Toilet flushes slugishly

[Anonymous]

You’re not going to believe this but I swear it’s true.
Toilet flushes slugishly.
Tank and valves all OK.
Just cleaned flush holes under rim of bowl.
TOILET FLUSHES NORMALLY IF 2-3 SQUIRTS OF DISH WASHING DETERGENT ADDED TO BOWL JUST BEFORE FLUSH.
After that — no detergent = poor flush every time
add detergent = good flush every time.
Any ideas — have not yet tried closet auger or complete disassembly.

[SylvanLMPParticipant]

Mike believe this or not. When snaking out a sewer I found using detergent helps the snake not only move easier (less restriction) BUT it has the added benefit of cleaning the wire. I think you should try using the toilet auger and see if that helps. Please keep us posted

[GuestParticipant]

What prompted you to try the dish detergent in the first place?

[MikeParticipant]

Thinking I had a clog I used Drano Max Buildup Remover. I noticed that every time I put 2 capfuls in and flushed, it was a good flush. I thought there wasn’t enough time for any chemical reaction to be taking place and the “feel” of Drano Max is just like liquid dishwashing soap. Thought I’d try ….
Anyway, I couldn’t seem to get the toilet auger over and down to the drain so I removed the toilet. There doesn’t seem to be any blockage in either the toilet or the drain pipe. It looks like I didn’t do a good job of cleaning about half the flush holes. When I pour a pail of water in the bowl I can get the siphon action going and the bowl flushes competely. Could a few flush holes under the rim be enough to make the difference?

[MikeParticipant]

Problem solved! Turned out to be hard water buildup in the flush holes under the rim and in related internal passageways. Apparently water was not getting into the bowl at a fast enough rate, so the full siphon action could not get started. Cleaning with a wire was just not good enough. I used both CLR (calcium, lime, rust remover) and muriatic acid to disolve the buildup. This required soaking with the bowl on its side (first one side then the other), propped up so the front of the under rim could soak, and also upside down (under rim all around) and finally right side up. I just reinstalled it this AM and it works like new! Still don’t know why the dishwashing detergent helped it flush before.

[Author]

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