilet needs to be replaced. He says it's fine, >>
If, as a property owner, he can't understand the recurrent costs of repair and clean-up, never mind the accumulated damage being done to flooring and subfloors, then I don't think talking to him will do any good.
Would there be any health code requirements for a rental unit if this is an ongoing issue? Have the tenant document what and when anything happens if there is an agency that can/may help them.
When this unit was new I would assume it passed any code requirements of the day and would not be subject to removal....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
If you cantact your local building inspection department, there is probably a part of that department, or they can refer you to the proper one, that takes care of inspecting rentals. Our church had to put new siding a rental it owned because someone sicced such an inspector on us (and, IMO, we deserved it--it was bad).
Probably not the building inspectors office.But rather "codes" office. That is ones that inforce building maintance codes: broken window, pealing paint, too high grass, etc.The BKT killer was a codes inspector..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
The BKT killer was a codes inspector.
As I posted before, that comes as little surprise!
A guy I met in Laurel, MS (named Bo) seemed to always be getting in trouble with the police and then he would endear himself to them by saying, "I know what your problem is; you always wanted to be the playground bully in school, but you didn't have the [testes] to do it, so now that you have a badge and a gun, you can behave the way you always wanted to." He seemed to always be having trouble with cops--go figure.
After the dinner I just had, I am ready to test the capacity of any toilet.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Try this...
http://www.contractormag.com/articles/newsarticle.cfm?newsid=622
"The test protocol for the MaP (Maximum Performance) tests is to flush soybean curd formed into 50-gram “logs” and a four crumpled wads of six sheets each of single-ply toilet paper meeting the specifications set forth in ASME Standard A112."
Or...
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us&q=toilet+flush+test
so ya have to eat Tofu first?
Ok, call Gunner then.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
This eliminates the middle man, direct from supermarket to toilet.
First good Tofu recipe I've ever seen.
Joe H
Well yeah..besides who wants to weigh 50 Gram logs of poo?
I figgured it was more of a dimensional problem than weight, maybe a stitch or two in the offending depository orifice would make the problem more managable..I know they can do that for women after an episeyotomy...LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Well I knew my question would get a lot of wise cracks, (no pun intended). The information you sent however was very helpful.
Thank you
I think the test is in the everyday results of doing normal business. If it backs up, it's broken. If it flushes without backing up, it's not broken.
I think common sense is the test in this case.
FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
I have a friend that bought a new house and the Kohler toilets did not work as expected. He said the Kohler rep cam came and he had a can of stryo foam moth balls -- think he said 250, the toilit was supposed to get all 250 down in one flush -- it did not and all the toilets were replaced without further discussion -- am sure if you call a Kohler rep they will give you the necessary background data you need, might even give you the moth balls if you push for a Kohler product
Dudley -
So who paid to clear all those styrofoam balls out of the sewer line? - lol
You could use those packing "peanuts" that are biodegradable (made of corn starch or something)--they should give initial resistance, but ultimately dissolve.
Along those lines, a guy I know was called to unclog the head on a boat and found it was clogged with calcium pills that someone was taking and had passed through their system!
It's not so cut and dry when it comes to this type of issue. We had a guy in a rental that would clog his toilet every day. He was constipated from the meds he was on. So the doctor put him on meds for constipation. Then he couldn't hold his bowels. He couldn't go very far from a toilet.
A lot of people are constipated because of their diet, lack of hydration, lack of exercise, or all three.
But how are you going to tell somebody it's their fault when they just had a toilet overflow on them. The are almost always embarrassed like a little kid that just did something bad.
Another issue is if there are more rental units the work gets out and everybody wants a new toilet.
I think this is the web site Danno spoke of:
http://www.terrylove.com/crtoilet.htm
Thanks for posting the link--all I could think of was hearts or love or something and that just didn't seem to go with toilets!