One of our toilets is prone to clogging and is slow to empty even when not carrying a “load”. I’ve done the dental mirror inspection to make sure nothing is in the trap.
Any thoughts? I’m wondering if I distorted the wax ring when installing, thereby causing a partial but permanent blockage.
Thanks for any help.
Scott.
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Replies
Get a closet auger and have a go at your toilet. You never know what might have gotten trapped in the toilet.
My grand son has slowed down the flush with several different items. The closet auger has paid for itself ...
I've now watched a couple of Youtube vids on using closet augers, and yes, I think that looks like something any homeowner needs, especially one with kids. Off I go.....
Thanks.
There can be stuff stuck in the toilet's passageway that will allow the auger to go past without moving the offending object.
This is not likely, but be aware that it can happen. I had one once where the 2-yr-old had dropped in a tube of Preparation H that lodged in place and stayed there despite repeated use of the toilet auger. Got it out only by pulling the toilet.
The blockage is most likely in the passageway of the toilet, rather than downstream because the passageway of the toilet is so much smaller than the drain pipe that it empties into. (2" or 2-12" compared to 3" or 4")
Yeah, and the toilet trap is quite convoluted (literally), with several places for stuff to get stuck.
An auger may or may not work, as stated. Running it back and forth several times is the way to go.
I would be nice if someone made an auger that had fingers that could be extended once the auger was in place, then pulled back through to pull out stuff.
If you use a auger like the other post saiid and don't get an improvement try pouring a bucket of water down the bowl, if the water dosen't go down rapidly you have a clog farther down the line, your next thing to do is remove the toilet and look in the bottom of the toilet bowl and look for something stuck in there; you should know then if the seal was bad.
If none of this helps you are stuck with getting your line rodded out, you probably have a partial clog.
Could maybe have something to do with the associated vent.
Bird nest or dead squirl at the roof stack?
I wondered about venting too, but I don't think this is the case. There aren't any other fixtures with symptoms.
You can't inspect much of the trap with a mirror. Auger the thing out, and if it doesn't improve then pull it and check from the bottom for objects clogging it.
A closet auger will sometimes go past small objects caught in the trap. Use a wet/dry shop vac on your second attempt. If that doesn't pull something out, at least you have the vac handy to suck the water out of the trap befor you pull the toilet.
Before you remove the bowl, do this test. Take an ice cream pail of water and dump the water quickly into the bowl.
If it flushes, the problem is between the tank and the bowl. If it is still slow it is either the bowl or after the bowl.
The flush is dependent on getting enough water into the bowl quickly enough to start the siphon.
Make sure the water in the tank is at the correct level, and the fill tube from the valve to the overflow tube is correctly positioned.
The bucket test is a good one for older toilets, but some modern ones depend on the force of the water through the bottom jet to start the flow, and they may appear "weak" when you use the bucket test.
(Of course, another reason for poor flushing is having the jets fouled with hard water deposits.)
Holy moly, the BT brain trust clearly has a wealth of clog slaying experience.
Today I bought the burly Rigid closet auger.
Tomorrow I awake to do fearless battle with The Clog.
Wish me luck.
Oh yeah baby.... now there's a tool that pays for itself on it's first use, at least compared with the cost of calling a plumber.
The first augering didn't do squat, which gave me cause for despair. Then I remembered Dan's point about running it a few times. I shoved it back in and rotated it CW and CCW a few times. Voilà, full powered flush.
There was no evidence on the snake as to what caused the obstruction, but nonethesless it seems to be gone.
Thanks guys.
Sometimes "no evidence" is a good thing. Or, conversely, as a plumber once said to me "smells like money". :-(
Unfortunately, sometimes there's something like a comb still down there that will precipitate another clog in short order. So it's kinda wait and see.