If you have a toilet that doesn't fully flush, common causes include a clog in the trap, a worn-out flapper, blocked rim jets, a faulty float, or an issue with the handle and chain.
Nope. Flush away to your heart's content. When you flush a toilet with a tank, you open the bottom valve, and a little mechanism keep it open until the tank is empty. While this happens, the inlet valve is also open, so actually most toilets try to fill the tank while flushing.
If you're dealing with a toilet that won't flush, check to see if something is damaged or broken within the toilet cisterns like you would the fill valve if your toilet is running. Check your lift chain, flush valve, water valve, float ball, and more. If you cannot see anything, you may call a plumber.
Start by finding and turning off the water shutoff valve so that no more water can flow into the toilet. The shutoff valve is located behind your toilet, close to the floor. Turn it clockwise until you can't turn it anymore. Then, flush the toilet repeatedly until the tank and bowl are virtually empty.
Ideally, the water level in your toilet tank should sit one to two inches below the toilet's fill valve and/or overflow tube. Some toilets even have a marker on the inside of the tank to indicate where the waterline should be.
For preventive drain cleaning, you can use Drano® Max Build-Up Remover in drains, toilets and even septic systems. Apply Drano® Max Build-Up Remover overnight or before you go to work, then wait 6 to 8 hours before running warm (not hot) water down treated drains or flushing treated toilets.
Check the water valve
There should be a water valve located along the pipe which is most likely placed near the floor or the wall. Make sure that the water valve is turned on. You can adjust the valve to your desired amount of pressure on water flow to the tank. Turn the valve on to its full extent for faster flushing.
With a simple adjustment of your toilet flapper, this is quickly resolved. If your toilet is flushing twice, it is most likely due to the fact that it is staying open too long and flushing too much water. If you have an adjustable flapper, this can be corrected by adjusting your toilet flapper to close quicker.
Why Do You Have to Flush Your Toilet Twice? A broken flapper is the most common reason for having to flush a toilet twice. The flapper keeps water from exiting the tank while the toilet is not in use. If the flapper is broken, water can escape from the tank when the toilet is not in use, forcing you to flush twice.
Ghost flushing, also known as phantom flushing, occurs when the toilet tank flapper is no longer creating a watertight seal with the flush valve, causing water to unnecessarily leak into the toilet bowl.
Over time, flappers wear out, which allows water to continually drain from the tank. The result is not enough pressure released at flush to completely empty the contents of your toilet bowl. You can fix this problem by replacing the flapper. It is easy to do with any standard flapper purchased from a hardware store.
Often, if you have a toilet backing up, it is because your local drain line is compacted with extra thick toilet paper, sanitary products, wipes, or even paper towels. This can result in water backing up into your toilet, causing an overflow.
Caustic Soda
Caustic soda is a nasty chemical that can burn, but it's very effective for unclogging toilets.
Baking soda and vinegar is a marvelous cleaning agent, and when dumped into a clogged toilet, often will break up the clog without you having to do a thing. This is what you want to do: combine two cups hot water with two cups white vinegar.
Who it isn't for: People who are dealing with toilet clogs or those who would rather use a natural drain cleaner. Experts agree: Drano Max Gel is the best overall drain cleaner because it works quickly to get rid of tough clogs.
Pour Hot Water into the Toilet
Boiling water can cause toilet porcelain to crack. Allow the hot fluid to sit in the toilet for a few minutes to loosen the clog. If you see it start draining, you'll know that you've been successful! Finish the job by flushing a couple of times.
Older Toilets Use More
Generally speaking, the older the toilet, the more water it uses. Toilets built before 1982 use 5 to 7 gallons per flush. Now, toilets are designed to flush using only 1.6 gallons of water.
The most common type of sewer backup is from clogged pipes. The combination of toilet paper, hair, soap scum and grease (as well as a two-year-old's fascination with what will and will not flush) are common causes of sewer backups.
There are only three things you can safely flush down the toilet into the sewer system —pee, poo and (toilet) paper. Just remember those three as the three Ps that you can flush. And don't forget, "flushable" wipes are not really flushable.
Ghost flushing indicates either that the toilet's fill tube has been improperly installed, or that the flapper inside the toilet tank is leaky and should be replaced. Inspect the fill tube first, and fix it if necessary. If that doesn't solve the problem, replace the flapper.
Cotton balls, cotton pads, and Q-Tips are definitely not safe to flush — they don't break down the way toilet paper does, and all they really do is clump together in your pipes and cause problems down the line.
However, the most annoying problem is when the toilet will not flush properly. A slow flushing toilet is also referred to as a lazy flush, a phantom flushing toilet, or a lazy toilet.