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Discussion Forum

How do you force a toilet to flush?

WillieWonka | Posted in General Discussion on April 30, 2006 05:01am

Have another situation here I never encountered before. HO calls me to tell me their toilet won’t flush. This is an original toilet when the house was built, so it’s a 40yr old toilet. Apparently the ravages of time have caused intense mineral deposits to build up in the bowls hole that helps the contents to flush away, that little water inlet hole at the base of the toilet bowl is what I’m referring to. HO notices that that hole is fully plugged with deposits, rations that this is causing it to not flush properly. HO decides to replace with new toilet, I get the call to do the job. The problem is that I’m gathering that there are still some “contents” in the bowl from the prior use where it stopped flushing. If this indeed is the case, is there a way to force the bowl to flush along with its subsequent contents so that i can drain the water out “cleanly” and replace the dang thing as I do any other time?

If at first you don’t succeed, try using a hammer next time…everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time.  -ME
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Replies

  1. Stuart | Apr 30, 2006 05:07am | #1

    As long as the drain isn't clogged, just pour a bucket of water in the toilet bowl to flush it.

  2. User avater
    LEMONJELLO | Apr 30, 2006 08:05am | #2

    What Stuart said.

  3. DanT | Apr 30, 2006 11:20am | #3

    Ditto above.  DanT

  4. cat | Apr 30, 2006 02:08pm | #4

    who really thinks he would have posted here if that were the simple case? and why would a HO call him if it were that simple too?

    1. User avater
      MarkH | Apr 30, 2006 02:35pm | #5

      Nothing is simple about a toilet.

  5. User avater
    skip555 | Apr 30, 2006 04:32pm | #6

    if the water dosnt do it a toliet auger ought to clear it

    auger then flush with pleanty of clean water .

  6. peteduffy | Apr 30, 2006 04:38pm | #7

    Shop vac.

    If you don't want to clean yours afterwards, buy a cheap one and throw it away when you're done, and biill the customer.

    But the bucket of water trick by all the other posters usually works well.  I've  always used hot water, and hold the bucket as high as I can when pouring (without splashing).

    Pete Duffy, Handyman

  7. DanH | Apr 30, 2006 04:56pm | #8

    Yeah, bucket of water. Preferably use a 5-gallon mud bucket with about three gallons in it, but a nearly full standard bucket will work. Pour it in rapidly but stop if the bowl threatens to overflow.

    If that doesn't flush it then the drain is clogged -- snake it out with a closet auger.

    You can use a dilute acid to clear the lyme deposits, vs having to change out the toilet. Of course, you'll probably make more money changing the toilet, and the newer one will be more water-efficient.

    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
  8. andybuildz | Apr 30, 2006 05:44pm | #9

    And here with the title of this thread I thought it was gonna be a riddle.
    "How do you force a toilet to flush?"
    Put Saran Wrap over its face?

    If Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!

    TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]

    1. chascomp | Apr 30, 2006 06:58pm | #10

      Or force it to listen to a dirty joke?

      1. highfigh | Apr 30, 2006 07:13pm | #11

        Or catch it in a compromising situation.
        "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

        1. chascomp | May 01, 2006 01:03am | #21

          "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."You must have heard the one about the guy who had to cut a door down so it would clear his new carpet. He took it down and cut 1/2" off and put it back up. Still too long. Took it down again and cut another 1/2" off, put it back up and it was still too long,so now he's mad. So he takes it down and cuts an inch off. Puts it back up and damn it's still too long. He glances up and the top of the door is 2 inches below the header.

          1. DanH | May 01, 2006 01:56am | #22

            This actually happened to my FIL. He was trying to keep a screen door from dragging. I watched him and asked "Are you sure you're trimming the right end?" but he just kinda sneered and went ahead.
            If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

          2. highfigh | May 01, 2006 03:15am | #23

            My parents built their house in the early '50s and while dad was doing the basement, he decided to hang the workshop door so it would swing in and not go into the hallway. He and a neighbor did a fine job of cutting it to size, morticing the hinges and hanging it. First time they opened it, it smacked into the I beam going down the center of the house. They just sat down on the stairs and laughed their butts off.
            "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

    2. User avater
      MarineEngineer | Apr 30, 2006 08:15pm | #12

      "How do you force a toilet to flush?"

      Put Saran Wrap over its face?

      totally irrelevant trivia here:

      when I head out to sea, and know that no one will use my toilet for months and months, I put saran wrap over the bowl. This keeps the water from evaporating and letting sewer gasses into my apartment.

      and did you know that a cactus can survive 4 months without water?

      OK, end thread hijack

      Angelicas Kitchen. When????

      Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas

      1. DanH | Apr 30, 2006 09:44pm | #13

        Do you remember to take it off before using the pot?(This might be a good place to use the colored plastic wrap.
        If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

        1. User avater
          MarineEngineer | Apr 30, 2006 10:02pm | #14

          Do you remember to take it off before using the pot?

          Haven't made that mistake yet.

          one time, in my "before saran wrap" days, I came home and found a dead bird in the toilet. My buddy Joe had wanted a book that he knew I had, so opened a window and climbed into my house to get it. Jammed the window, couldn't close it ... SO HE JUST LEFT that pineapple. Bird came in, got lost, and died in my toilet.

          So I get home, and man do I gotta go ... and ... whadaya do? Only bathroom in the place. Gotta remove the bird, while holding on for dear life.

          Life of a sailor.

          Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas

      2. andybuildz | Apr 30, 2006 11:29pm | #16

        you could just shut the water off behind the bowl ya know...lol.
        Angelica's Kitchen? Maybe next weekend sometime...I'll let ya know.If Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!

        TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]

        1. User avater
          MarineEngineer | Apr 30, 2006 11:35pm | #17

          you could just shut the water off behind the bowl ya know...lol.

          I'm trying to keep the water in the trap from evaporating.

          as for the weekend, keep in mind that I sell pork at the farmers market at Union Square each Saturday, so 7AM to 6PM is booked. Otherwise I'm available.

          Marine Engineerfair winds and following seas

          1. andybuildz | May 01, 2006 12:37am | #20

            you mean yer a hooker? Geezzzzzz...who'd a guessed? Next thing you'll be tellin' me is you go out to sea for months at a time.If Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!

            TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]

    3. User avater
      RichBeckman | Apr 30, 2006 11:26pm | #15

      "How do you force a toilet to flush?"You take a sledge into the room and say "Flush, or the sink gets it."Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.

      1. User avater
        Heck | Apr 30, 2006 11:47pm | #18

        .View Image"Citius, Altius, Fortius"

        1. User avater
          RichBeckman | May 01, 2006 05:35am | #24

          Heck,LOL!!! That's great!!!That brings all new meaning to a sweating toilet.
          Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.

      2. andybuildz | May 01, 2006 12:34am | #19

        HAHAHA good oneIf Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!

        TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]

  9. BillBrennen | May 01, 2006 09:05am | #25

    Shaped explosive charge

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