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Considering how vital the toilet is in a home setting, you cannot afford to have it functioning poorly. One of the common problems that occur with toilets is the toilet not flushing as it should. There’s no question this is a plumbing problem that concerns everyone in the household!
The first step in solving this problem is to identify the cause, and for that, you need to know what you are looking for.In this post, we will be looking at the four most common issues leading to toilets not flushing properly or at all. Luckily there are four effective toilet repairs to the problem as well.
Now, let’s get to it!
The culprit for a blocked toilet is either too much toilet paper or trying to flush something like sanitary napkins, or anything harder than toilet paper.
To fix this, get a toilet plunger or toilet auger and push the waste through the pipe with it. This should free up the pipe and allow the toilet to flush. Alternatively, you can create suction with the plunger, so that whatever is blocking the pipe is dislodged and washed down the pipe.
If a plunger doesn’t work may need more serious equipment and different methods to unblock a drain effectively.
Insufficient water in the tank means the water level will be too low. The ideal level is usually about one inch below the top of the overflow tube.
For a start, ensure that the water valve is still on. If not, turn it on and confirm that the water refills to the correct level. Now flush again to see if the toilet flushes properly.
The rubber flapper is another possible culprit. Check your toilet’s flapper by removing the toilet tank lid. What the rubber flapper does is to release water once you flush, after which it closes the water intake hold to maintain the right amount of water in the tank. A bad, bent, warped flapper will most likely not seal the flush tube hole properly.
This can be fixed by replacing the rubber flapper; you can get one at the home improvement store closest to you. Make sure that the water source is off and the tank empty before you fix the new flapper. After this, flush the toilet again and see if it flushes properly.
The lift chain could be the culprit. A lift chain with too much slack will cause flushing issues. Considering that it joins the flapper to the flushing handle on the outside of the toilet, a slack lift chain will fail in its role of raising the flapper.
The fix here is to adjust the length of the lift chain. This shortens the chain. Thus it gives enough pull to raise the flapper off the flush tube. Then water can flow easily once you pull the handle from the outside.
While the four toilet flushing issues discussed above are the most common any homeowner can encounter, it doesn’t rule out the possibility of your toilet developing other faults. If you find it challenging to fix any of these problems following our guide, or your toilet is having problems different from the ones highlighted above, feel free to call us. As an expert plumbing service provider, our team of Brisbane plumbing and gas technicians will show up at your place to fix toilets and any other plumbing problems you might face.
