I live in a ground floor apt. When I flush either toilet I get bubbles coming up from the bottom of the bowl and the flushing is not very strong. Sometimes I have to flush twice. How can it be corrected?

You need to call in a pro! If you flush one toilet and bubbles com up in another that says one thing... You have a clogged drain and it is filling with water. Trust me this is a job for a pro! They will have proper drainage restored usually within a couple of hours of your call. Don't hesitate it can still be fixed today!

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Since 1995 (3 years before Google started) PlumbingSupply.com has been THE best plumbing supplier on the web. Please visit our sponsor [www.PlumbingSupply.com]

I meant to say that both toilets show bubbles coming up during a flush. Flushing one toilet does not affect they other. Is it a different problem or still a clogged drain?

If they are not effecting each other there may be a slightly different problem.

In most toilets there are basically 2 holes in the bottom of the bowl. There is the trapway which is the large hole the waste goes out through. If the bubble is coming out of that usually at some point after the waste is leaving the bowl then yes it would be a line blockage.

The other hole is the smaller hole at the front of the bowl that directs a stream of water toward the trapway to help with the flushing action this is called the siphon jet. If the bubble is coming out of there it would happen very quicky after the tanl lever is pressed to flush the toilet. At almost the same instant in fact. This would indicate a very different problem.

There are a few causes possible and any or, even all may contribute to it.

The water level in the bowl may be low. This can be caused by a fill valve that doesn't work right any more. On valves like the one pictured below if there is a lot of water spraying into the tank from under the mushroom shaped head on top which on this particular one is blue {the color has no bearing). It means that water is not spraying out through the bowl refill tube and down the overflow tube into the bowl in the correct volume to refill the bowl to the proper level. When the toilet is flushed many makes and models if the bowl level is low will pop a bubble out of the siphon jet when this happens. If the refill tube is not clipped in place and spraying water down the overflow tube when the tank is refilling that may also cause the symptom. Some fill valves many fail and simply stop directing any water out of the overflow. In any of these cases except a misplaced bowl refill tube replacing the fill valve is what is needed. You can verify if bowl level is the problem by ever so lightly press the tank lever. Not enough to cause a flush... But enough to cause water to leak into the bowl. Allow the water to slowly fill the bowl until you don't see tha level rise any higher then stop. Let it set for a moment to refill the tank then flush the toilet and see if the bubble has stopped coming out. If that is the case the problem is solved you need a new fill valve and the weak flush was probably due to a sinificant portion of the water for the flush just going to filling the bowl.



Another common cause of the bubble and a weak flush can be having the holes under the rim of the bowl clogged with minerals or other debris. Go around up under the rim with gloved hands and a piece of coat hanger wire feel for each of the holes all the way around the rim and push the piece of coathanger wire into each of them. When these are blocked and you flush rather than have the air escape out though these holes the air can be forced out through the siphon jet. The water coming into the bowl slow can cause a weak flush.

Good luck and let us know how you make out! Post back with any other questions you may have.

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Since 1995 (3 years before Google started) PlumbingSupply.com has been THE best plumbing supplier on the web. Please visit our sponsor [www.PlumbingSupply.com]



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