Please help this [not very smart] try hard.

[Dprocket]

I'm at my wits end. We've lived in our house for about 15 years. 12 years ago I installed a tile floor and a new toilet and it's been working fine for all these years. Wife and 4 kids...this toilet gets a lot of action.

About a week ago, my son peed in the toilet and flushed and it nearly overflowed. I did the usual plunger routine and it all seemed to be ok. A few days later, my mother in law went to the bathroom and says she used just a bit of toilet paper and same thing...it nearly overflowed. I started to get serious now and banned anyone from any #2 visits to this bathroom.

I ran a toilet auger through and it seemed to really stick. I just could not get it through.

When I flush the toilet, it doesn't always back up, but it seems like it flushed slow. Most of the time, when I flush, I hear a "blub" (like an air bubble) and it flushed but not every time do you see the strong rush of water exiting the toilet.

After trying and trying (plunging, augering, using internet tricks like hot water/dishsoap), etc) I can't clear an obstruction.

I decided to remove the toilet and try to explore the drain itself, and also go bottom up through the bottom of the toilet.

After much time of trying an auger from the top, also from the bottom I can't get it through. It seems there may be something stuck in there (like maybe a bouncy ball, or something) but I can't get anything out. I've tried blowing air through it with a big shop vac (from top and bottom) and other than scratching up my bowl I haven't cleared anything from the bowl.

I poured about 5 gallons of water down the open drain and it rushes through clean and clear...no issues. I even was able to freely guide a 25' snake down the drain without any obstructions.
[Separate thread on this above--another debacle].

Finally, I decided to put the toilet back in (with a new ring) and see if it worked properly. (I wonder if maybe the wax ring was partially obstructing the flange and possibly was causing the problem).

Toilet is back in, and same thing. After filling the tank and doing a few test flushes.....blub..air bubble and not a good flush.

Is it possible I just have an obstruction in the p-track that is stuck in there? At this point, I"m contemplating replacing the toilet. Any other ideas?




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[Reach4]

Replacing the toilet has two advantages. The most important is that the new modern toilet will flush much better. You can get the plunger out of the bathroom.

Less obvious is that a new modern toilet uses less water to flush than it would take to overflow. So even if we imagine some toy to totally block the exit, a single flush would not raise the water level to the rim.

 

[hj]

"A few flushes" would dump more water than your 5 gallon bucket, and if it were in the toilet it would NOT take several flushes to show up. A new toilet would probably a waste of time. and money.

 

[Dprocket]

Replacing the toilet has two advantages. The most important is that the new modern toilet will flush much better. You can get the plunger out of the bathroom.

Less obvious is that a new modern toilet uses less water to flush than it would take to overflow. So even if we imagine some toy to totally block the exit, a single flush would not raise the water level to the rim.

I ended up removing the toilet. I busted it open and found nothing in the trap of the toilet. I installed a new toilet and have not had an issue since.

The only semblance of a continuing problem is the fact that I have a 6 year old. A week after installing the new toilet I had a near overflow. I pulled out about a whole roll of compressed charmin TP from the toilet. Me and the boy had a long talk about how much toilet paper should/can be used.

 

[Jadnashua]

You could have a partial clog further down the drain line. I ran into that at my mother's house after some guests. Things would work okay unless you'd done something that used a lot of water like a long shower or laundry...then, everything in the house would start to back up. The plumbers cleared a clog nearly to the main line...a long ways...it took a lot of gallons of water to fill up the line before you noticed any problems.

If you don't have an issue after heavy water uses, you may be okay, but given there was nothing IN the toilet blocking flow, there had to be something further down the line. That may have eventually passed, or just moved further away, allowing a bit more water in the line before you notice.