Having a slow-flushing toilet can be a real pain in the you-know-what. It disrupts the flow of your daily routine and can leave you feeling frustrated and helpless. If there’s one thing you should count on to work in your home, it’s your toilet. If your toilet is draining slowly, take a look at the four common causes behind this annoying issue and get easy-to-understand solutions.
Water Tank Settings
If you’re experiencing this issue in your Sheboygan or Plymouth, Wisconsin home, the culprit could be low water pressure. Start by checking your toilet’s water tank. This is a potential cause you can rule out quickly just by taking off the lid that’s situated directly above the seat. Inside, you should find a tube called the overflow tube. All toilets should have water about half an inch from the top of this tube. If the water is much lower than the overflow tube, there isn’t enough water in the tank to clean the toilet bowl when you flush.
You should be able to easily resolve this problem just by raising the float arm, which will allow more water to enter the tank and flush the bowl.
Clogged Drain Lines
Over time, debris, gunk, or foreign objects can build up in the drain lines, which obstructs the flow of water and causes slow flushing. If your toilet has stopped flushing completely, the drain lines are completely clogged. If it flushes very slowly or doesn’t flush all the waste in the bowl, you probably have a partial clog.
To tackle this issue, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty (figuratively, of course). To remove the clog, you might want to try old faithful first – the plunger. Avoid plunging too vigorously at first so that you don’t splash water but allow the plunger to get a tight seal around the drain. Try this a few times, flushing in between plunging attempts to get the water flow going again.
The other option is to use a drain snake to remove the blockage, but this can be tricky. Your toilet may end up with more damage if you’re not experienced in using a drain snake.
Hard Water
Hard water contains minerals like calcium and magnesium. These minerals are naturally in water and don’t pose any health risk to you, but over time mineral buildup can damage pipes. Because those minerals don’t have the ability to flow like water, they will often get left behind when water goes down a drain. For example, if you’ve ever noticed spots on clean dishes or rust stains around toilets, you’re probably seeing mineral build-up from hard water.
Over time, this build-up can start to decrease the amount of space water has to run through your pipes. A toilet plumber near you can determine if your slow flushing toilet is due to hard water and help you remove those minerals, possibly by installing a water softener so you don’t have to deal with this problem again.
Poor Ventilation
It probably doesn’t seem like it, but toilets are quite complex. There is an exact science of physics behind your toilet flushing. A toilet is pressurized so that it’s able to such out the contents of the bowl and discard it on the other end of the pipes, so it doesn’t come back up. If everything else has failed, this could be your problem, and it is a bit tricky.
If you notice any unusual sounds after flushing, especially gurgling or bubbling sounds, it’s likely because there isn’t enough air in the plumbing lines for water to flow properly. If this is your issue, you’ll want to seek out a professional toilet repair service near you. If you’re experiencing any of these issues, give a call to the professional plumbers near you in Plymouth and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Plymouth Plumbing & Heating can help you save time and money by getting your toilet running correctly and avoiding any unnecessary damage. Call us today or request your free estimate.