If your toilet doesn’t flush, this can become a major problem. Most of us would like to find a quick fix to the problem and resume normalcy before someone needs to use it.
Unfortunately, most of the time, the problem is not that straightforward. For instance, if your toilet still flushes but isn’t performing to its full potential, you might need to flush it a few times to work correctly. The cranking could be the source of the problem; you will want to take care of the issue before it blows over.
Common Reasons Your Toilet Won’t Flush Correctly
Here are the most likely causes of your toilet flushing problem and how you could fix it:
Insufficient water in your toilet tank
You most likely already know that when flushing your toilet, you are simply letting the water in the toilet tank into your toilet bowl. Suction then draws the water from the bowl at enough pressure to clean the bowl out. If there is not enough water in the tank, the suction will be insufficient to clean the bowl when flushing. If you notice that the flush is weaker than usual, or it just flows into the bowl without starting a flush, this is likely the problem.
How to fix the problem
Most toilet bowls have a mark on the inside surface to show how much water it should hold. The water should flow into the toilet after a flush until it reaches the mark, then automatically close the inlet. The surface of the water should be about an inch below the tank’s overflow tube. If the water seems to low, you will have to readjust your tank’s float.
The float is the plastic balloon that helps the tank to automatically close the inlet when the water reaches the appropriate level. You can also move the clip to your intake assembly (if you have one) to adjust the water level on your toilet tank.
A clogged inlet pipe
After flushing your toilet, water should flow out of the tank and into the bowl through orifices located under the bowl’s rim. If your piping system carries hard water, common in parts of Florida, the holes can get clogged over time with the consistent deposit of minerals from the water. If your toilet tank has enough water but is minimal when flowing into the toilet bowl, you will have to unclog the orifices.
How to fix the problem
Before opening the fill valve, you will need to cut the water supply to the toilet and drain the tank until it’s empty. You can now open the fill valve and pour hot vinegar or Lime-A-Way into it. Let the cleaner dissolve the mineral deposits on the pipe’s surfaces for a few hours. Everyone will have to use a different toilet for the whole time.
Close the fill valve and turn the water supply back on. After the water fills your water tank to the recommended level, flush the toilet to see if it flushes normally. If your problem is still not fixed, you will have to use a slim tool to remove the mineral build-up through the holes manually.
The toilet is clogged
The most common and most apparent cause of your flushing problem is that it is simply clogged with dense paper balls. If a plunger doesn’t get your problem fixed, you can pour a large bucket of water down the toilet. If that still doesn’t unclog your toilet, you might have a bigger problem in your hands and are better off calling your local plumber.
