lower level on toilet

[Amateur]

I helped my mother recently remodel her bathroom. She is elderly and needed a new toilet. We had an ADA compliant toilet installed that is “low flow” and this is her problem. We also installed a new shower. The old toilet bowl filled up enough that when she did a #2, there would be no splatter (poop stains) marks on the porcellin (sp). I told her that the low flow toilets did not fill the bowl as high as the older toilet. Am I right? Other than this issue the remodel went real well. The solution I proposed was to gently (with the flush switch) fill the bowl without making it flush. The theory in this is that a bowl full, or close to full, will eliminate this problem. As an aside, when she runs the water in the lavatory the bowl water (in the toilet) level lowers. I explained that this may be the problem associated with the low flow toilets, as well as the negative air pressure (on the venting system) pulling the water out of the bowl. Any advise is greatly appreciated.

[nicktheplumberParticipant]

sgrabiel,

You ask several questions in your post, and I’m not sure if I can answer them all. I’ll try a few.

Properly installed and well-designed 1.6 gal flushers will handle waste quite well. All things being equal, however, 3.5 gal of H2O will flush better…This is just a matter of hydraulics. 1.6 gal toilets have been mandated to conserve water. Some of the early models were poorly designed and got a bad reputation. Toilet design has improved, but you generally get what you pay for. TOTO, KOHLER, and AMERICAN STANDARD make good 1.6gal units, in my opinion, but expect to pay about US$220-450 for them.

The water spot (the rough diameter of the water level on the bowl) varies according to the design of the bowl. All things being equal, you want a larger water spot in the bowl.

A “trick” that works with most low-flow toilets is to keep the tank lever depressed while flushing (rather than just pressing it and letting it go). Most toilets have a float on the flush valve that lets the valve drop when the tank water level drains to a certain point. By keeping the lever depressed, you may keep the valve open longer and let more water into the bowl. The amount is a couple of extra quarts, but it can mean the difference between a good flush and an incomplete one.

I’m concerned about your comment that draining water into the lavatory affects the water level in the toilet bowl. This is a problem and can be caused by only one thing, an improperly designed common vent for the toilet and lavatory. I suspect that your venting system was improperly designed, but you never noticed it before with the old toilet. Or (if you are lucky) it may be that your drains are partially clogged, and you might be able to clean them out.

Hope this helps.

NtP

[Author]

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