First, let me say thank you for the resource of this site.

The toilet was originally plugged (too much TP, no feminine products). I used a plunger on it and finally it started flushing without the dreaded "Will it overflow?! Eek".

It flushes normal now for about a week and seems to be in all good working order, except that now for some reason the water in the bowl slowly drains over a few hours. It's a float ball type toilet and I looked inside and things seem in good working order at first glance. The tank fills properly and once full it stays quiet. The flapper and chain all seem fine and the water level in the tank itself stays normal, just the water level in the bowl slow drains almost like magic trick :D. haha I did plunge out a clog, but I'm unsure if that would affect anything?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

- L

Where do you live somewhere cold? I had a prob like this at my last rented house. My landlord had put the pipes in very shallow and in an uphill type manner so that when it flushed it was not onlu frozen in one spot BUT started a backed up clog. Granted not only am I not a plumber BUT I really do not know much about this type of thing. It just sounded familiar to me. We had to get some serious plumbers in there with their mega snake with a camera and then dig into the ground and oh man it was a lot of trouble.
Have you tried drano or a snake? Maybe starting with the less costly and easy solutions might be a good idea?

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Originally Posted by Linken28

First, let me say thank you for the resource of this site.

The toilet was originally plugged (too much TP, no feminine products). I used a plunger on it and finally it started flushing without the dreaded "Will it overflow?! Eek".

It flushes normal now for about a week and seems to be in all good working order, except that now for some reason the water in the bowl slowly drains over a few hours. It's a float ball type toilet and I looked inside and things seem in good working order at first glance. The tank fills properly and once full it stays quiet. The flapper and chain all seem fine and the water level in the tank itself stays normal, just the water level in the bowl slow drains almost like magic trick :D. haha I did plunge out a clog, but I'm unsure if that would affect anything?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

- L

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May I suggest that you purchase a toilet auge(see image)r and run it down the bowl to be sure it's completely clear.
Toilet bowlsl can loose water for several reasons.
1) A hidden crack in the bowl
2) A blocked vent causing the water to be suctioned out. **or**
3) A piece of material that's still caught up in the trap and is pulling the water out by capillary action. (that's why I wanted you to auger the bowl.)
Let me know what you find. Good luck, Tom

Wow, thanks for the speedy help. I don't have an auger, but I'll pick one up this weekend and see if that helps. The weather is fairly warm and no frozen pipe issues in the past. Hopefully it's not a hidden bowl crack. Something still caught in the trap and pulling water sounds like a good possibility, so I'm crossing my fingers the auger will solve it.

Thanks!


Well I picked up a cheap auger and no luck. I ran it through about 5 times and didn't feel anything blocking (pushing through) and nothing came back out.

The drainage seems fine in the sink and tub and otherwise the plumbing and toilet work fine. Just losing water level in the toilet and fast enough (I'm guessing) to rule out a crack in the bowl. It sits solid.. No rocking (wax seal issue). Likely still something trapped? Where would the vent be to check?

I'm a loss for what to check next or to just wait and see or call a plumber.

Any help is appreciated. Thx!

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the plumbing and toilet work fine. Just losing water level in the toilet and fast enough (I'm guessing) to rule out a crack in the bowl.

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A crack in the bowl's the only thing left. You're leaking back down into the drain so there's no concern that it will leak into the floor. How low does the level fall to? If it still leaves enough water in the trap, (you don't smell sewer gas do you?) then itmay be OK to keep on using it. If the crack gets worse and the level drops farther you may be able to simply replace the bowl with one of the same brand and save the tank.
Just keep a eye on the level. Good luck, Tom

You could go on the roof and find the vent over that bathroom and run a water hose down it. Run the water full blast for about 5 minutes and see if that helps.

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Originally Posted by pattyg2

You could go on the roof and find the vent over that bathroom and run a water hose down it. Run the water full blast for about 5 minutes and see if that helps.

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It's very doubtful that a clogged vent's the culprit. A clogged vent will suck water out of the bowl immediately and not over the space of several hours. But Patty! The Plumbing Page thanks you for your input. Thanks, Tom

The water level drops to almost empty (about 1 inch above the inflow hole) after about 45 minutes - 1 hour. It normally is pretty full vs some that are low normally (1.6 or whatever their size is). No water leaking on the floor or downstairs, so I'll likely give it some time and post back with whatever the solution ends up being. No sewer smell, so it seems OK for now until I can buy a new bowl or some other solution if that's not it. I'll give it awhile as long as things aren't leaking water in the house/floor. Maybe I'll get lucky and something just isn't clearing from the trap and will in time.

Thanks for all you help with the answers and troubleshooting everybody. Much appreciated!


Correction.. I looked at the clock wrong when timing it. Just a FYI, it takes about 2 hours for the water level to drop.

If you, indeed, have a hidden crack that's allowing the water to seep out then it's leaking out into the sewer and not on the floor. As long as the toilet flushes normally and the trap does its job I think you'll be OK. Good luck and thank you for rating my reply, Tom

Sorry to bump up an old topic. Just for future readers.

Gave it some time and it's back to normal now. Maybe something the auger didn't reach or who knows... It wasn't leaking water, so giving it some time and it seem like something cleared/corrected. I literally ran the auger through about a dozen times with no luck before, so I assume it was farther down than the 5 ft or so.

Anyway.. The potty is all normal water level! Thanks for all the help. It's been much appreciated.

I did get some scratches in the bowl from the auger (oops me) and I let some vinegar soak and used a scrub pad and that worked just fine getting rid of them. That's my cleaning tip.. lol

Thx again!

- L

Glad you got all fixed up. Let us know if we can ever be of help. Tom