Toilets frequently clog. Why?

[Dave Aldrich]

We bought a brand new "spec" home, and within the first year or two the toilets began to occasionally clog for no apparent reason, requiring a plunger to clear the problem. It's not an issue of inappropriate items being flushed: we have no children. Waste seems to get hung up on something and plug up the works. And it clears easily with a plunger, suggesting the problem is either in the toilet's own waste pathway, or in the elbow immediately below the floor flange. Could a plumber's choice of a "regular" elbow versus a closet bend be the problem?

 

[Reach4]

Possible, but replacing the builder's grade toilet would probably fix the flushing problem.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

Builder grade, likely the toilets.
The 3" drain is not the problem. The trapway is where the hangup is. I hope there are no baby wipes being used, and even Q-Tips can cause problems.

 

[Jadnashua]

(Most) of today's low-flow toilets are decent. Many of the older ones are problematic. If you can, take a look at the side of the toilet and envision the waste path. Those that tend to have problems will have a sharp right angle at their outlet. Stuff tends to flow much better when it goes around curves, not right angles. Many of today's better toilets have their outlets smoothly turn at the outlet and have it pointing straight down.

Now, maybe a few percentage of the population has a medical problem and produce long-hard stools. Most toilets will have issues with those. If you're not in that small group, often, a better toilet will solve your issue.

Note, sometimes, people will use a wax ring with a plastic horn in it. On some flanges, that can force that plastic horn up against the funnel in the flange, partially closing it, and can present problems with clogging. Then, it's simply removing that wax ring and replacing it with a plain one.

 

[Dave Aldrich]

Possible, but replacing the builder's grade toilet would probably fix the flushing problem.

You know, I'll bet you're right! From living here 11 years and what I've seen here, the plumber who did the work here is the kind of person who gives their trade a bad name.

 

[Dave Aldrich]

Builder grade, likely the toilets.
The 3" drain is not the problem. The trapway is where the hangup is. I hope there are no baby wipes being used, and even Q-Tips can cause problems.

Nope. No kids and no trash gets put in toilets here. I'll bet it's the toilets themselves.

Thanks everyone!

 

[SteveW]

Many of us (including me) learned about Toto toilets on this site. I replaced my builder's grade toilets with Totos and never looked back. Can't recall the last time I had to get the plunger out.

Toto, while not the only manufacturer of quality toilets, seems to do a really good job of engineering their products. One thing I learned is that when toilets are cast in clay, sometimes there is "slump" where the wet clay settles a bit before hardening. If that happens in the trapway of the toilet, the effective diameter will be reduced -- but no way to know that as you can't see this from the outside. Toto uses drier clay and so much less "slump." Probably other factors as well, but the main thing is that their quality control is really good.

I also like their use of large rim jets for delivering the water, rather than small holes that get clogged up over time.