Okay, I have had some trouble with my toilet running slowly. I've cleaned out the holes on the top and bottom of my toilet bowl. I have also gone on the roof and snaked the vent (not to mention plunging the heck out of the toilet when I first started having trouble). The flapper looks good and I just put in a new valve. STILL the toilet flushes slowly, better than when I first started having trouble, but not as good as before I had trouble. Should I dig and look into my septic tank or could have all of the rain we have had in upstate New York have saturated the ground making the toilet flush slowly?

Ok do you have a cleanout between spetic. Is anything else backing up ?

If you have had an extremely large enough of rain, if your drain fields are completely flooded, it is possible, but that is the reason for large drain fields with septics systems.

Have you checked to be sure there is not something actually stuck in the toilet itself. They have a toilt auger ( that helps do that)

Also how far did you snake, and how far is the vent from the toilet,if for example you could have a clog between the toilet and the vent In which case you will have to take the toilet up and snake from the toilet opening.

I will suggest if and when you have work done latter a cleanout by the side of the house to the septic is a good item as is a pipe coming up from the septic tank itself for easy pumping ( no digging)

With the clean out by the house you can see if there is a back up there very easy, And it is much cheaper to get your system pumped if they don't have to dig and open the tank, just put their hose in the pipe and pump away.

Of course over years most of the older ( and I am not sure about newer systems yet) you will get roots into the septic field which slows down its function. Also on the concrete systems as they get older you can have part of the baffles crumble which allows slege into the field line.

So I guess what I am saying you need to start and check the simple things before you move onto other things.

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Originally Posted by coach78

Okay, I have had some trouble with my toilet running slowly. I've cleaned out the holes on the top and bottom of my toilet bowl. I have also gone on the roof and snaked the vent (not to mention plunging the heck out of the toilet when I first started having trouble). The flapper looks good and I just put in a new valve. STILL the toilet flushes slowly, better than when I first started having trouble, but not as good as before I had trouble. Should I dig and look into my septic tank or could have all of the rain we have had in upstate New York have saturated the ground making the toilet flush slowly?

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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