The noise you are hearing is probably the flapper valve located in the tank. If they get moldy or brittle, they won't seal like normal and you can hear water draining through. That is about a $10 fix, and I'd definitely not get rid of the toilet for that reason.
As for the problem flushing, it is more likely a pipe problem than toilet. The toilet is sitting at the end of either a 3 or 4 inch line. What is down that line may be your problem. Especially if you have cast iron or even worse, clay pipes. Do you have any idea if you have PVC or what kind of pipes you do have? Are you on septic or city sewer? These can all have effects on how the toilet works. ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Howell To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, July 06, 2009 6:18 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Woes of waste - the crapper crisis Ok, now there's a subject line that grabbed your attention. <smily> Here's the deal and no it isn't a crisis as far as an emergency, but it will eventually have a greater affect on my water usage, which of course affects the bill. Let me see if I can explain the problem as concisely as best I can. This is a name-brand ttwelet, which doesn't matter perhaps, but just want to point out that this isn't the super cheap model and this was installed by a previous owner. WIth all that said here is what the issue is. It seems to take sometimes two or three flushes to get all the contents down the line as it were. It never fills to a point where it will overflow, but what seems to happen is as the contents go down the drain, you don't get the normal sound a twelet makes at the end of the flush cycle. It doesn't do anything and a repeated flush will eventually produce that sound of successful flush cycle. In addition, once the twelet fills, and the valve closes, it sounds as though water is running out of the twelet. To further explain this point, it is as though once it stops filling, water is leaking internally out of the bowl as though water is leaving the trap. THe closest sound that might help make this point is when a tworlet is clogged, fills, and you hear water trickling through the trap, it is sort of like that sound. Now to further carry this point, if I poor water into the bowl, I can cause the same sound and what I have been told is that it is possible there is a defect in the trap. THis defect could actually be causing two issues. One the sound of the water flowing through the trap that normally would be very hard to hear is easier to hear because of the defect and this defect could also cause contents to have difficulty moving through the trap. SO, I guess my question is does that make sense? Sounds reasonable, but I'd like to get some other opinions before I go out and replace this thing. I would not consider replacing it since there is nothing wrong with it, but the fact that at times it takes two to three flushes for proper operation, it will in time become an expense. Any thoughts appreciated. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
