One common and often frustrating home issue is having a toilet that won’t flush. While calling in professionals for diagnosis may not always be necessary to address most problems related to non-flushing toilets, should things worsen, it may be wiser to contact reliable local professionals such as Nextdoor plumbers as soon as possible for support and solutions. In this post, we’ll walk through fixing it yourself or explain why hiring professionals might be best for our experience.
- Review Tank Water Levels
As part of troubleshooting a non-flushing toilet, checking the water level in its tank should be the initial step in diagnosing problems with it. Achieve this by placing an inch or so below the overflow tube’s top, as this level should provide for powerful flushes if your level falls too far below this point; adjust your fill valve if this becomes necessary to achieve maximum effectiveness in flushing your commodes.
- Find and adjust the fill valve on the left side of your tank before raising water levels by either moving the float up or rotating a screw.
- If the problem still remains, flush the toilet once more to see if it has been addressed; otherwise, if water levels continue to fall too far below acceptable levels, it may be necessary to replace its fill valve.
- Unclog Any Blockages
If the toilet still doesn’t flush, its drain could be blocked with foreign objects, accumulation in pipes, and excessive toilet paper usage as causes for blockages. Here are a few methods for unblocking it:
- Employ a Plunger: Carefully place the plunger over the bowl’s bottom drain hole, making sure its seal is tight. Repeatedly pushing down and pulling up on it may create suction that helps clear away obstructions in its path, enabling water to flow from within its basin without blocking its way.
- Utilize a Toilet Auger: When plungers prove ineffective, a drill may come in handy as an obstruction clears. This device reaches deeper down into your drain to dislodge any blockages and remove them efficiently.
- Employ an organic drain cleaner: Minor blockages may be cleared by mixing baking soda, vinegar, and hot (but not boiling) water in a bowl and waiting a few minutes before trying to flush again.
Alternatively, if none of these strategies work, your obstruction may lie further along in the drain system and main sewer line. At such points, it would be prudent to contact an expert who has access to more sophisticated cleaning techniques. For instance, contacting your trusted Nextdoor plumber could prove extremely effective in remedying such an issue.
- Examine The Lift Chain
Damage or disconnection to the lift chain may also account for why toilets won’t flush correctly. Water enters the bowl via this connection when users squeeze their handles to lift the flapper and flush the handle simultaneously. When water is released into the bowl via this chain lifting the flapper, it goes directly into its bowl through this lift chain connection.
- Locate the lift chain by opening up the toilet tank, replacing any damaged chains with new ones, and reconnecting those currently detached to the handle lever and flapper handle lever or flapper as required.
- Adjust the chain length accordingly to leave enough slack when closing the flapper without creating too much tension that causes tangling.
- Check The Handle Of The Toilet Flush System
Your toilet may no longer flush properly due to a defective handle that no longer connects securely with its lift chain. In these instances, its handle could become disconnected.
- Adjust the mounting nut inside the tank so that its handle is securely fastened. As these nuts tend to have reverse threading, tightening them requires turning them clockwise.
- If your current flush handle has worn out or broken completely, consider purchasing and installing a replacement one. Most models are cost-effective and straightforward to set up.
Conclusion
An inconvenience, a non-flushing toilet can often be resolved on its own with some straightforward troubleshooting steps. To identify potential blockages, examine the water level, flapper, lift chain, and flush handle; otherwise, try a plunger or auger as an alternate fix if that doesn’t help. Ultimately, if issues continue or seem severe, don’t hesitate to seek professional help, as local recommendations might provide helpful leads on who might best address this.