Preventing Toilet Clogs - And Avoiding the Plumber
No offense to plumbers, but sometimes you do not need to call one! Toilet clogs are a bad reason to have to call a professional, but I have to admit I learned the hard way one time that I did, I should have been able to avoid a $100 service call.
The problem was our toilet in the main floor bathroom was flushing very slowly, and when you flushed it an air bubble would come up (often shooting water droplets out of the toilet - gross). I figured something must have been wrong with the flushing mechanism, something not immediately apparent to the usual back-of-the-tank survey.
The plumber came, looked at it for a while, made one minor (probably inconsequential) adjustment to the chain or something, and said that with these economy low-water usage toilets (in other words, most toilets on the market today), it is sometimes necessary to hold the handle down to make sure it flushes thoroughly. That will prevent clogs... and he said that a clog was the reason the toilet was flushing slowly and bubbling when it was flushed.
That was a very helpful tip - maybe it was worth the $100 - because ever since we've been able to maintain the toilet's proper flushing function. Now we have to teach the kids to do it too, and to avoid using too much toilet paper, and we can avoid using the plunger, or calling the plumber, all together.
The problem was our toilet in the main floor bathroom was flushing very slowly, and when you flushed it an air bubble would come up (often shooting water droplets out of the toilet - gross). I figured something must have been wrong with the flushing mechanism, something not immediately apparent to the usual back-of-the-tank survey.
The plumber came, looked at it for a while, made one minor (probably inconsequential) adjustment to the chain or something, and said that with these economy low-water usage toilets (in other words, most toilets on the market today), it is sometimes necessary to hold the handle down to make sure it flushes thoroughly. That will prevent clogs... and he said that a clog was the reason the toilet was flushing slowly and bubbling when it was flushed.
That was a very helpful tip - maybe it was worth the $100 - because ever since we've been able to maintain the toilet's proper flushing function. Now we have to teach the kids to do it too, and to avoid using too much toilet paper, and we can avoid using the plunger, or calling the plumber, all together.
