Why isn't my Toto Ultramax toilet flushing?

[emmett518]

I have two Toto Ultramax toilets in my house - one in the main house, and one in the MIL apartment over a separate garage.

MIL apartment is connected to the main house via a six inch PVC pipe. There is also a kitchen and bathroom sink in the apartment.

The toilet in the MIL apartment flushes slowly, and it's been getting worse. It does seem to be inconsistent. Sometimes it flushes well, sometimes not.

The kitchen sink in the MIL apartment drains as if a septic tank truck is sucking at the drain. If I fill the sink with water with a stopper in place, and then pull the stopper, the sink drains fast, with huge sucking action.

Bathroom sink works fine, as long as I keep it clean of soap slime.

I tried augering out the toilet with a six foot HD manual auger, but it didn't solve the problem. I'm thinking maybe the vent on the roof is clogged, but I would think that a clog would effect the sinks too.

What am I missing? The toilet tank fills to level, and drains out fine. Lots of water rushes into the bowl, so I don't think the holes are clogged.

What might be causing this?

I hate to blindly troubleshoot by replacing a $600 toilet if I dont' know it's the problem.

Thanks

 

[Jeff Handy]

How does your mother in law fit through that little pipe, haha?

 

[Jeff Handy]

Sounds like too many variables to diagnose without being on site.

 

[Geofd]

Take the tank lid off and watch the toilet flush, is there to much slack on the chain from handle to flapper
Dump a 5 gallon bucket of water down the toilet and see what happens

 

[Geofd]

I have two Toto Ultramax toilets in my house - one in the main house, and one in the MIL apartment over a separate garage.

MIL apartment is connected to the main house via a six inch PVC pipe. There is also a kitchen and bathroom sink in the apartment.

The toilet in the MIL apartment flushes slowly, and it's been getting worse. It does seem to be inconsistent. Sometimes it flushes well, sometimes not.

The kitchen sink in the MIL apartment drains as if a septic tank truck is sucking at the drain. If I fill the sink with water with a stopper in place, and then pull the stopper, the sink drains fast, with huge sucking action.

Bathroom sink works fine, as long as I keep it clean of soap slime.

I tried augering out the toilet with a six foot HD manual auger, but it didn't solve the problem. I'm thinking maybe the vent on the roof is clogged, but I would think that a clog would effect the sinks too.

What am I missing? The toilet tank fills to level, and drains out fine. Lots of water rushes into the bowl, so I don't think the holes are clogged.

What might be causing this?

I hate to blindly troubleshoot by replacing a $600 toilet if I dont' know it's the problem.

Thanks

While we are giving you ideas maybe contact Toto let them know what’s happening between the two groups you will get an answer

 

[CT18]

Sounds like something is wrong with the venting. These newer toilets use 3" flappers which allow a faster dump of water into the bowl, if the air behind it has no where to go it will slow down the flush. I believe that is why the sink is making that sound also, not enough air. This is just a guess as i cant see how anything is piped

 

[Geofd]

Sounds like something is wrong with the venting. These newer toilets use 3" flappers which allow a faster dump of water into the bowl, if the air behind it has no where to go it will slow down the flush. I believe that is why the sink is making that sound also, not enough air. This is just a guess as i cant see how anything is piped

maybe pull the toilet and snake the drain so you know the drain is clear......have you tried the 5 gallon bucket to see how it drains without having to flush the toilet???????

 

[emmett518]

maybe pull the toilet and snake the drain so you know the drain is clear......have you tried the 5 gallon bucket to see how it drains without having to flush the toilet???????

I pulled the toilet, and dumped 5 gallons of water down the drain as quickly as I could. It went down without any problems.

Took the toilet outside, and balanced it on two concrete blocks. Videoed the flush, and sent it to TOTO.

They thought that the syphon part was slow. They suggested brushing that opening out with a bottle brush, and then running a gallon of CLR through the overflow pipe, into the bowl, and out the drain. I put a bucket under the drain, and pumped the CLR back into the overflow in real time. Toto also told me that would flush out the holes around the rim.

The problem is that none of the CLR came out of the holes along the rim. I think that there has to be a huge amount of liquid coming into the area under the flap to fill that area enough to cause liquid to come out of the rim holes.

When I flush, some water does come out those holes.

Is there a way to pump CLR through those holes so they flush out too?

Thanks

 

[Jeff Handy]

Fill up an empty dish detergent bottle with CLR, and squeeze it to spray a stream into the holes around the rim.

Or use an empty and clean toilet bowl cleaner bottle.
It is designed to squirt right in there.

I also take a wire coat hangar, cut it and bend a piece straight, and use that as a tool to poke into the rim holes, sometimes they are full of minerals.