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-   -   Toilet doesn't flush (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=174831)

  • Jan 21, 2008, 09:23 AM
    maclone
    Toilet doesn't flush
    I know this question is similar to some which have already been asked but unlike other toilets who don't flush properly, or completely mine doesn't flush. When I pull the lever to flush the toilet the water comes up almost to the rim then over the next ten min. the water will go down a little bit but nothing actually gets flushed.

    I have used a plunger and an auger and nothing. I usually have this problem about 2-3 times a year. I've called the plumber who brings his snake and finds nothing but for some reason it works fine after he leaves. I've replaced the flap and it worked for a few weeks and then it happens again.

    Any thoughts before I call the plumber once again?
  • Jan 21, 2008, 09:30 AM
    massplumber2008
    At this time, based on the fact that this problem reoccurs... I recommend that you or the plumber actually lift the toilet and see if you/he can find anything inside the toilet (look inside the OUTLET of the toilet itself). Most likely something in there. Let us know if this helped!

    If my answer helped please RATE THE ANSWER by clicking on buttton below! Thanks!
  • Jan 21, 2008, 11:41 PM
    hkstroud
    You probably have something solid lodged in the drain pipe that is catching tissue and solids as they pass, eventually creating a blockage. Had that happen to me once in a rental property. Tenant kept reporting that the toilet on second floor was stopped up. Kept snaking it with small snake. A week or so later it would be stopped again. Finally rented a snake for 4" drain. Bath was so small that while I fed the snake into the drain, I had the tenant working the foot switch. Tenants wife was in the basement at the clean out hole watching for what was blocking the pipe so I wouldn't have to push it all the way to the street. All of a sudden there is banging on the pipe. Tenant went down to see was going on. I then hear laughter and the tenant calling me. Believe me I was in no mood for levity. I go down to basement and look in clean out hole. There grinning back at me was a clown's face. Like "I gotchu buddy". It was a baby's hair brush with a clown's face on the back. Even I had to laugh. It had passed the trap of the toilet and gotten wedged in the pipe. My small snake would clear the tissue but would go past the brush.

    Have plumber use a large snake for a 4" pipe.
  • Jan 22, 2008, 04:11 AM
    speedball1
    I have one that most repair plumbers miss.. Look down at the bottom of the bowl. If there is a small hole, then that is a jet that starts the syphon action. If it's clogged the water will just swirl around and slowly go down leaving solids behind. Take your finger,(UGH! ) and run it around the inside of the opening. Over the years minerals build up and cut down on the syphon (flush) action. If it is rough or you feel build up, take a table knife and put a bend in it to get around the curve in the bowl and chip and scrap it clear. Next take a coathanger and clear out the holes around the rim. They start the swirling action. And last, check the water level in the tank. It should be 1/2" below the top of the over flow tube. And speaking of the overflow tube, Make sure the small 1/8" tube from the ballcock to the white overflow tube is connected so it discharges in it and that it's flowing when the ballcock fills. This is what raises the water level in the bowl. For a good solid flush they all have to work together. Hope this helps . Tom

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