Slow flushing toilet

[joel1994]

so our business bought a previously occupied building, building is on a concrete slab.
one of the toilets flushes very slow, over fills and drains very slow
the previous building owner stated that a plumber looked at it and stated it was vented incorrectly and the floor would need to be torn up to repair.
i have snaked it and there was no blockage, but if you put soap in the toilet it flushes normally. to me (im no plumber) if it flushes normally with soap, how could it be a vent issue? i have not pulled up the toilet yet, wanted to get some opinions first
thanks in advance!
also..another toilet in the building works ok, city septic, no septic tank

 

[Reach4]

Get your drain from the toilet rodded out, by lifting the toilet, unless that toilet is closest to the septic tank, and you have not had your septic tank pumped recently.

In that case, get the septic pumped, and see if that improves things.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

It sounds like there may be an obstruction in the pipe, or, the slope of the pipe is not proper. After flushing, the pipe should essentially completely drain. If it doesn't because of the slope, you cannot successfully flush the next time.

Now, it's possible that there's something caught in the toilet internally. A toilet auger doesn't always catch on it so it can be pulled out. If that's the case, pulling the toilet and checking it from the bottom may resolve the issue. At that time, check to see if there's any standing water in the pipe.

 

[joel1994]

thanks for the advise guys, we will pull the toilet and see what that looks like

 

[HomeRepairGuy]

thanks for the advise guys, we will pull the toilet and see what that looks like

When you pull the toilet, suggest doing two things:

1. Quickly dump 3+ gallons of water into the drain several times to verify whether the drain is clear.

2. Tie a rag "securely" in the middle of a rope and pull the rag back & forth through the toilet's drain path. If there's a pen or something stuck in the drain, you may not be able to see it but the rag technique will find it.

HRG

 

[Reach4]

One thing you could try before pulling the toilet is to pour water from a 5 gallon bucket into the toilet aimed at the water spot, as fast as it will take it, from as high as you dare. The hope is that the deluge dislodges the obstruction.