Why is my toilet not flushing properly? Is your toilet not flushing properly? Chances are, you are not alone. Most homeowners usually face this challenge from time to time. Some homeowners usually take their toilets for granted.
While this might seem to be a good idea, this place can wreak havoc in your house when it stops working well. If you fail to address the issue immediately, your house might have bad odors. In fact, your home can all of a sudden become inhabitable.
Trying to figure out the immediate cause of the problem can be a nightmare for you. You might think that your pipes are clogged, but this might not necessarily be the case. There are many things that can hinder your best flushing toilet from flushing properly.
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Why your Toilet won’t Flush Properly
This article will outline some of these issues so that you can diagnose them for better results. Some of these reasons include:
1. Presence of mineral deposits
If you live in an area that has hard water, the pipes to your toilet might get clogged with water-based bacteria and mineral deposits. These substances can hinder water from flowing seamlessly.
This can hinder water from reaching the bowl after you flush it. If this is the case, you should try to unclog the toilet inlet holes. Sometimes, you can consider investing in a water softener system to mitigate this problem.
2. Too much toilet paper
Are you fond of using a lot of toilet paper when you are using the toilet? Chances are, your toilet might get clogged in the long run. In fact, this can happen if you throw too much toilet paper in the toilet bowl and fail to flush it regularly.
Other materials that can clog your toilet include diapers or sanitary napkins. These substances might clog your toilet in the long run.
When you have clogged drains, flushing your toilet will be an exercise in futility. Therefore, it is important that try using thinner toilet papers to avert this problem. Also, with high-quality tissue, such issues will history in your home.
3. Inadequate installation of the toilet drain pipe
Your toilet flush might be quite slow if you did not install the toilet drain pipe correctly. Also, if this pipe has a poor design, you might not be able to flush your toilet properly.
It worth noting that the system of drains is not complicated. Ideally, water from the bowl normally gets to the main sewer line through the drain pipe. If this pipe is not installed well, flushing the toilet will be an uphill task.
4. Presence of a damaged flapper
Once you flush the toilet, the flapper normally opens up. This usually happens so as to allow the water from the tank to pour down into the bowl. Once the flushing is complete, the flapper normally closes, thereby allowing the tank to fill up once again.
If the flapper of your toilet is damaged, it will not perform its role adequately. The good news is that this problem can easily be solved by just visiting the nearest shop where plumbing supplies are sold and get a new one.
The installation process is quite simple. After that, you will be able to avert this problem.
5. Presence of partial clogs in pipes
Are you wondering how partial clogs form in your pipes? This usually happens as a result of the slow accumulation of paper and waste in the pipes.
If you hardly flush your toilet after use, it might have this problem. It is worth noting that these clogs might not necessarily cause immediate and complete blockage but can hinder water from flowing smoothly.
Every time you flush your toilet, water will flow through the pipes with less strength over time, due to the clogs formed. These clogs usually form a weaker flush over time.
This leads to the formation of a precipitate that might accumulate in your drains and cause more trouble.
Pouring some hot water in the toilet bowl can help solve this problem. Alternatively, you can snake your toilet if this problem persists. More importantly, you should always flush your toilet after using it.
6. Low water levels in the toilet tank
Sometimes, your toilet might fail to flush properly as a result of low water levels in the storage tank. This is because there are instances when the tank does not fill as it should. Here, the water levels might be too low.
This is the reason why you should first check the water levels before doing anything else. Determining the necessary water levels can help you diagnose this problem.
Ideally, your toilet tank should have at least 1 inch of water below the top line of the overflow tube for it to function optimally.
You should check the tank to ensure whether some failing components are hindering the tank from filling up successfully.
Also, you can check if someone decided to ration the water to avoid wastage. In essence, all this could lead to this problem.
7. Cracked overflow tube
There are instances when everything might be working pretty well, but still, your toilet does not flush properly. Chances are, the overflow tube has issues.
Instead of the tank filling up with water, the water could be flowing down into a cracked overflow tube.
If this is the case, you should not get scared as this problem is easy to fix it. Here, you just need to get a new overflow tube. Once you are able to replace it, the toilet will be able to flush well.
8. A loose chain in the toilet tank
If you open your toilet tank, you will see a chain that helps to flush your toilet. This chain usually connects the mechanism that flushes the toilet to the flushing handle.
Sometimes, this chain might be loose. As a result, the flushing handle will be wiggly and might not give the much-needed resistance.
This makes the water valve not to fill up as the flapper does not stay lifted for long. Therefore there is a need to replace this chain as soon as possible.
Conclusion
You should not get worried that your toilet is not flushing properly. This is a common phenomenon in most homes out there. The most important thing is to know what is causing this problem and then mitigate it as soon as possible. The above-mentioned issues might be the leading cause of this problem. Take note of them today, and your toilet will be able to flush well.