AboutDana Bostick Expertise Pretty much any residential plumbing questions. Note: I live and work in Southern California. We do not as a rule use boilers, hot water or steam heating systems or wells so my knowledge in those areas is limited. There are others here that can probably answer those questions better.
"We all is city folk" out here! What is a "well" LOL
Experience Licensed General Contractor with Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical sub-licenses
Question QUESTION: I have a water saver toilet. It takes about 5 flushes to get even the tiniest piece of paper to go down. I don't know how that saves water, but anyway - can I replace the "guts" in the bowl to convert it to a regular toilet, or do I need to just buy a brand new toilet? Thanks.
ANSWER: Hello Rusty,
Unless you have one of the very first units from 10-15 years ago, I find it hard to believe that it works that badly. Something is not working properly. The first "low flow" units were 3.5 GPF and "sort of worked", I installed a lot of them because it was required. Then they went to 2.5 GPF and then down to 1.6 GPF which is the current standard. Each toilet is designed to work with the proper amount of water. The only adjustable part is the flush and fill mechanisms. The actual flush is built in to the bowl and trap design which is cast in.
You might be able to replace the internal components of the tank but everything these days is mandated to be low flow. The replacement parts will be as well. The stores are not allowed to sell any other kind.
Does the toilet seem to flush properly? Does the water go down normally? Are you sure it's not a drainage restriction or venting problem? Does it flush any better if you use a bucket of water dumped in the bowl to flush it instead of the water in the tank? This will tell you if it's lack of water or something else causing the problem. (It will flush that way. It's the same as hitting the flush lever. Doing that just dumps water into the bowl as well.)
Good Luck,
Dana
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Its almost like the flush cycle (?) is not lasting long enough. Sometimes, I can do what I call priming it (just barely touching the handle - not activating a full flush, just making it run a little water). If I do that 4 or 5 times, I can get it to flush completely, but not always. Normally when you flush it, it swirls around about 3 or 4 times, then thats it. The flapper valve closes and the tank starts to fill with water again.
Answer It's obvious that this toilet is NOT working as intended. The length of the flush is usually set by the flapper. If it is dropping too soon, it's not working right. The toilet itself could be having a problem. There are internal water passages that must work to create the siphon effect that is the flush. They can become blocked by lime scale etc. and not work.
There could also be a restriction in the drain line that is not letting it develop a good siphon to empty the bowl.
Do what I said before. Dump a 2-3 gallon shot of water in the bowl from a bucket fairly rapidly. It should "flush" correctly. If it does, the problem is with the flush mechanism not putting enough water, fast enough into the bowl to get a good flush. If it does not, the problem may be in the drain line. The bowl should not overflow. I have drained 100 gallon fish tanks on the 15th floor of office buildings through a toilet.
Good Luck,
Dana
