Toilet Issues with low flow Toto toilet

[Seattle Homeowner]

I have a low flow model Toto toilet that I'm having issues with and I'm hoping someone can help.

Our house was vacant for 3 months, during which time we turned off our water. When we got back, the toilet upstairs started flushing a little slow, and wasn't quite filling up the bowl after flushing. It also made gurgling sounds a few minutes after flushing. After about a week it got backed up, and has been on and off for a month now. The toilet downstairs works just fine and no sinks or showers are backed up either.

We have tried everything I can think of (outside of draino which we hear is bad for the pipes):

• Since the toilet bowl has an oval shape, a regular plunger can't make a good seal around the hole. However, I got one of those plungers that's like an accordion with a narrower end that fits into the hole. That did not work.
• We used a snake twice - we got it down to about 25 feet. The only thing that came out was some dental floss (not mine - must be the previous home owners)
• Did the hot water & dish soap trick (which helped flush the toilet temporarily, but then the problem just came back).
• Used the bio clean enzyme stuff several times a day over the course of three days, during the times when the toilet was flushing somewhat.

Now it's completely backed up. When I flush, it makes kind of a clunking sound, then fills the bowl to the very top with water. It takes about 15 minutes for the water to go down (leaving toilet paper behind in the bowl). It makes a gurgling noise as the water completely drains from the bowl. Then the bowl does not fill back up with water unless I flush again, but then it repeats the cycle of overfilling, then completely draining and not filling back up.

I'm not sure what else to do here. Thanks in advance for your advice and help!

 

[Terry]

A snake will go right past a lot of blockages.
I use an auger with a 1-5/8" end. It's pretty good at pushing things through. Sometimes I have to pull the bowl and work from the bottom.

Most rubber plungers will have a small end that will pull out. They work fine.
Leave a littel bit of water in the bowl, and use short quick strokes untill the water starts to vibrate,
Then lift up slightly.
Hopefully, it lifts the mass up so it can get another run at it.

You can also pour a five gallon bucket of water into the bowl.