I put this on the toilets forum but didn't get any replies, so I'm trying this one. I have a two-story house with three toilets, two upstairs and one downstairs. Not too long after we moved in about 29 years ag0, one of the upstairs toilets ceased doing complete flushes. Had a plumber come in, couldn't fix it, so went with replacement. Since all the toilets were kind of dated looking, I replaced all three with the same Gerber toilet. In the ensuing years, the same issue occurred again in the same bathroom twice more (i.e., toilet initially works "ok" and then gradually peters out). Note, the other two Gerbers in the other bathrooms are still doing fine. At least two plumbers have investigated and come up with no ideas on what's going on. Any ideas from you all?
Toilet stops fully flushing
- Thread starter Walther
- Start date
Users who are viewing this thread
hj
Master Plumber
- Messages
- 33,603
- Reaction score
- 1,042
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Cave Creek, Arizona
- Website
- www.terrylove.com
WHICH bathroom is it? the upstairs or downstairs one. There are so many possibilities that someone would have to be there to test them all to see which one(s) apply to your problem.
Sponsor
Paid Advertisement
Put about 4 gallons of water into a 5 gallon bucket. Pour it in from as high as you can as fast as the toilet can take it. The hope is that the big rush of water will wash away a partial blockage.
You said "In the ensuing years, the same issue occurred again in the same bathroom twice more (i.e., toilet initially works "ok" and then gradually peters out)." I think you are saying that you had the plumber come in twice more, and each time the flush became good. Then over weeks the toilet flushing performance degrades. What did the plumber do during these visits?
You said "In the ensuing years, the same issue occurred again in the same bathroom twice more (i.e., toilet initially works "ok" and then gradually peters out)." I think you are saying that you had the plumber come in twice more, and each time the flush became good. Then over weeks the toilet flushing performance degrades. What did the plumber do during these visits?
No, what's happening is that the plumber comes in but is unable to fix it, so I end up getting a new toilet, which will work "ok" for a while before eventually ending up with the same issue of incomplete flushing. I did try the idea of pouring a five gallon bucket in, but that didn't fix anything either.
That is weird.
Try holding the flush lever down until the flush completes.
If that does not work around the problem, I suggest you put in a different kind of toilet. If it does work around the problem, perhaps the toilet can be fixed somehow.
Try holding the flush lever down until the flush completes.
If that does not work around the problem, I suggest you put in a different kind of toilet. If it does work around the problem, perhaps the toilet can be fixed somehow.
Yeah, I've already tried that too. Flush never completes. I'm resigned to getting another toilet, but I don't want to have to go through this again, so hopefully I can find one that is good enough that it can overcome whatever inherent drain design issues that bath must have.
I may be "biased", but I prefer bowls with a trapway that is less likely to "collect" things.
Sometimes in a home, things are dropped into a bowl, things that are not picked back up, and then they are flushed away............maybe.
Sometimes those things collect in the trapway, which slows down the siphon action. Some bowls, with some trapways are real "thing" collectors.
I pull out make up pens, pencils, small cars, small dolls, bars of soap, lotion bottles, measuring cups, condoms, forks, toothbrushes,
With some bowls, I can auger from the lower end and push them back out. Some trapways have such tight bends, that I sometimes have to throw the bowl away. Just saying.
Sometimes in a home, things are dropped into a bowl, things that are not picked back up, and then they are flushed away............maybe.
Sometimes those things collect in the trapway, which slows down the siphon action. Some bowls, with some trapways are real "thing" collectors.
I pull out make up pens, pencils, small cars, small dolls, bars of soap, lotion bottles, measuring cups, condoms, forks, toothbrushes,
With some bowls, I can auger from the lower end and push them back out. Some trapways have such tight bends, that I sometimes have to throw the bowl away. Just saying.
Last edited:
that makes sense, but I would think that is not applicable to my situation as the same thing has happened to three different toilets?I may be "biased", but I prefer bowls with a trapway that is less likely to "collect" things.
Sometimes in a home, things are dropped into a bowl, things that are not picked back up, and then they are flushed away............maybe.
Sometimes those things collect in the trapway, which slows down the siphon action. Some bowls, with some trapways are real "thing" collectors.
I pull out make up pens, pencils, small cars, small dolls, bars of soap, lotion bottles, measuring cups, condoms, forks, toothbrushes,
With some bowls, I can auger from the lower end and push them back out. Some trapways have such tight bends, that I sometimes have to throw the bowl away. Just saying.
Well...............When my daugther bought a new home years ago, it came with the Consumer Reports recommened toilets, Mansfield Alto 1.6 gallon bowls. I offered to change them out for the TOTO Drake bowls on her move in date. She was annoyed with the idea, because dad, it's a new home!!
She plugged all three toilets the first weekend.
A year and a half later, she called and asked if the offer was still open. The answer was yes.
My son Jamie and I went out and replaced everything.
Since that time, when she moves, we do the same thing now.
Her latest new home had the Home Depot Glacier Bay Consumer Reports Best Buy dual flush in three bathrooms.
She waited six months, and finally asked for those to be replaced too. The new stuff, a TOTO Ultramax, A Kohler Cimarron, A Kohler San Souci are much, much better.
We pull builder grade stuff out all day long and haul them to the dump. It's kind of fun watching them smash.
That's a good point. However, in my case, the three toilets that were original to the house were all the same brand/model, and when one of them stopped working I replaced all three toilets with the same Gerber toilets (not sure the model). Not long after that the toilet in the "problem bathroom" stopped working (same issue as original one had). And then when I replaced that one (Gerber) with another brand, it too eventually went bad. So since I'm only having an issue in one particular bathroom, and it's the same basic issue (no full flush) wouldn't that indicate that maybe there is a problem with the venting or draining system/design in that particular bathroom?Well...............When my daugther bought a new home years ago, it came with the Consumer Reports recommened toilets, Mansfield Alto 1.6 gallon bowls. I offered to change them out for the TOTO Drake bowls on her move in date. She was annoyed with the idea, because dad, it's a new home!!
She plugged all three toilets the first weekend.
A year and a half later, she called and asked if the offer was still open. The answer was yes.
My son Jamie and I went out and replaced everything.
Since that time, when she moves, we do the same thing now.
Her latest new home had the Home Depot Glacier Bay Consumer Reports Best Buy dual flush in three bathrooms.
She waited six months, and finally asked for those to be replaced too. The new stuff, a TOTO Ultramax, A Kohler Cimarron, A Kohler San Souci are much, much better.
We pull builder grade stuff out all day long and haul them to the dump. It's kind of fun watching them smash.
If they worked, and then they stopped working, that's not a venting issue.
I'm still waiting to see my first venting issue with a toilet in the field.
A vent is meant to break the siphon, not create one.
I'm still waiting to see my first venting issue with a toilet in the field.
A vent is meant to break the siphon, not create one.
Oh, ok, got it. Thanks for that info. One note, when I say they worked, my wife's memory on this is that none of them worked real well, even before they ceased to fully flush. So do you think it might be a drain issue, or would that be the same argument as the vent (they wouldn't work and then stop)? Should I just give up and replace the toilet with a bookcase or something, lol.
first one is the problem one, second is one of the two good ones.
Attachments
Cwhyu2
Consultant
If the issue is only on the first toilet in your pics I would pull the toilet and then pour the bucket of water( 5gal) into pipe to see if that cause of the
slow draining toilet.
slow draining toilet.
Smooky
In the Trades
The rim holes might be clogged or partly clogged. Do you put anything in the tank such as the blue stuff?
Last edited:
ok, thanks.
no.
Smooky
In the Trades
Have you done anything to modify the tanks such as added bricks to reduce the water usage? Have you lowered the fill valve to lower the water line in the tank etc.?
Similar threads
