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Author:
richard904 (MA)
We have a Kohler 1.6 gpf toilet that lost its siphoning ability today. If I dump two gallons of water into the toilet, it goes down okay, but it does not induce a siphon. If I flush the toilet, likewise it does not siphon and therefore does not flush properly. My wife had cleaned the toilet yesterday with the Clorox wand with its blue cleaning attachment, but she showed me the spent cleaning attachment, so I do not think it was flushed and inside the trap (which always scares me about the Clorox wand). We have three other toilets in our house like this one including one in a half bath close to this bathroom. All the other toilets are working fine, so I do not believe it has anything to do with the venting.
I do not have a closet auger, so I have not tried clearing the trap. This toilet empties into an ejector tank, and I get afraid that if a hard object is cleared outward from the trap it will just fall down into the ejector tank and ruin my pump. What is my best course of action?
Also, the Kohler toilet appears to be the K4512 model. The house was built in 1994, and I think the toilets are original to the house. Also, it has a triple flush action (like it siphons three times on one flush) which has worked fine for us.
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Author:
Wheelchair
If you don't want foreign objects to end up in the ejector pump.. the toilet should be lifted and evaluated. You may have to flip the toilet for inspection. Take it outside and reverse flush with a garden hose. If you are not comfortable with this task, hire a licensed plumber and have peace of mind.
Best Wishes
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Author:
packy
triple flush could be a venting problem or the flapper in the tank could be the wrong one. if the toilet flushes with a bucket then there should be no obstruction in the trapway ???
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Author:
richard904 (MA)
Packy, if I dump two gallons into the toilet, it goes down, but does not induce a strong siphon like flush. I guess it is just obstructed enough to prevent a siphon, but still allows water to drain pretty fast.
By now I am guessing the best course of action is to get a plumber in and remove the toilet and clear the problem that way. We were thinking that if we go that route, then we should just get a new Toto toilet that is "senior citizen" height and elongated since essentially the labor expense would be the same.
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Author:
hj
IT is apparently NOT flushing with a bucket. SInce the toilet goes to a pump, the pump may not be functioning properly which would create the same symptoms as a plugged toilet.
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Author:
richard904 (MA)
I finally got a toilet auger. After a bit of effort I extracted a pad used by the Clorox cleaning wand, but the plastic holder was not attached. At least the toilet is now siphoning, but right now it does not look as strong as my other toilets so there may still be some blockage. This is what I mentioned before about the Clorox toilet wand and pad. You have to check carefully that the pad is still attached after doing the cleaning, then eject it into a waste basket. My whole house is serviced by an ejector tank which includes four bathrooms and everything else, and all this goes into our own septic system. This is why we are so careful about what goes down the drain.
Another thing is that I bought the cheapest toilet auger from Lowe's, and even for very occasional use I should have bought a better one.
I still may have to do more clearing of the toilet if the siphon is too weak.
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Author:
hj
Flush five ENORMOUS amounts of paper through the toilet. IF it does not plug up, the bowl is clear, otherwise it will clog if there is still something in it. As an aside, since the emector services the entire house, I hope your contractor was intelligent enough to use a two pump system with all the bells and whistles.
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Author:
richard904 (MA)
HJ, the ejector tank is another separate problem. There is a single pump, but there is a high water alarm, and at least a quarter turn switch to turn off any backup water when servicing is needed. There is not a backup pump. The house was built in 1994 (I am the third owner), and the woman who built the house originally had four children, so somehow she kept the system functional during her duration. I really want to re-engineer this with a state-of-the-art, best practices system that would have backup. What do you suggest? Actually, I should make this a separate question.
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