One of the toilets in this house is not working as it should. When you flush it, the water drains from the tank just as it is supposed to, but then often (increasingly often, actually; this is a problem that has been getting worse over time) not all of the, uh, material in the bowl actually flushes. Usually it’ll go on a second or third flush.
MrWhatsit says that he finds that if he pours even just a quart or so of water into the bowl as it’s flushing, that’s enough to give it a push and get everything to flush.
As far as we can tell, there’s no blockage in the toilet itself and the tank is filling up as it should. What’s the next step? Calling a plumber? Is there something else we should do first?
Are you sure it’s not a cheap low-flow toilet that doesn’t work very well? We had those in our apartment in California, and they sucked. When we replaced toilets in our house, we made sure to find ones that were well-rated in Consumer Reports.
Well, that still wouldn’t explain why it used to work fine and now does not. If we do end up replacing it, I’ll keep that advice in mind, though. I suspect this one was on the cheap end.
I am not a plumber, but a toilet’s flush depends on the right amount of water entering the bowl at the right speed. Generally, more is better. If there’s not a blockage, could it be that the tank isn’t holding enough water? Can the ballcock be adjusted a little higher?
Does the tank have a high water line that is above the current full-tank water level? You can try replacing the flapper assembly. They get wonky over time and your tank may not be filling as far as it used to.
In addition to what’s been mentioned (especially the tank level), check for:
The refill tube is flowing into the overflow tube. In some models, this makes all the difference in starting the “push” off right.
The flapper is up and stays up during the flush. An old flapper may not stay up or may come back down too soon. These are usually really easy to replace.
I swear I could’ve wrote this thread. I also have experienced the same thing. It finally cleared itself up. I’m experienced with toilets and I know it was not plugged. or the vents were not plugged. All the other toilets in the house work fine. I’m mystified.
Thanks for the helpful advice. We’ll check on the things people have suggested (e.g. replacing the flapper valve, which I have been suspicious about for a while anyway) and see if that helps.
the flapper valve closing early can do it. this might be the cause if the transition between good flushes and bad was more abrupt than not.
especially if you have hard water the holes in the rim can get minerals in it and they fill the bowl too slowly, a bent copper wire can clean these out poking each one.
Don’t replace the flapper just yet. Start by holding down the flush handle until you hear all of the water empty the tank. If it then starts flushing better, then yes your flapper is closing too soon.
It was also a good suggestion from someone above about a low quality toilet (yes, I wanted to write "crappy toilet). One problem with builders’ grade toilets is that the porcelain isn’t as smooth and things can get hung up on the way way out. If you end up replacing the toilet fheck your local home center for rebates from your water company. I installed two new toilets in my house and was able to send the receipts into my water company for free water for two months.