# Diagnose My Slow Flushing Toilet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403 "2010-05-14T07:52:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/1 "2010-05-14T07:52:14Z")
Our toilet started backing up for no known cause…just happened out of the blue. Three different style plungers and a few doses of toilet-safe dran-o made little difference. But, at least the bowl will now empty in a very slow, lazy fashion. I was wondering…any chance the air vent is partly clogged, such as by a bird or something? Personally, I doubt it because no other toilet or drain is affected. (Aren’t the drains tied to the same vent?) And, plunging did make a slight improvement. Oh, we did attempt to snake the drain, but either I am not quire doing something right, or my snaking device is not quite up to par. Your thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/2 "2010-05-14T08:26:01Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Our toilet started backing up for no known cause…just happened out of the blue. No known cause eh? Sounds like someone’s laid a pipe choker and is refusing to take responsibility - have you confronted your missus / gf on this issue? Often the source of sinister blockages in the toilet. That aside, it sounds like you’ve tried everything you can and it might need a plumber to inspect the drain. You’ve used chemicals, plunging, a snaking device and I assume you’ve also lashed a few buckets of water down there and there’s nothing doing. Have you tried a snaking device down the toilet itself? You can get them from DIY stores and I’ve had these work before. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/3 "2010-05-14T11:26:10Z")
Specifically get a _toilet auger_. Probably a toy or small bottle/etc of makeup is lodged in the toilet. I don’t know what kind of snake you used, but a toilet auger will probably be more suited to your job. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/4 "2010-05-14T14:37:07Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Specifically get a _toilet auger_. He’s not trying to foretell the future of his toilet; he has a problem _now_. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/5 "2010-05-14T15:05:44Z")
a toilet especially on the upper floor is affected by venting action a lot. other drains drain slower and lower toilets can compress air in the vent system and so a vent blockage on the roof doesn’t have as much affect. though a partial blockage lodged in the toilet siphon drain or in the T connecting the toilet to the drain system can be the problem. a snake can move past a hard object and not dislodge it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/6 "2010-05-14T16:19:16Z")
There are several possible reasons. When the toilet in our little bathroom started blocking up (which it never does) I eventually took it off and looked directly into the drain. Wife" “Oh that’s where those car keys went.” In other cases a slow toilet is an indicator of pipe blockage down stream. Eventually other things will start to back up (like the shower :eek: ). I’ve learned how to use a rented electric snake from a few outside traps to clean things out - much cheaper than getting someone to do it, and you can do it right. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-my-slow-flushing-toilet/539403/7 "2010-05-14T17:41:30Z")
We once had a [pot scraper](http://www.housewares-plus.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=29940) fall into our toilet, and act as a valve… sometimes. It got lodged, and would flap closed sometimes, and cause a slow drain/overflow. A snake was not enough to fix it, but a toilet auger, weilded by my BIL took care of it easy enough. We did not put the scraper back into service. No amount of boiling/cleaning/sanding would have made it mentally acceptable.