For a long time now I have had a problem with my toilet not being able to handle solid waste (you know what I mean, right?)
So this afternoon, I saw a plumber truck at my apartment complex and I called the number on the side and asked for someone to come and see what the problem was.
A guy came over with a plunger and a bucket, and flushed the toilet, and said “It’s flushing fine, what’s the problem?”
“Well, the problem is when I have a BM it does NOT flush fine”
He kept flushing the toilet, it didn’t overflow, and kept saying “the toilet’s fine!”
And I kept saying, “When I have a BM, it’s NOT fine!”
And he looks at me like I just stepped out of a lunatic asylum.
He left, and I’m sitting here trying to wrap my mind around the physics of the whole thing: Yes, I KNOW when I only have to pee, the toilet does NOT overflow, but anything else, it does!
I am not grasping what he’s trying to tell me or something’s stopping up the damn john, but now I’m not sure if he’s right or I’m right, and it’s scaring me because I ought to know this!
It’s like that rattle in your car that won’t rattle the minute you pull into the mechanic’s shop.
Next time it doesn’t flush, call in a plumber and leave it that way for them to deal with. Trust me, they’ve seen the worst of the worst, a little poop (even a lot) won’t bug them.
I think your right. Did he try to put any thing in the toilet to simulate solid mass like a bundle of toilet paper? If he didn’t then he was just plain not listening to you or was in a hurry or didn’t care.
Maybe you have a partial block somehwere in the pipes where water and urine can easily squeeze past but anytime there is solid material it can not squeeze by as easily.
I’d call a different company and get a second opinion and ask about a potential partial block and what to do about it.
Quasi, it’s not you. But do go ahead and take a minute and cool out.
He was doing a piss-poor job of trying to say, “if it’s not broke right now, I can’t fix it.”
Going forward, I would suggest strongly that you switch to the dump & flush method, meaning flush before you’re done so that it goes down the drain in installments. I’m a champion toilet clogger, and when I’m feeling particularly prolific, it’s the only way I get through the day.
Also, be sure to only try to flush so much paper at a time. That’s what will really cause a problem, IME.
It’s more than that, I’m doubting myself and because I have this fucking Alzheimer’s it’s making me think he’s making perfect sense and I am the one who’s wrong?
I mean I know that black isn’t white, but if someone repeatedly TELLS me it is, it’s making me believe I’m seeing it wrong and he is seeing it right!
Sorry! I just needed some help understanding. I guess this must REALLY be mundane, right?:rolleyes:
It’s totally understandable to feel the way you do right now. The first thing I would recommend, given the Alzheimer’s is to film it the next time you have trouble. That way, you won’t doubt yourself if the next plumber (and yes, I do recommend using a different one that listens to you!) doubts you.
Take a few moments to chill and don’t sweat it. Feel free to call the plumber’s boss and explain to them exactly what you said here, too. Hopefully the boss will understand that there is a HUGE difference between flushing nothing and flushing a BM and that his employee was totally out of line. Do you have anyone who would be willing to help you deal with service people, considering your condition?
You know, at any other time I’d be rolling around on the floor holding my belly from laugfhing so hard, but this isn’t funny at all. I’ve settled down, but I’m stii frightened. This was an isolated incident, but if I’m so unsure of something as simple as this, what’s next.
Hey, Quasi, remember when I said that if you wanted me to, I’d tell you when your Alzheimer’s might be confusing you? I did, and if you need me to, I can find the thread we discussed it in. Anyhow, this doesn’t sound like one of those times. I think you’re probably okay, and the same thing has happened to me (both the solid clogging toilet and the clueless plumber). And when it happens, I sometimes think maybe I’m losing my mind, too. That part’s normal, too.
Now, is it *possible *you thought you said, “When I have a BM, it won’t flush!” and what came out of your mouth was, “I like cheese!”? Yes, it’s possible; I wasn’t there so I couldn’t say for sure. But what you’re saying here, now, sounds perfectly plausible, rational and no cause for alarm.
Is there any chance that the plumber took you literally to mean that you couldn’t flush the toilet after a BM, not that it clogged and wouldn’t go down the drain?
No, all the wording was appropriate to the incident, WhyNot, and thank you for reminding me of what you said previously. I can’t say for sure I remember it, but I do remember something along those lines.
There’s a joke where one guy’s telling his friend that things can be very easil misundertsood.
“For example, this morning I thought I said Honey coud pass the syrup, but what came out was, You ruined my life you bitch”
But what kept me from arguing with the damn plumber was my self-doubt, and that’s not good,
Are you missing anything small like a toothbrush, comb or dental floss boxes? You’ve probably got something stuck in the trap - liquid goes by just fine, but solids get stuck.
From past experience, somone needs to unbolt the toilet from the floor and go in from underneath to push the object out.
You mean did he think I was crazy, right,** KTK**? If so, I don’t know for sure, but he did ask if I was on medication, which at the time, I thought was odd.
Honest, I didn’t mean to imply that, Quasi. But I confess, I felt busted when you put it that way. Kind of a “yeah, I guess that is kind of what I said, innit?” feeling. No offense intended, I hope you know.
I learned to flush once before using paper, then follow it with a “paper only” flush. It helped a lot.
However, the real problem turned out to be the wax ring which creates the seal between the toilet and the floor. A dickfart installer had left it so that parts of the ring had bulged significantly into the pathway of the pipe, thus insuring that only small wimpy poops flushed easily. We found out when we replaced the toilet, and yes, we made sure that the new wax ring was properly installed. No problems at all after that.
