Do toilets wear out?

[Maylar]

I've been in this house a couple years now and the toilet has occasionally refused to flush down. A plunger always works, and only once has it actually overflowed.

I've done the requisite cleaning of the waterways under the rim, used some clog remover stuff and finally had a plumber have at it with a snake. None of the upstairs sinks or the bathtub drain slowly, so the main drain isn't clogged.

Can / do toilets just wear out and have to be replaced?

 

[Dland]

More likely some build up in outgoing plumbing.

Toilet innards need to be replaced sometimes,(usually due to leakage) and it is possible there is a buildup inside bowl jets, but I do not see how these could lead to clogging.

 

[passedpawn]

There is no plumbing between the bowl and the street. It's a unimpeded, wide path (no flap, valve, etc).

There might be something jambed down in there. I'd get a new wax ring, then lift the toilet (2 flange bolts), then inspect the drain (pour water down it) and the toilet trap (visual). Replace the wax ring if you reinstall the toilet.

If water isn't draining well down the 4" pipe, you'll need to have it scoped. In Florida, it's often root intrusion somewhere outside the house (roots don't grown into pipes under the house). To fix that, find the cleanout access and dump one of the foaming root rot chemicals down there (into the cleanout). That does work.

If you have access to the waste pipes under your house (e.g., in the basement), you can open them there. I've never done that because here in florida we don't have basements. I do recall my dad doing it when I was young, and the resulting mess was exactly what you'd picture in your mind's eye.

 

[day_trippr]

A plunger that works suggests blockage.

I wouldn't base any conclusions on how grey water systems are flowing, they generally have their own path to the main waste pipe vs toilets. Plus, upstairs sinks would have all that plumbing below them for water to back up; you'd have to run the water that much longer to see if the drains are clear or not...

Cheers!

 

[Bigdaddyale]

I had a similar problem with a slow/double flush and ended up fixing it by adding a couple of cups of muriatic acid to the bowl and letting it soak overnight. It took a couple of rounds but in the end, a big chunk of calcium build up broke off and fixed the problem.

 

[z-bob]

If could also be a clogged vent. When you flush, does it ever gurgle the tub or shower trap?

 

[smata67]

How old is the house?

 

[Zuljin]

If the tank isn't letting out enough water fast enough, anything flushed down won't make the full trip and eventually lead to a backup.

Make sure the tank is filling all the way up after flushes. If not, the float may be too low. If it's the old float on a rod type, the rod can be bent up if there's nonother adjustment. We have one of those two button flushers. The tank would sometimes run after a flush. Turned out, after I had tightened the supply line to stop a leak, I had turned the tower the float is on to where the float would get stuck sometimes. A little fiddling with the tower and the nut on the bottom of the tank had the float free and clear.

The flapper should be adjustable to let more out faster when it's flushed.

Glacier Bay is the two button flusher. It has overflow protection. Very nice. I'll replace the old commode in the master bath with one.

 

[brewingmeister]

I've been in this house a couple years now and the toilet has occasionally refused to flush down. A plunger always works, and only once has it actually overflowed.

I've done the requisite cleaning of the waterways under the rim, used some clog remover stuff and finally had a plumber have at it with a snake. None of the upstairs sinks or the bathtub drain slowly, so the main drain isn't clogged.

Can / do toilets just wear out and have to be replaced?

No, but seals/internals may need redone from time to time.

Sounds like you have an issue somewhere else. Vents maybe?

 

[matt_m]

Issue we had twice at our house...feminine hygenie product applicator that is exactly the right size to go down but catch on the inside of the typical PVC toilet flange. Seems to work until paper builds up on it. Poking at it with a snake doesn't reveal any obstruction and within a short time the wet paper falls off. Pulling the toilet revealed the issue both time.

Permanent resolution was to make the offender call a couple plumbers and ask what they'd charge to fix the issue

 

[homebrewer_99]

You know you can help your pipes by flushing your yeast...

 

[bruce_the_loon]

Toilets don't wear out like, they can start leaking or not filling properly.

Sewer pipes though, they can slowly break down. From roots getting into the underground joints and growing into a clogging nest of nightmare to cooking fats and greases layering on the walls and reducing the diameter of the pipes and even collapsing pipes caused by subsidence and freeze-thaw cycles, the flow rate in the pipes can reduce to the point that clogs build up. Plunging can shift the clog, but it doesn't get rid of the root cause of the problem.

If you're getting these problems more regularly, it is definitely worth getting the lines scoped by camera and cleaned out mechanically by rodding or jetting. Take a look on Youtube at Drain Addict for some horror videos, especially #365 and #103.

 

[passedpawn]

If the tank isn't letting out enough water fast enough, anything flushed down won't make the full trip and eventually lead to a backup.

Make sure the tank is filling all the way up after flushes. If not, the float may be too low. If it's the old float on a rod type, the rod can be bent up if there's nonother adjustment. We have one of those two button flushers. The tank would sometimes run after a flush. Turned out, after I had tightened the supply line to stop a leak, I had turned the tower the float is on to where the float would get stuck sometimes. A little fiddling with the tower and the nut on the bottom of the tank had the float free and clear.

The flapper should be adjustable to let more out faster when it's flushed.

Glacier Bay is the two button flusher. It has overflow protection. Very nice. I'll replace the old commode in the master bath with one.

All the toilets in my house have TWO flappers (American Standard Vormax). It's an interesting design that shoots a high-speed blast of water from a single hole in the bowl side, not from the rim, creating a cyclone in there. I have four of them! I've had them for a couple of years - highly recommended.