Customer just called me today. I redid his bathroom about a month ago, and now he tells me, “when I drop the kids off at the pool, the toilet starts to back up and takes multiple flushes”.
This is a 1.6 gal toilet. He is thinking I might have dropped the toilet wrong and got some wax in the drain. Does this sound right? Or is it just the curse of the 1.6 flush?
I dont know just how “healthy” this guy is. I believe I set the toilet correctly.
The bottom line is, can I use a toilet snake to clear any possible wax, or do I need to pull this toilet and reset it?
Replies
I wonder if the guy works at Lowes. A few weeks back I saw a display in the toilet section claiming that the toilet could flush 12 golf balls. I asked the salesman if there had been a problem with in this area locals passing golf balls. He gave me a strange look and I said that if they wanted to impress me they'd have a toilet that could flush just 1 styrofoam ball each flush.
The last 1.6 toilets I have installed all worked pretty good. 5 years ago most couldn't flush a sheet of paper let alone much else. They seem to be doing some better engineering lately. That toilet could have a clog or even be a poor cast. Looking at the water flow as it flushes should give you some idea as to how it's working.
HO says it flushes water fine. Just has a problem with solids.
isnt that what plumbers are for. 2+3=7
I know, I know. I usually call my guy for roughs, but I generally do the finish myself. I know as I grow i'll do less myself, but for now..........
For what?
Let him know he'll be paying for a service call if you come out and nothings wrong.
Make sure he's there when you remove the toilet. It will be obvious if there is anything obstructing, but not likely.
The likelihood is, there is a bottle cap or other object floating around in the toilets workings.
and anyway 1.6 flushers suck especially if you buy any in the low cost range, HD special.
I'm thinking that after a month, if I had installed it improperly, the wax would've flushed away and I would have a leak. I caulked about 90% of the toilet, I leave the back open for just such a potential problem, and he has said nothing about a leak.
Low cost toilets suck? I have had great luck with Koler's Wellworth, 1.6 gal., Abotu $90.
I think this toilet thing is a case by case deal. Really weird. Some people complain up a storm and others never have a problem. Maybe it is something they eat.
Since it is the federal government which mandated the 1.6 gallon requirement, perhaps they will start a new study, to the tune of 50 million tax payer dollars, to looking into the eating habits of those that complain and those that don't. LOL!
why does the toilet only have a problem when he drops the kids off at the pool? Does it work fine when he is at home? How does he know it runs on auto-flush if he isn't there? This sounds weird
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Yeah I also installed a closed circuit tv w/ remote monitor. He can watch his toilet flush from as far away as chicago. It cost a little extra but the sense of security was worth it to him.
I can't tell if you are now being facetious funny or if this guy needs to get a life...
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I think, "dropping the kids off at the pool" is his cute way of saying "taking a dump". Took me a couple of minutes to figure that out, like I have nothing better to do.
Now I understand why we're wondering how healthy this guy is...LOL
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Offer to call your plumber to do a service call. If he finds that it was installed wrong, you pay. If it was installed right, the HO pays.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Good thought. I'm starting to rely on my plumber for roughs, but i'm still used to doing the finish installs myself. So I dont even think of him on finish.
Three times! I hadda read it three times before I realized.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Piffin - The common expression heard around here is "I'm going to take the Brown family to the water park and show them the rides!" Buic
Shucks, we just say, "I'm gonna be on the crapper"I admit i need a little colour in my life at times, but that's not the way to liven it up, IMO. Now if I said I was going to drain the lizard...;)we use Toto's almost exclusively
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I think, "dropping the kids off at the pool" is his cute way of saying "taking a dump". Took me a couple of minutes to figure that out, like I have nothing better to do.
That was a common phrase when I was in college. Also "drop a load of bricks", "going to bomb Tokyo" which we've modified to "bagdad" lately. So for instance if one of my co-workers comes back talking about a bad airstrike on bagdad, I know not to visit the BA for a while.
As to the original poster's question, my $$ is on the toilet just being a crappy flusher (nice pun). He will probably have to play the hand out though and pull the toilet up just to reassure the dude that its ok.
jt8
"The test is to recognize the mistake, admit it and correct it. To have tried to do something and failed is vastly better than to have tried to do nothing and succeeded."-- Dr. Dale Turner
Sorry Piffin, I thought you were playin with me. I heard that term a couple of times and I guess I thouht it a little more commonly known.
Crappy crapper require a double flush, once just for the brown stuff, then again for the wipey stuff and maybe more if you like to pull the roll way out.
Eric
[email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
10 to 1 odds it's the toilet not the wax.
& add in 1.6 gal flush then it really sucks.
Pretty hard to screw up the wax ring instalation---- did you use a deep seal ( plastic horn with wax) ?
We have a Toto Promenade low-flush toilet and it works great. Overall the 1.6 toilets are a helluva lot better than they used to be.
TOTO makes a great product. I have had a 2 piece TOTO for a couple of years and got rid of the old plunger forever. A guest managed to clog it with a wad of paper towels but other than that it works great. Sold one to a customer who had a house full of Kohler 1 piece and she immediately ordered 5 more. For a 1.6 I think TOTO is the leader.
Scott
Yeah, I always use the ones with the plastic horn. I did try to explain that those (1.6) toilets arent the best.
I ran into the same problem with a Kohler 1 piece. We thought it was wax and snake it out with a toilet snake. Finally pulled the toilet and found to our surprise it was a sloppy casting and had a thin piece of over-cast ceramic blocking about a third of the outlet. Carefully chipped it off with a small cold chishel, re-set toilet and it worked like a champ.
Your "taking the kids to the pool" stumped some old timers. My plumber said "Taking the Browns to the SuperBowl" and we laughed for a solid minute...........
Good Luck
It was only a month ago, and I cant honestly say what brand it was. The homeowner bought it and I just put it in. If I end up removing the toilet i'll check the flashing thing. Thanks for the input.
I'm going to add my vote to TOTO.
I've installed a few of them in places, and I've NEVER had a callback.
Given a choice, I sell them every time.
Quality repairs for your home.
AaronR Construction
Vancouver, Canada
Certainly sounds like some kind of internal blockage.
Some 1.6 toilets work fine. I've had an american standard for 1 1/2 years and I've plunged it twice.
I'd try a snake before anything else. It'll only take a few minutes and you might get lucky.
And I'd be prepared for a removal too! Just in case...Buic
Thats my plan, i'm gonna snake it first. I hope I dont have to reset it.....I hate plumbing.