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anm65

Toto plumbing issues

anm65
11 years ago

Hope all is well for the gardenweb family.
I purchased a Toto drake toilet with G max in 2008. Never had problems until now. It does not flush completely and when it does it is slow and "sputters". Called a plumber it worked for 3 weeks. Now it is the same as before. The plunger is becoming a permanent fixture next to the toilet.
Thanks for your help.

Comments (6)

  • alan_s_thefirst
    11 years ago

    How hard is your water? By "sputters" I assume you mean the flush is intermittant or incomplete. What did the plumber do?

    Often the jets under the rim become blocked with hardness or detritus. Some recommend using a piece of wire to clean them by poking it into the holes; I prefer to use the end of a cable tie because they're softer and less likely to damage the porcelain.

    Work your way around the rim, clearing each jet. Does that help?

  • bus_driver
    11 years ago

    How does it flush when a bucket of water is quickly poured into the bowl? If that does not work well, the problem is one of drainage, either in the toilet bowl trapway or the DWV system. If that works OK, the problem is that not enough water is getting from the tank to the bowl quickly enough. The bucket is the cheapest, fastest, most definitive test available.

  • anm65
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Alan you are correct concerning the "sputter" it is incomplete.
    The plumber used a "snake" to go into the drain. Nothing came out. He did this a few times, nothing. He flushed quite a bit and used the plunger. It worked fine afterwards. Live in south florida no hard water. I'll try to locate the jets and see what happens.
    Thanks

  • anm65
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Bus Driver,
    LOL we tried the bucket of water it did not drain well. In fact the water rose to the top then slowly went down the drain and "sputtered". What is DWV? Thanks

  • Terry Love
    11 years ago

    If the water rose to the rim when dumping water in the bowl, then what you have is a plugged bowl. This can happen with any brand. Remember the 60's when there was a plunger standing by every toilet?

    Somebody will need to pull the bowl, and run an auger from the bottom side to push back out whatever was dropped in. Which historically, could be small toys, cell phones, forks, pens, sand dollars, shampoo bottles, but you get the point.

  • bus_driver
    11 years ago

    "what you have is a plugged bowl." Or a blockage farther down.
    The problem as diagnosed by the bucket test is either in the bowl trapway or in the drain beyond the toilet.
    Plumbing in a residence really has two distinct systems. The "supply"-- the water under pressure- which we want to be clean. Then the DWV-- Drain, Waste, Vent. It carries away "used water", preferably by gravity. The vent to atmosphere serves to let air into or out of the DWV system to keep pressure as near to atmosphere as possible, to equalize pressure on all parts of the DWV system, to vent noxious gases.
    This not claimed to be an exhaustive list of the plumbing systems. And I am a bit dismayed that the person did not Google "DWV" to become enlightened earlier. The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of one's arm.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DWV

    This post was edited by bus_driver on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 9:29