I wanted to add that I have poured a 5 gallon bucket of water down the toilet.

There is no gurgling and it disappears just fine, and causes the contents of bowl that were present prior to go down the drain.

Thanks.

David

A couple things to do, if you haven' yet.

Clean the holes under the rim with a piece of hanger and/or soak it with vinegar. Might have mineral deposits slowing the flow from the tank to the bowl. Also clear the hole under the flapper. (BTW, if you happen to use those tank tablets, stop. They dissolve and can block the holes and pathway below the flapper, too.)

Pull the toilet and check for something caught in the base of the toilet. Eg. piece of plastic such as a razor blade cover, bottle cap or any other "disposables". An alternative (that I've never tried) is to wet-vac everything out of the bowl a few times in an attempt to remove the presumed object from the toilet base. You need to do a partial flush first to get water past the toilet trap and onto the presumed object. (This method is a bit of a longshot since it would have to be oriented properly to travel through the trap loop.)

This post was edited by homebound on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 8:31

If a bucket of water flushes the toilet properly, there is NO REASON to look under the bowl. The problem is that the water in the tank is not going to the bowl fast enough. Could be a number of different causes.

I know what you mean. Still, I have found the problem under the bowl more than once, even when a bucket seemed to drain freely.

Thanks for the replies.

I have cleaned out the holes under the rim and they seem okay. I have not pulled the toilet. I have snaked the toilet from the bowl with one of those big fat short snakes. I guess if I pulled the toilet I would probably install a new one while at it, just in case.

So what do you all think about the house leveling business being the cause?

If I pulled the toilet I would want to put new tile down. If I was putting new tile down then I would want to redo the vanity. If was putting in a new vanity I would want to do the walls....

Thanks.

David

Take the lid off. Lift the flapper (and keep it open) until the tank drains. How does it flush? As good as pouring a bucket of water or not?

I did what you recommended and watched the water in the tank and the bowl as I held the flapper open.

The flush is definitely lackluster, the water seemed to drain slowly, the toilet did not flush fully this time.

I would say that it is not as good as pouring the bucket. When I poured the bucket it was not instantaneous

Did the water (in the tank) flow to the bowl slowly/poorly? Or did the water enter the bowl normally/quickly, but then drain from the bowl poorly? That's the key.

I would say it drains slowly in the tank. I watched my other toilet, a toto drake, and it emptied the tank much faster.

The slow toilet's bowl empties slowly as well, but maybe that is due to the slow tank?

David

Quoting myself: "The problem is that the water in the tank is not going to the bowl fast enough."
Quoting David: "The slow toilet's bowl empties slowly as well, but maybe that is due to the slow tank?"

I need to spend my time elsewhere.

David,please understand it's often difficult figuring out a misbehaving toilet when you are there and can see it. It's 10 fold as difficult when we can't see it. Let's try something else before giving up. Look for a hole about finger size near the bottom of bowl inside front. The hole is on oppisite side in front of where water leaves the bowl at rear. Do you see a collection of minerial deposits partly blocking the hole? If yes,dip and spounge water from the
bowl . Fill the bowl 2 inches above small hole with vinigar and alow to sit overnight. Useing whatever improvised tool available to scrap the soffened diposits from inside the hole. Poke as far as possible up inside to dislodge deposits. Clearing the bowl of deposits floating in it and replacing with clean water will alow you to see if additional deposits are being dislodged. Refill tank and bowl to see if flush improves.
If no such hole is present,say so and we will continue.

Yes!!! Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!

I was out of vinegar so I go an allen wrench set that is set up like a swiss army knife and I held onto the middle and jammed progressively bigger wrenches into that hole. It was definitely small and crusty to begin with. I kept at it. Then I got a cheap pocket tool with a blade and put it in there and scraped it around. There were a bunch of deposits.

Then I filled it back up and flushed 4-5 times in a row. I could not believe it was flushing each time!

Two different plumbers, 20K gallons of soaker hose water, 2 years of frustration, all flushed down the toilet!

Thanks klem1, homebound, and you too bus driver. You took the pieces of puzzle and solved the problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gonna Fly

This post was edited by davidmk on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 7:09

I'm glad it's fixed and you are welcome. I would also like to thank you for taking time to post back with results. Most of those asking for help never take the time. It's important to post outcomes so that if another has a similar problem they have benifit of your resolution. I hope those who defend incompitent contractors and exorbitant rates are taking note of what that plumber did for you in exchange for the money he took from you.