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5 Reasons Why Your Toilet Has a Weak Flush — and How to Fix It

May 27 2021

Toilets suffer from a lack of flushing power because your rim jets, waste pipe, or siphon jet could be clogged. The water levels in your tank or bowl could also be too low. If your toilet has a weak flush, you may need to adjust the system and clear the blockage to fix the water level. Here are 5 reasons why your toilet flush is not gushing the way you want it to so you can address these problems.

1. Clogged Waste Pipe or Siphon Jet

Your toilet flush should carry all the waste and water away from your bowl and into the drain. If this waste pipe is clogged, you will know immediately because all the gross things in the bowl will stay there since they have nowhere to go.

Unless the waste pipe is completely clogged, you will notice a weaker flush, and it will take a longer time for all the waste to disappear. The best way to fix this problem is by using a plunger to force the water back and forth through your waste pipe.

This will separate the debris inside that is causing the clog. Using a plunger with a flange extension is one of the best ways of troubleshooting a weak flushing toilet. You can also use one without a flange, but the ones shaped like a bell are better for shower drains and may not be ideal solutions if your toilet has a weak flush.

The siphon jet or jet flush hole is a compartment on the front of your toilet holding the water releases it on an angle to push all your waste directly into the trap after every flush. After a while, this gets clogged with calcium deposits or other debris that can block the hole.

You can use an acidic toilet cleaner with a brush to clear the siphon jet if there is any build-up. Find a small toilet brush that can fit into the hole and twist it a few times to ensure that this passage gets cleared.

2. Clogged Rim Jets

You have rim jets under the toilet rim, and these are small holes that expel water from your tank into the bowl each time you flush. Like siphon jets, you can get deposits stuck in these that block the flow and diminish your flushing power.

The best way to clear these is by pouring an acidic toilet cleaner into the overflow tube in your tank. Let the solution sit inside there for a bit to dissolve the filthy deposits, and then flush your toilet a few times. If there is any leftover debris, you can use a small brush again to clean these.

3. Low Water Level in the Tank or Bowl

The water level of your toilet is determined by the float that is in your tank. When you are not using the bowl, the float stays on top of the water to keep the fill valve shut.

After flushing the toilet, water will flow from the tank and into your bowl when the float drops to open the fill valve. This lets new water enter the tank, and the float rises back with the higher water level.

If you want to adjust your tank’s water level, you need to change the float’s height, and you can do this with a screwdriver. Then the water level in the tank should go up before the supply is shut off again.

If your bowl’s water level is low, you will need to replace the faulty fill valve apparatus. You can check this by pulling the lid of your tank and flushing the toilet a few times. If you see water squirting from the top of your fill valve, you will know there is a leak, and it needs to be changed.

4. Flapper or Vent System Problems

Your flapper can have excess slack if you need to keep holding the handle down for a long time to flush the toilet. This valve is attached to the flush handle with a rod and chain at the bottom of your tank. The rod lifts the chain to open the flapper valve that lets water flush into the bowl from the tank.

The chain might be too long, causing the flapper to shut faster before filling enough water to flush. You can also use a clip to shorten the slack or cut the chain with a wire cutter.

The vent system in your plumbing is responsible for regulating air pressure, so water can move through the pipes. When this is faulty, you will notice a weaker drainage and flushing power. If you hear some gurgling sounds in your drains or smell a foul odor, then you will know your vent system is broken.

This cannot be troubleshot at home, so you will need to call a plumber. They will arrive with specialized equipment to check and fix all your blockages and have the best tools to break and flush away all types of nasty debris.

5. Water Displacement

Some savvy homeowners try to displace water in their tank to save money on their sewer and water bills. However, this is a cause of weak flushing toilets.

The best thing to do is reverse what you did to displace the water or use a smaller object. You can try and save money on your bills elsewhere instead of suffering from a weak toilet flush that does not clear your drains correctly.

Call a Plumber if Your Toilet Has a Weak Flush

If you still cannot figure out why your toilet has a weak flush and have gone through all these steps, but nothing seems to be working, you should call a plumber instead of exacerbating the problem further.

Even though DIY solutions seem fun and exciting at first, plumbing is a very messy job. Contact us today, and our skilled professionals can replace your toilet altogether in no time so that you never have to get your hands dirty dealing with these problems again.

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