NationStates Jolt Archive

My new apartment has one flaw, and it is driving me crazy. The toilet cannot be flushed more often than once every 45 minutes; if one person uses the bathroom then nobody else can go for at least 45 minutes, because the toilet simply won't flush for the second person.

Does anybody know if there is a way I can fix this? It's a standard toilet, and the workings in the tank seem pretty straight forward, but I simply don't know anything about them so i don't want to start fooling about on my own. I also don't want to pay a plumber to come fix it if there is some really simple thing I can do myself.

Solution: put a bucket of water next to the toilet

Solution: put a bucket of water next to the toilet

Shit in a bucket? Why not just use the sink?

Shit in a bucket? Why not just use the sink?
the water (that should be) coming out of the toilet will want to join their friends but then get trapped in gravity and shit. Works perfectly

the water (that should be) coming out of the toilet will want to join their friends but then get trapped in gravity and shit. Works perfectly

Uhh...yeah.

Or theres the garden too.

Uhh...yeah.

Or theres the garden too.
or the neighbours garden

erm, let's keep things clean folks (no pun intended)...i don't want this to degenerate into scatalogical humor, lest the Mods unleash their rage upon me.

OK. Oh, you said you lived in an apartment...well, theres always the windo....oh, sorry. :P

Seriously? Call the plumber...I'm willing to bet that most people here wouldn't have a clue despite what they might say.

Serious: Get the lid off the tank. Does it fill up very slowly after you flush? See if you can find out what's blocking the water.

OK. Oh, you said you lived in an apartment...well, theres always the windo....oh, sorry. :P

Seriously? Call the plumber.
*sigh* i know it's the smartest thing to do, and i probably will end up caving in, but i just HATE when i get a repair man or a plumber to come and all they do is twist a bolt and bill me for it. getting chumped by the plumber is a serious ego blow. :P

Serious: Get the lid off the tank. Does it fill up very slowly after you flush? See if you can find out what's blocking the water.

What he just said.

*sigh* i know it's the smartest thing to do, and i probably will end up caving in, but i just HATE when i get a repair man or a plumber to come and all they do is twist a bolt and bill me for it. getting chumped by the plumber is a serious ego blow. :P

Haha, true.

Well, you could try fixing it yourself...

That way, you'll either solve the problem, or make the plumber actually work for his money. A win-win situation.

It may be that the stopcock is adjusted incorrectly.

The flow of water into the cistern is regulated by a valve to which the stopcock is connected. The stopcock is the big floating ball on a stick. The idea is that, as the water level rises, so does the stopcock, gradually turning off the valve unti lthe cistern is full and the valve is closed.
Fiddling with the stick connecting the ball to the valve will affect how much the ball has to rise before it starts to turn off the valve. If the ball is connected by a metal rod, you may be able to bend it by hand - bend it upward, raising the float, and this will have the overall effect of leaving the valve wider open after flushing (hopefully). If that doesn't help then it's probably something more complicated.

This DIY tip has been brought to you by the Royal Institute of Engineers, the Benificent Kingdom of Bristystan.

I'm willing to bet that most people here wouldn't have a clue despite what they might say.

Sounds to me like the cistern is just filling up really slowly. Assuming that you have good water pressure the likely problem is that either the inflow is blocked or twisted out of position. The other option is that ballcock is set incorrectly and is shutting off the inflow to a trickle prematurely. Of course, those wacky americans may have a completely different standard cistern setup...

I know that the word "plumbing" comes from the Latin "plumbum", meaning lead, because the Romans used lead pipes.

Does that help?

;)

The stopcock is the big floating ball on a stick.

No, that's the ballcock. A stopcock is a tap on the incoming pipe.

id have to agree with the guy above me, despite my little knowledge about anything, thats about all i know about toilets


other than that, hit it with a stick

you need to diagnose the problem better than
"it just wont flush"

is it a bowl problem or a tank problem?

if its lack of water in the tank, you need to open it up and take a look at whats happening as its filling up

slow water, leaking, poorly directed water, all possibilities.

the toilet is a pretty simple mechanism. most problems are either not getting enough water IN or having it leak OUT.

figure out which it is and get back to this thread.

oh yeah leaking is easily diagnosed by putting food coloring into the tank and seeing if it leaks into the bowl.

actually if you call the landlord he or his maintenence man will come over, most toilet stuff is so easily fixed tht they HATE to pay a plumber for it.

I think some people just know too much about toilets. haha.

EDIT- Uhh, I've got a DIY problem now as well. The light in my toilet has blown. How do I safely change the globe in the dark, considering i'll need a ladder and flashlight, probably, and therefore be unable to put the globe in properly? I can't use the ensuite, because my parents are asleep in their room.

I think some people just know too much about toilets. haha.
not much to know, open up the tank on the back, thats about it, the water goes up the little ball thing goes up with the water its frigging amazing

I think some people just know too much about toilets. haha.

EDIT- Uhh, I've got a DIY problem now as well. The light in my toilet has blown. How do I safely change the globe in the dark, considering i'll need a ladder and flashlight, probably, and therefore be unable to put the globe in proberly? I can't use the ensuite, because my parents are asleep in their room.
in addition, i wouldnt know my toilet doesnt have lights >_> now the bathroom itself... but even then, you need a LATTER? uhh you got a dome ceiling in there?

I think some people just know too much about toilets. haha.

I worked in a venue one time which was run on a shoestring - amongst my other responsibilities was looking after the plumbing. I have installed more toilet bowls than I care to remember. I discovered the very handy trick there of gluing broken ceramic bowls back together - whenever I heard that one would get smashed the first priority was to isolate the incoming water at the stopcock, and the second was to get all the broken shards. Two part epoxy resin works miracles with smashed bowls.

in addition, i wouldnt know my toilet doesnt have lights >_> now the bathroom itself... but even then, you need a LATTER? uhh you got a dome ceiling in there?

Step-ladder, yes... I can barely reach the globe despite being 6 feet tall. It's pitch black there and the light from the bathroom barely helps. Hmm. This is a dilemma.

EDIT- Uhh, I've got a DIY problem now as well. The light in my toilet has blown. How do I safely change the globe in the dark, considering i'll need a ladder and flashlight, probably, and therefore be unable to put the globe in properly? I can't use the ensuite, because my parents are asleep in their room.

Use a torch.* Make sure that the lights are turned off before replacing the bulb - if it is a pull cord switch it can be hard to tell when it is off and when it is on, so the safest thing to do is turn off the supply to the whole house at the fusebox, and then replace the bulb. Of course, 999,999 times out of a million you will be fine putting a bulb in a live socket, but if you're up a ladder and on your own its probably best not to take that risk.


* For the merkins in the audience, I mean a so-called 'flashlight', not an angry-peasent-flaming-brand-lets-all-go-storm-Doctor-Frankenstein's-castle thing.

Use a torch. Make sure that the lights are turned off before replacing the bulb - if it is a pull cord switch it can be hard to tell when it is off and when it is on, so the safest thing to do is turn off the supply to the whole house at the fusebox, and then replace the bulb. Of course, 999,999 times out of a million you will be fine putting a bulb in a live socket, but if you're up a ladder and on your own its probably best not to take that risk.

Extension cord+desk lamp= both hands free and therefore mission accomplished without chancing slipping off the step-ladder :D

Extension cord+desk lamp= both hands free and therefore mission accomplished without chancing slipping off the step-ladder :D

Excellent. Our agents will be contacting you shortly. You have passed the first initiative test with flying colours. A future career working with International Rescue could await you.

Excellent. Our agents will be contacting you shortly. You have passed the first initiative test with flying colours. A future career working with International Rescue could await you.

Woohoo!!! :D

when you put the globe BACK the light will be on eh? no problem
you dont need to turn off anything in order to change a light bulb just dont use your HAND to find the socket. *shudder*
ok turn the light OFF. you KNOW you are going to end up putting your finger into the light socket.
not good
stand on anything that keeps you steady. keep the door open and youll have plenty of light.
is it really impossible to use the bathroom with the door open?

when you put the globe BACK the light will be on eh? no problem
you dont need to turn off anything in order to change a light bulb just dont use your HAND to find the socket. *shudder*
ok turn the light OFF. you KNOW you are going to end up putting your finger into the light socket.

Uh...I do have at least half a brain!!! lol

is it really impossible to use the bathroom with the door open?

Out of consideration for others, yes. I wouldn't want to wake up in the morning and have that smell throughout the house...and I didn't really fancy sitting there in the dark.

when you put the globe BACK the light will be on eh? no problem
you dont need to turn off anything in order to change a light bulb just dont use your HAND to find the socket. *shudder*

This assumes that nothing strange or unexpected has happened to the bayonet/screw fitting or ceiling rose - if there are wires taht have come loose you can be in for a nasty surprise.


As far as finding the socket goes - there is a trick used by firemen and electricians in the dark, instead of feeling their way with their hands out and their palms facing away from themselves they turn their hands around so that their palms face towards themselves. This means that in nearly all cases should their hands come into contact with a live wire their muscles will contract due to the electricity away from the wiring. If you contact with the palm of your hand, then your muscles will contract and close your hand around the livewire, which is undesireable, to say the least.

As far as finding the socket goes - there is a trick used by firemen and electricians in the dark, instead of feeling their way with their hands out and their palms facing away from themselves they turn their hands around so that their palms face towards themselves. This means that in nearly all cases should their hands come into contact with a live wire their muscles will contract due to the electricity away from the wiring. If you contact with the palm of your hand, then your muscles will contract and close your hand around the livewire, which is undesireable, to say the least.

Actually, yeah. That is something i've heard before.

*Makes a point to remember it this time

Actually, yeah. That is something i've heard before.

*Makes a point to remember it this time

The other trick when dealing with possibly dodgy electrics is to place one hand in a fist at the base of your spine. This means that if you get a shock with the other hand it should be sent to ground up that arm, across the shoulderblades, into your other arm and then down from your coccyx to your feet and to the ground. This means that it shouldn't actually get to your heart which is the real danger.

Anyhow, unless you have a heart condition or similar medical problem household electricity shouldn't cause any lasting harm if you only get a short shock - volts give you jolts, but its the ampage that can burn you.

i had honestly never considered that people who can afford to have a computer and internet access would have really bad wiring

if you live in an old house with bad wiring DONT TOUCH THE LIGHT FIXTURES

just use the toilet with the door open and flush it when you are done. everyone will understand that there could be a bit of smell.

I hate to ask - but did you check the most obvious possibility Bottle? The toilet is connected to your water supply by a 1/4 inch supply that usually has a tap on it. Many people have been known to close that tap before going on vacation so that if the toilet DOES start to leak then at most one tank full will wind up on the floor.

Many landlords do the same after a tenant moves out for similar reasons while waiting for the next tenant.

So check to see if it is all the way open or not.

Other than that - as mentioned it is still one of two things. A water supply problem, or a leak. Trying to describe all the diferent possibilities would take a while, but lifting the lid and watching the tank fill should give you a good idea. Does water seem to be coming in fairly quickly? and does the clapper (or whatever plugging mechanism your toilet uses) seem to close properly to avoid the toilet draining at the same time as it is supposed to be filling?