Lazy Toilet
Summary: A toilet that flushes slowly may be clogged, have a faulty toilet flapper valve or have lime build up.
DEAR TIM: I have a toilet that flushes very slow. It seems to just swirl around and whatever is in the bowl takes two, sometimes three flushes to go down. Any suggestions? Terry R. Minor New Eagle, PA
DEAR TERRY: The first thing I would do is pour a 5 gallon bucket of water down the toilet as fast as possible. If the toilet and drain line are free of clogs, the level of the water in the bowl will not rise as you rapidly pour the water into the bowl. The water from the bucket will leave the bowl faster than a speeding bullet.
DEAR TERRY: The first thing I would do is pour a 5 gallon bucket of water down the toilet as fast as possible. If the toilet and drain line are free of clogs, the level of the water in the bowl will not rise as you rapidly pour the water into the bowl. The water from the bucket will leave the bowl faster than a speeding bullet.
Once you are certain there are no clogs, take the tank lid off the toilet and lift up the flapper valve in the tank with your hand. Open it fully and keep it open until all the water leaves the tank. If you get a good flush, then this tells me the flapper valve is not opening fully and/or it is closing too quickly before all water leaves the tank.
If the toilet still flushes slow, then you may have a lime buildup in the holes under the bowl rim or the siphon jet hole in the base of the bowl.
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Comments:
Jason 01 Dec 2008, 12:51
Dear Tim,
My home has a well and last week one of the pvc pipes broke outside and I had to replace it. Ever since this the water pressure in my sinks and toilets have been low and my toilets will not stop stop filling. I thought it might be sediment that got flushed in so I replaced one of the fill units, but that one will not stop filling either. The water flow in is real low so I am not sure what to do. Thanks for your help.
Brenda Raso 08 Jun 2009, 08:28
I need to know why my toilet runs in the bowl, but not in the tank. I
replaced the fill valve thinking that might be my problem. Now I have a
whole new problem the toilet will run for a few seconds shuts off and
within 2/3 minutes it's doing the same thing. It sounds like someone
turning on the faucet real quick and shutting it off. What do I do?
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