FLOOD BY TOILET

[Allen Scotby]

I posted a message a few days ago regarding the toilet in my new apartment. To recap, my son used the toilet in our new apartment(to urinate) in my new apartment for the first time, and we immediately left to finish moving out of our old apartment. When we came back a few hours later, there was water coming out our front door. Inside, there was at least 3 inches of water in almost every room! Upon investigation, we found that the water was coming from the toilet. We turned off the water and called the manager. He came and plunged the toilet. Immediately, the water level in the toilet bowl (which had been overflowing) dropped. The manager said that the toilet was clogged, and that is why our apartment flooded. I say that a clogged toilet doesnt usually overflow enough water to flood an entire apartment – unless something else is wrong with the toilet. When we looked in the tank, we noticed that the flapper wasnt closing, because the flapper line (or rubber line attached to the lever and the flapper) was folding up and catching onto itself, preventing the flapper from closing onto the valve in the bottom of the tank. We think that this is why the flooding occurred – the toilet was clogged and because the flapper didnot seal onto the valve, the water continued to run into the bowl for three to four hours. My questions: How could the toilet be clogged when we had only used it once and then only to urinate? Why would a clogged toilet flood an large apartment? Ie, would an otherwise functioning but clogged toilet cause such a flood – or would there have to be something else wrong with the toilet to make it release so much water?

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