Forceful Toilet Flush - What's All the Flap About?
Summary: Toilet parts need maintenance. Toilets that have lost their "power"
flush may have a flapper valve leak. Do it yourself toilet repair can
be simple.
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Tune-Up
DEAR TIM: My toilet is giving me fits. It just doesn't seem to flush with the same force that it used to. It also seems to have a mind of its own as water will randomly rush into the tank. This keeps me awake at night. I have tried to adjust the mechanical parts inside the toilet, but the problems still remain. What can I do? Jill S., Scranton, PA
DEAR JILL: No one likes a pesky or cranky toilet, especially since this necessity is one of the most important and heavily used plumbing fixture in the average house. Toilet woes frustrate many a homeowner, especially when they lift the tank lid and see all of the rods, chains, levers, floats, etc. The fact of the matter is that toilet mechanics are actually quite simple.
If your toilet is less than ten years old, you may have a first generation 1.6 gallon low flush toilet. These toilets were mandated by the 1992 Energy Policy Act in an effort to save water. Traditional toilets used 3.5 gallons of water per flush. Some of the first low flush toilets were poorly engineered and the 1.6 gallons of water simply couldn't do enough work. Designs have improved but many consumers still complain about the fact that they have to flush the toilet two or three times to get the bowl clean. This sure doesn't seem to save water!
It is also quite possible that the tank's water level adjustment has slipped. Perhaps your tank is not filling completely. Low water levels in the tank mean less energy to flush. Most tanks have a water fill line stamped in the interior side wall. See if the water level rises to this mark once water stops flowing into the tank. If the water level is low, adjust the fill valve float mechanism so it allows more water to enter the tank. Be sure to always lay the toilet lid flat on the floor when checking the tank. Lids that are leaned against a wall have a strong tendency to slip, fall and crack.
The problem can also be associated with blockages. Look at the hole in the bottom of the tank when the black flapper valve is in the up position. See if there are any army men or small boats in the bottom of the hole. If this hole seems clear use a mirror to look at the small holes in the underside of the bowl rim. These holes can get clogged with mineral deposits over time. Use a large wooden toothpick to open these holes. Never use a metal tool to do this. It can quickly chip or crack the china.
Observe the flapper valve when the toilet flushes. It should stay in the up position until 90 percent of the water leaves the tank. If it drops too soon, it may be waterlogged and/or the chain that lifts it may need to be shortened.
The phantom flushing problem is probably a leaking flapper valve. You can test for this by pouring some red food coloring into the tank after it has filled and the water is calm. Check the toilet in 30 - 60 minutes. If the water in the bowl is pink, this tells you small amounts of water are getting past the flapper valve. When enough water leaks from the tank, the fill valve operates to replace the lost water.
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Comments:
Lois 19 Mar 2008, 12:35
Hello and I apologize if you have addressed this problem before, I have
read and read pages of answers and didn't see this problem. The toilket in
our masterbath has done this since we bought the house 6 months ago, but in
the past 2 days it has gotten much worse. When the toilet is flushed, the
water fills the bowl to overflow point at the rim, the water sits for 1
minute and then empties fairly quickly with force, once water is emptied,
air burps through remaing water in bowl. The water left in bowl is very
low. My husband passed a 36 inch snake through without any problem. I put
liquid plummer in toilet twice yesterday with no result. Please, help. Let
me thank you in advance for any suggestions you can give me. Lois
AsktheBuilder 21 Mar 2008, 09:43
Lois,
If this happens with no waste or paper in the bowl BEFORE the flush, you have a clog further down the branch or drain line.
Wes and Allison Hoft 27 Mar 2008, 11:37
I have the phantom flush problem, and I just recently replaced the flapper.
To make sure the flapper was not the problem, I put some food coloring in
the tank and none seeped into the bowl. What other reasons could be
causing the periodic phantom flush?
Wes
AsktheBuilder 28 Mar 2008, 17:28
Wes,
If the water level in the tank is dropping, there has to be a leak *somewhere* inside the system or outside. Watch the real fill level and see if it does drop.
Miss Kar Kar 12 Apr 2008, 15:00
I just bought a house built in 1982, and it looks like the former own
fancied himself a handiman, and he really wasn't. There is obvious work
done on the toilets that is less than cosmetic. I'm only mildly handy and
tinkered around today and I think I solved some issues, but others I'm not
sure about. I looked through all the toilet questions and didn't see any
like mine.
Toilet A: The bowl fills really high, flushes very slowly, and "phantom fills" While it looks like everything is new(ish), the flapper wasn't. I replaced that and I think it will solve the fill problem. I also adjusted the float to lower the fill level, but I'm worried that will exacerbate the slow flush. However, when I was replacing the flapper, I noticed the water did not drain from the tank very well because of what looked like a bubble in that hole. I tried cleaning around the edges and as far into the hole as I could, but it didn't seem to help. Is this really the source of the problem and how can I fix it? The toilet is also sitting on a board between it and floor and I'm not sure why. After the toilet has reset itself I hear a residual trickle sound near the floor. Is that normal? Toilet B: Flushes vigorously and for a loooong time. The water level in the bowl stays very low, and even though I see water still filling into it, I suspect it's just as quickly leaving it because it doesn't rise past a certain point. Part of the issue from my untrained eye was that the flapper was a bit slow to drop. I replaced it and it seems to work better. I also lowered the float. I'm thinking the bowl leaks or something because of the low level, but I don't know. I'm a single female, and am cash poor from just having bought the house. If there is anything I can do that isn't to complex or involved something too heavy, and I'm for getting some direction. Ideally, I want to replace both toilets, but that's beyond my ability and a ways down the road finanacially. Any suggestions?
Susan D 09 May 2008, 08:54
I have read everything, and haven't seen anything that is the same as
happening to my toliet. I just had my bathroom redone, the toliet removed
and new ring put back on new toliet. The toliet, immediately was
constantly running, but the parts inside the toliet were very old, in fact
broken, so I had a plumber replace everything. Instead of the Bulb (bulb)
type flusher system he put the newer kind that doesn't have that big ball
anymore. he replaced the flapper and I replaced the handle. Anyway, it
doesn't flush all the way anymore. I have to flush it twice for it to
flush. I adjusted the chain in different ways but it seems to be ok. It
definetly seems to no drain all the way down, but even when I hold the
handle it doesn't always flush the paper down and I have to flush again.
Being that it's all new, I'm thinking it's this new type of valve system.
It works fine on my other toliet. Is there an adjustment on these new type
of valve flushers? The tank or bowl doesn't seem to drain all way down
before starting to fill back up. Can the new flapper type just not be
right for my toliet which has to be as old as the house (1984) but it
worked fine till the inners were changed. Even when it constantly ran just
before I replaced the inners.
Jill M 21 May 2008, 16:59
I have a SLOW leak (per the food coloring) & am at wits end! First I
replaced the Flapper a few weeks ago but noticed that I had a leak, where
water seemed to come from down the sides of the rim. Today I replaced the
whole flush valve & I still have a leak but this time it seems to come from
the center of the bowl (not the sides) - like perhaps the overflow pipe is
leaking at the bottom.?. Suggestions??
Thanks!!!
Stan Esposito 23 Jun 2008, 15:01
My toilet has to be flushed two or three times to empty.
Two things have changed: I had to put flexible tube from the bottom of the tank to the wall (16") and the overflow tube in the new toilet is about 4" shorter than the previous one. I'm thinking I should replace the overflow tube with a longer one I got in the kit because the tank is not getting enough water to flush properly. I'm thinking the tank is one of those low-flush models you mentioned. Does that sound right? Thanks.
Russell Bunger 30 Jun 2008, 14:12
Ok, here is the problem i have. When i flush my toilet, the water in the
bowl rises for a bit and starts to circulate and drain down like it is
supposed to, but then it stops draining, it rarely empties or drains all
the way through like it is supposed to, this is with the bowl filled with
water, not even any "business" so to speak. I used the advice of cleaning
out the water jets around the top of the bowl and the one at the bottom,
and it flushed correctly for like 2 times,a nd then it went back to doing
what it normally does. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you
Dave 04 Sep 2008, 19:04
Everything seems to work on my toilet except that when I replaced my
leaking flapper, it won't stay up long enough to let the water flow
through, before the flap closes again. Ive tried adjusting the chain, bent
the rod, and generally fiddled around for the last week.
BUT the flap just comes up when I hit the handle and when I let go of the handle the flap falls right back down before all the water leaves the tank. If I hold the handle down and the flap stays up, the toilet works just fine. What am I doing wrong that won't keep the flapper up long enough to get a good strong flush? View all comments |
