Need help - insufficient flushes from toilets - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 07-03-2020, 03:41 PM

Well, actually there is no suction except what you may get from siphon action.

merc lover · #2 07-03-2020, 04:17 PM

Unfortunately, this problem highlights the joys of renting. Typically, landlords only care about one thing: your money. My advice: try and save up enough money for a down payment on a modest home.

Yes, homeowners are responsible for everything from the roof to the toilets, but at least you have more control over the place. You want a new Kohler toilet? No problem! You want new ceiling fans? No problem, simply buy and install. Of course, this requires you becoming an expert on HVAC, electrical, flooring, roofing, plumbing, landscaping, etc. you name it.

As I age, my desire to be the building maintenance man is in decline. I'd rather spend time reading books, hanging out with friends, etc but alas, I'm married to maintaining the house and the cars.

tyl604 · #3 07-03-2020, 05:26 PM

Merc lover - thanks but been there done that. I enjoy being able to lock up and travel. Kids are gone; dog died. No responsibility other than to my better half. If the bird feeder happens to go empty while we are gone, they will just have to look elsewhere.

merc lover · #4 07-03-2020, 06:53 PM

I get it, I see why some people sell the house then buy either a house boat or an RV and hit the open road!

vwnate1 · #5 07-03-2020, 11:43 PM

They really so work if you get a good one .

My city sends me updates on my water and electrical use, I have one Kohler low flow toilet (it's a tiny house) and many LED bulbs plus I put a shut valve off on the shower head and use it always, I'm consistently less than half of anyone else in my neighborhood's use of water and electric, I wash my cars using a hose bib etc. etc. .

It $ave$ Dinero and as I live in the Desert, water conserving is wise....

Maybe you can find a better small place to live.....

t walgamuth · #6 07-04-2020, 03:47 PM

As a landlord for 40 years I have never had a plug that was not caused by the user. I have spent thousands proving it though.

barry12345 · #7 07-04-2020, 04:13 PM

To check the vent. Watch the water level critically on one toilet while you flush the worse one. If the vent is obstructed or indaquate you should see the level change a little in the watched one. Takes two people.

I have never been faced with the problem you have. Yet if the vent Was pretty well blocked the load in the first toilet will be compressing air perhaps ahead of it. With a good vent I do not think the second toilet will show any or even the slightest change. Just a thought and test.

Your toilet is also acting a little like some plastic toy for example is stuck in the trap neck. Other than you have two other toilets with about the same issue. The toys seem to get contained and float around in the neck sometimes.

American standard stuff was really good at one time. Stupid company that ruined themselves with bad products.

Why it works sometimes and not others is also interesting. A toilet problem should in general be pretty consistant.

Bowl filling up with no action is pretty serious.

tyl604 · #8 07-04-2020, 07:29 PM

Plumbers confirmed there is no plug. Although I have no idea how far down the drain they go.

t walgamuth · #9 07-05-2020, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyl604

Plumbers confirmed there is no plug. Although I have no idea how far down the drain they go.

It could be the outside pipe. I had to replace one of those once. Roots had gotten in the pipe through cracks. Maybe it is time to camera the pipes.

Tony H · #10 11-04-2021, 12:19 AM

Here is a good one. We went on vacation leaving our teenage son at home. Sometime later the toilet in the garage bathroom would plug up and then flush for a while then plug up again for no apparent reason. I could run a snake all the way through no problem. I finally removed the toilet to investigate, looked up into the bottom of the trap and saw the tip of a carrot sticking out of the trap. The carrot could never pass through the trap. Our son would never confess. I also found Christmas lights floating in the septic tank when we had it pumped years later.

cmac2012 · #11 11-04-2021, 04:53 PM

I hate to tell you, I have installed and serviced many toilets. And if you pull it off and can’t find the obstruction below, either in the toilet or in the opening to the sewer line, the answer is often “new toilet.”

One time we were having a problem with the toilet at a client’s rental unit. I took up the toilet and there was an odd ring around the bottom, at the exit point, sort of a circular half-inch ledge. Why in the bleeding hell this was included in the manufacture is beyond me. I didn’t think there would be any point in contacting them for clarification. This was a problem because there were four or five Q-tips stuck on that ledge and impeding the flow. At least I had a good smoking gun.

In your situation removing everything and replacing the wax might be the one thing you could do in terms of maintenance. That and installing a new flapper and new fluid master valve. The latter are cheap.

I once had to replace, three times, Kohler lowboy toilets at a client’s place, not replace with new units, took out the old ones and put them back in for various reasons. Those things are a serious pain. Visibility is very poor down low, because they are so wide. With a regular toilet, I would often just push the wax ring onto the bottom of the toilet and then eyeball the two bolts into the slotted holes on each side. Even with a regular toilet that method can go wrong. These days I take it easy on myself. I recommend getting six pieces of half-inch plywood, about 3 inches wide 10 inches long, and positioning three of them under the front and back of the sewer pipe, in a good spot to support the toilet. I still like putting the wax ring onto the toilet itself, because you can clean off the bottom of the toilet really well and jam the wax onto it.

You can then carefully position it over the two bolts sticking up from the flange and remove a piece of plywood front, and then back, or something until you’ve taken them all out. Two pieces of three-quarter ply just about as good. I’ve done it with two by fours in a pinch. Then you apply some pressure downward to mash in the wax, to seat if the wax onto the bottom flange, etc.

Occasionally my old cowboy method would give me grief when one of the bolts would fold over. You can firm them up if you have the right hardware. Or you can put them on without the right hardware and tighten it up and save a trip to the store.