I recently purchased a house which was built in 1993. All of the plumbing fixtures are original. Every toilet in the house only holds about 2 to 3 cups of water in the bowl. I have verified the fill valve and tube are functioning correctly. I have also taken a bucket of water and slowly tried to fill the bowl and the level never goes any higher. Same with all three in the house. This is an elongated bowl so there is dry land toward the front, as you can imagine this can be disgusting. Is there anything I can do other than rip them out. If that is the only option, what specification should I look for that determines what the water level in the bowl will be?

Thanks
Joe

Welcome to the "greenie - weenie" world! This toilet is designed to be a water saver... so you have to flush more, using more water, to clean the waste. The water level in the bowl is determined by the height of the trap which is built into the drain area of the comode. The trap is the "S" shape of the drain from the comode bowl. The trap holds a small amount of water after each flush so the drain is blocked and sewer gasses are "trapped" from escaping up through the toilet bowl. The trap, most importantly, maintains a reservior of water in the bowl for cleanliness. The dimensional proportions of the trap in most comodes can be seen by the outline of the trap as it is cast into the comode. The highest point of the trap, the spot that waste must pass over, is the maximum height of the water level in the toilet bowl. All of this being said, the water level in the bowl of a comode in predetermined by the manufacturer of the comode.

I agree, you have what you have but other models may suit you better. Elongated bowls are the worst with this issue so switching to a round toilet would help. You can test toilets in most show rooms by adding a few cups of water to see the trap height.