Toilets that won't flush worth a, well, you know...

So, I recently moved, and the toilets in the house I moved to don't have very much flushing power. They are not some new low water use toilets, either; the house was built in the '70s and the toilets are probably from that vintage. I've tried setting the water level as high as practical, tried cleaning the drain with an auger in case something was blocking it, tried one of those "wide mouth" flappers on one of the toilets, and tried cleaning out the ports surrounding the bowls. They still don't always get the job done with one flush.

Anything else I can try to get the toilets to work better, or is there not much that can be done short of new toilets? The only thing I've been able to think of so far is trying to do a spacer between the tank and the bowl to raise the height and increase the pressure driving the flush, but I have no idea if that would be enough.

To test the drainage out of the bowl, dump a bucket of water in the main bowl, it should go down as fast as you pour.

One thing that slows a toilet with age is mineral deposits clogging the holes in the rim. This slows the flow. Not easy to fix unless you rig up something to recirculate CLR or some such between the tank and the bowl for a day or so.

What is happening exactly? Is the water slow getting from the tank into the bowl, or is it slow getting from the bowl to down the drain?

If its slow getting from the tank into the bowl, you've likely mineral deposits in the ring and the orifices that are restricting the flow. You could play with a small screwdriver or such to try to clear the orifices. There really is no way to mechanically clear the ring. A solvent like CLR run through it would just drain right out into the bowl, so it won't stay there and clean. Though I suppose you could try taping up the orifices and carefully fill the ring with CLR or such.

If its slow getting from the bowl to the drain, you could have lots of buildup in the sewer line restricting flow, or you could have a problem with line venting. If the wet spot on the bowl sporadically goes up and down, especially when someone uses a sink or toilet elsewhere in the house, you've likely a clogged vent.

I like a nice elongated bowl on a toilet. I don't have to worry about my junk accidentally hitting the seat or bowl.

I had a similar issue and the toilet from the late 80s needed to go due to poor flushing, wax deal leaking, and a crack in the tank.

Went to Home Depot and bought their $100 glacier bay elongated bowl toilet. The only negative reviews are from people using the horribly bad wax ring that comes with the toilet. I did as suggested and bought the green wax-less reusable ring and voila. Using less water, more comfortable, and it flushes well. There's a button for #1 and #2

my buddy had a toilet that wouldn't flush hardly at all. He noticed that the hole at the bottom of the toilet inside the bowl in the front (not waste hole, water comes out of this hole on a flush and pushes directly into the waste hole), was totally clogged with hard water buildup.

Huge difference after cleaning that up.

I agree though, at $100 per toilet, total replacement isn't bad either. They did 30-40 years of hard work it seems...

Thanks to all who responded so far! More details, in response to Foxtrapper's questions.

foxtrapper wrote: What is happening exactly? Is the water slow getting from the tank into the bowl, or is it slow getting from the bowl to down the drain?

It's hard for me to tell exactly, but I think it's slow from the bowl to the drain, at least if there's anything solid in the bowl.

If its slow getting from the tank into the bowl, you've likely mineral deposits in the ring and the orifices that are restricting the flow. You could play with a small screwdriver or such to try to clear the orifices. There really is no way to mechanically clear the ring. A solvent like CLR run through it would just drain right out into the bowl, so it won't stay there and clean. Though I suppose you could try taping up the orifices and carefully fill the ring with CLR or such.

Tried the small screwdriver trick last night. Banged a lot of crud loose, and it seems to get water into the bowl faster - but didn't speed up getting water out of the bowl.

If its slow getting from the bowl to the drain, you could have lots of buildup in the sewer line restricting flow, or you could have a problem with line venting. If the wet spot on the bowl sporadically goes up and down, especially when someone uses a sink or toilet elsewhere in the house, you've likely a clogged vent.

Could definitely be the vent. I'll see if the water can be moved by flushing the other toilet.

What happens when you pour a pail of water into the bowl?

It should flush down as fast as you pour. If it does not, then your problem is downstream in the pipes or the vents.

Look into the venting for your drain stack. Get up on the roof (probably there) or wherever it is and make sure you have free air behind your water going to sewage.

our house isnt 70's vintage, more like mid 90's. the old toilets were slow.

replaced one early on and lived with the other for 4 years. finally replaced that this spring.

swapping a toilet is easy and the simple modestly priced American Standard ones we bought work worlds better than the old toilets they replaced.

Our property manager is coming to replace one of ours. The bowl fills up and then drains slow. It's suspected that hard water deposits have built up making it get easily backed up. If you snake it, it will flush great for a couple of days.

I work in commercial construction and had a similar issue years ago. I asked my plumber, who was an old time, and he told me he updates his toilets every 5 or so years. The technology for the porcelain thrown keeps progressing and they are getting better all of the time. Most impressive one I have seen is an Australian low flow toilet that could flush a tennis ball.

So, $100-150 will get you a good new one, not worth the time or effort to 'tune up' the old one.

My upstairs toilet dates back to the '60's and my down stairs unit Is from about 2000. Both flush equally as well.

Problems others have are from other sources, it would seem.

Don't overthink this. If you dump a bucket of water in the toilet and it goes down real fast, the here is nothing wrong with the drainage system. The toilet is old and is filling up with mineral deposits. Take a metal coat hanger and stick the end up into the holes that are up in the underside of the rim. That's how the water drains from the tank into the bowl. It needs to happen quickly, and if the water can't drain into the tank quick enough, the water just spins around the bowl and never creates the siphon needed to carry away the solids. Once you put the hanger up there, wiggle it around. It will crunch as the hanger breaks up the mineral deposits. Letting it sit overnight with some CLR will help. Pour that down the overflow tube. Lift the flapper and make sure one of those toilet cleaning mints hasn't gotten stuck in there.

... low flow toilet that could flush a tennis ball.

I'm not sure what to say. That creates disturbing images at several levels.

rcutclif wrote: my buddy had a toilet that wouldn't flush hardly at all. He noticed that the hole at the bottom of the toilet inside the bowl in the front (not waste hole, water comes out of this hole on a flush and pushes directly into the waste hole), was totally clogged with hard water buildup.

Try the bucket of water first to make sure the drain and vent aren't plugged. If the drain is open, ^ This is most likely the problem.

I have to do this at my SIL's every couple years. Pour a bottle of CLR in the bowl, let it sit for an hour or so, and then use a coat hanger to clean out the build up.

Sewer or septic tank? If the tank hasn't been pumped on schedule they'll eventually back up a little with sludge and not flush right.

I had and have this in my house. One toilet in particular was really bad though and sometimes wouldn't actually flush. I finally figured out the little holes in top of the tank were plugged with minerals. I bought a new toilet. Its one of those fancy Kohler low water use models and I am totally impressed with the flushing power.

I bit the bullet because its our main toilet and we entertain enough that it was getting embarrassing giving instructions on how to flush. I did NOT get the big button/little button flusher.

Yeah, long bowl is nice. I also sprung for chair height.

About a month ago, something fell in the toilet leaving a slow drain. Couldn't reach in to get it out. Went to pull it up to remove it and broke the toilet in the process. A basic new one was $90, the tall long bowl was $100.

Hal wrote: Try the bucket of water first to make sure the drain and vent aren't plugged. If the drain is open, ^ This is most likely the problem.

Passed the bucket test. And trying to un-clog the holes on the rim hasn't gotten them working. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a pair of new toilets.

In reply to MadScientistMatt:

Is not so bad. They were really easy to unpack and install. I still chuckle occasionally when I press the #2 button.

I have solved this problem a few times.

1 - A Popsicle stick had been flushed by a previous owner and was stuck in the "bend" of the toilet. No snake could dislodge it, but it caught TP and slowed the flow. (see also: flushed army men or matchbox cars) Pull toilet and remove.

2 - The vertical vent pipe from the toilet was not secured properly, and it slid down a few inches over time. This put the vent line from the toilet at a slightly negative angle instead of positive. That kept water trapped in the vent so air was not coming in properly. Once the vent was corrected, flow was restored.

3 - The pipe under my second-floor toilet was a 4" piece of 50-year old iron that had a 1-percent slope for a few feet. Replaced with new PVC with a more aggressive slope to help slow buildup over time.

4- In one property, a previous owner did not know what the vent/check in the sink cupboard was and capped it. Cut off the cap and glued on one of these and was good to go again.

pinchvalve wrote: I have solved this problem a few times. 1 - A Popsicle stick had been flushed by a previous owner and was stuck in the "bend" of the toilet. No snake could dislodge it, but it caught TP and slowed the flow. (see also: flushed army men or matchbox cars) Pull toilet and remove.

Interesting, that sounds quite plausible given how it has no trouble flushing liquids but will act clogged with solid objects. Will have to investigate before getting new toilets.

MadScientistMatt wrote:

Hal wrote: Try the bucket of water first to make sure the drain and vent aren't plugged. If the drain is open, ^ This is most likely the problem.

Passed the bucket test. And trying to un-clog the holes on the rim hasn't gotten them working. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a pair of new toilets.

The holes in the rim are secondary to the hole in the bottom. The hole in the bottom initiates the flushing action. The holes in the rim keep that going.

The holes in the rim can be clear, but if the hole in the bottom does not provide enough flow the flush will be slow or incomplete.

Installed a new toilet during my remodel and was dissapointed with it. No power, slow to drian, and clogged easy. Turns out the wax ring was too large and was blocking most of the hole. Cleared it out and its been great for 5 years.

Kohler tall, long bowl with a slow close lid. Joy.