We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.

Pat in Atlanta wrote:
We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.



Try the "bucket test".

Get 2 or 3 buckets of water and dump them
rapidly into the bowl.

Does the water go right down or does it overflow?

If NO overflow, there is nothing clogging the drain
and snaking will not help.

Jim

On Jun 5, 2:41 pm, Speedy Jim wrote:
Pat in Atlanta wrote:
We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.

Try the "bucket test".

Get 2 or 3 buckets of water and dump them
rapidly into the bowl.

Does the water go right down or does it overflow?

If NO overflow, there is nothing clogging the drain
and snaking will not help.

Jim

If you have more than one toilet, how are they working? Also, how are
other major drains working? If others are OK, that would narrow down
where the problem is. Then, figure out how to get a big snake into
that section of drain pipe. There should be cleanout plugs located at
spots along the way. Even if it's the main line, you can snake that
yourself with a big rental snake, provided you're willing to do the
job.

its pretty common in hard water areas for sediment to build up in the
bowl rim holes, causing poor flushing. if flushing with a bucket works
good then i will goive you the acid answer

On Jun 5, 2:23 pm, "Pat in Atlanta" wrote:
We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.

Did you use a "wimpy" snake or a high quality toilet auger. The
larger head on the auger will be more likely to dislodge objects that
are large enough to partially obstruct the trap but small enough to
let water pass.

Here is what I use:

http://www.lockeplumbing.com/detail....endoor&r2=&r3=

In the past week I have dislodged a toothbrush and the plastic
"spindle" from the tp holder from two toilets at my rental properties.

Good luck!

JK

Age of some toilets is also the problem, back in 98 Eljer had flushing
problems and redisigned the toilet changing the flow out. Bars of soap do
not dislodge easily, toothpicks float and so so ping-pong balls along with
the plastic container for feminine products just some of the collections we
have found
"Big_Jake" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 5, 2:23 pm, "Pat in Atlanta" wrote:
We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use
one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.

Did you use a "wimpy" snake or a high quality toilet auger. The
larger head on the auger will be more likely to dislodge objects that
are large enough to partially obstruct the trap but small enough to
let water pass.

Here is what I use:

http://www.lockeplumbing.com/detail....endoor&r2=&r3=

In the past week I have dislodged a toothbrush and the plastic
"spindle" from the tp holder from two toilets at my rental properties.

Good luck!

JK

On Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:37:08 -0000, "
wrote:

its pretty common in hard water areas for sediment to build up in the
bowl rim holes, causing poor flushing. if flushing with a bucket works
good then i will goive you the acid answer

The two best answers, and if they work the OP saves $300.00 ! :-))

--
Oren

...through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

On Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:45:45 -0000, Big_Jake
wrote:

On Jun 5, 2:23 pm, "Pat in Atlanta" wrote:
We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.

Did you use a "wimpy" snake or a high quality toilet auger. The
larger head on the auger will be more likely to dislodge objects that
are large enough to partially obstruct the trap but small enough to
let water pass.

Here is what I use:

http://www.lockeplumbing.com/detail....endoor&r2=&r3=

In the past week I have dislodged a toothbrush and the plastic
"spindle" from the tp holder from two toilets at my rental properties.

A couple days ago, I knocked the remote control from my bathroom tv
into the toilet, and I'm not even a renter!

But maybe since I"m not a renter, I did remove it. The light was off
in the bathroom and it took me a few seconds, 5?, to see what had
happened.

I got it out and wiped it off, and didn't try to use it for a while
since I figured it was fine. It didn't work! I opened the battery
compartment and there was water inside. I didn't expect that. I spun
the batteries but that didn't help. I let it sit for almost 2 days,
and now it works again. I thought I would either have to do nothing,
or in this case, do more.

Good luck!

JK

Pat in Atlanta wrote:
We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost nothing in it.
We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want $250 to use one
of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any suggestions would be
appreciated.

Sounds as if, your household needs to be regular more often.

Have you tried stool softeners?

Maybe, you just poop too much at one time.

The device Jake mentions. You can get one similar to this at
Home Depot for about $25. I needed one when cat litter got
flushed through my bowl, and this was the only thing that cleared
the drain. worth every penny.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Big_Jake" wrote in message
ups.com...
: On Jun 5, 2:23 pm, "Pat in Atlanta" wrote:
: We have a toilet that flushes but only when there's almost
nothing in it.
: We've tried a snake but it didn't clear it. Plumbers want
$250 to use one
: of their snakes plus $50 to come to the house. Any
suggestions would be
: appreciated.
:
: Did you use a "wimpy" snake or a high quality toilet auger.
The
: larger head on the auger will be more likely to dislodge
objects that
: are large enough to partially obstruct the trap but small
enough to
: let water pass.
:
: Here is what I use:
:
:
http://www.lockeplumbing.com/detail....endoor&r2=&r3=
:
: In the past week I have dislodged a toothbrush and the plastic
: "spindle" from the tp holder from two toilets at my rental
properties.
:
: Good luck!
:
: JK
:
:

if it flushes fine using a bucket on solids the drain is NOT a
problem.

plunge as much water out as you can, sponge the remainder from the
bowl.

insert funnel in dip tube inside tank, wear safety glasses and rubber
gloves, no splashing. open window. take deep breathe

pour muriatic acid into dip tube and some in bowl, get out of room
close door wait 15 minutes,

then flush normally 10 times to dilute any acid in lines.

you will likely see brown scunge running down from bowl rim thats the
sediment disolving. this really works.

if not enough water enters the bowl not enough leaves to generate the
force to carry solids.

generally watching a afflicted toilet you see water just swirling in a
circle, rather than going down fast

On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:54:53 -0000, "
wrote:

if it flushes fine using a bucket on solids the drain is NOT a
problem.

plunge as much water out as you can, sponge the remainder from the
bowl.

insert funnel in dip tube inside tank, wear safety glasses and rubber
gloves, no splashing. open window. take deep breathe

[Insert] Use exhaust fan when available..

pour muriatic acid into dip tube and some in bowl, get out of room
close door wait 15 minutes,

then flush normally 10 times to dilute any acid in lines.

you will likely see brown scunge running down from bowl rim thats the
sediment disolving. this really works.

...and saves dollars.. as the OP desires.


if not enough water enters the bowl not enough leaves to generate the
force to carry solids.

generally watching a afflicted toilet you see water just swirling in a
circle, rather than going down fast
--
Oren

...through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

I ma having a similiar problem. I already tried using muratic acid,
and replacing the float valve, and I've also tried the bucket test.
The acid cleaned out all the rust stains really good, but other than
that, no effect. Water pressure and drains all work good in the sink
and tub in the same bathroom. Any ideas? Seems like I've rules out
everything! The only thing I can think of that's left to do is to use
my 25' snake from the sink and make sure that the main from the
bathroom to the basement is not having any major problems. Any other
ideas? I suppose I could get a toilet auger, but I fail to see the
point of doing that when it passes the bucket test. It's not like I
got kids dropping stuff down the toilet either.