Help! New Toto Ultramax clogged and plunger doesn't work

15 years ago

We have two new Toto Ultramax toilets which were supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, one in the master bathroom and one is the kids bathroom, and we have been very happy with them until... today, the one in the kids bathroom got clogged and we realized that our good old plunger is not helping. I tried, then DH tried, but we can't get it to unclog. It does have a different construction, but there must be a trick that we don't know about to be able to unclog it. I know many people here have them, can someone give us an advice?

The one in the master bathroom also got clogged once but it wasn't bad so DH was able to fix it with the plunger.

Could there be an installation problem? I know many people say these toilets really don't get clogged. Our contractor has a lot of experience with kohler and other brands but don't think he's installed other toto units prior to ours.

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annab6
Original Author

15 years ago

well, time is not helping, it is still clogged, so i'll try to find a snake today.

Charlikin, just like you, I selected this model based on its good reputation so I am also dissapointed. This is the kids bathroom and it is also right above the kitchen so I am very, very, very worried.

But there may be more to it than the toilet itself. I checked the forum on terrylove.com which is all about plumbing and some people mentioned things like "blocked flanges" etc. Also someone reported that their Ultramax also was getting clogged but when they used the same exact toilet in a different bathroom it was fine.

Unfortunately I don't understand most of the toilet-related terminology so I am hoping someone with more of the subject knowledge will comment.

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Comments (7)

mclendon2009
15 years ago
Well the good news is..generally any toilet clog can be resolved with time...like several hours then retry flushing..things need time to break down..
charlikin
15 years ago
Had the same problem with mine last week... it got clogged on Monday, and no amount of plunging would clear it. (Previously when it got clogged, vigorous plunging would fix it.) My super came with a snake and fixed it.

Then it got clogged again on Friday! Twice in one week!!! Again, the plunger did nothing. I went to the hardware store and told them I wanted to buy a toilet auger (snake). They looked at me skeptically, but sold me a cheap auger ($10) and showed me how to use it. Not so difficult. Girls can use augers. Really. :-)

I am disappointed in this toilet. I bought it because Toto in general, and the Ultramax in particular, had such a good reputation with regard to not clogging. I thought I'd be able to put my plunger in the back of the closet and not have to deal with it again. Well, I guess that's true. The plunger can go to the back of the closet while the auger sits in the front. :-(

My guess, btw, about why the plunger doesn't always work - the opening in the toilet bowl is oval shaped while the plunger is round. I don't think the plunger is getting a good seal over the hole, so when I plunge, the water is rushing out above and below the plunger rather than being forced into the pipe. The vigorous plunging provides a good workout for me, but doesn't do a lot for the plumbing. I wonder if they make a better-shaped plunger...
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fnmroberts
15 years ago
I'm not a plumber, just a DIY'er who has encoutered many challenges over the years. I also own an Ultramax with which I have never had a problem.

How old is your home? Is the plumbing PVC or cast iron?

Here is my suspicion - one of two things:

1) The wax ring which seals the toilet onto the flange slipped during the install and is partially blocking the water discharge. This is an easy fix - remove toilet, clean and install a new ring - carefully reset the toilet so the new ring doesn't slip.

2) Old cast plumbing corrudes internally and may not permit the rapid discharge of water which many (including Toto) new, low water usage, toilets rely upon to clean the bowl. A plumber may be able to rod this successfully to smooth the cast pipe. I would speak with the place from whom you purchased the toilet.

The only thing I have noticed about the Toto is you have to let paper totally absorb water before flushing. When I clean the bath and drop a paper towel into the bowl it won't go down unless I wait for it to get wet. Minor issue.

Hope this helps.
jjaazzy
15 years ago
Ok, I'm going to throw something else out there that I don't think was mentioned. You said this was a kidÂs bathroom? Do you think there might be a toy in there? In our old house we had an old toilet that stopped working and no amount of plunging would do it. We finally had to pull the toilet and put it in the yard. It was a toy just out of reach but with persistence my DH got it out. It turned out to be a Yack Back. We recorded a jingle on it "Brush your teeth up and down all around" Well I guess my son didn't like it and decided to send it to never never land and dumped it in the toilet! LOL good times.
annab6
Original Author
15 years ago
well, we got the right tool - the toilet auger - which did work. There were no toys or any other "unrelated" objects in there. Our pipes are brand new PVC. We'll start from teaching the kids the proper flushing, they may not be pressing the lever down all the way or using too much paper. If the problem reoccurs, we'll check the wax ring (thanks fnmroberts for the suggestion).
RJ Cartier
2 years ago
Well, I have an auger and this seems to be the only toilet where it doesn't work. I'm wondering if we have a problem with the wax seal as mentioned, but removing the toilet, cleaning the old ring, and replacing the ring and refastening the toilet hardly seems like an 'easy fix' to me.