Weird Flushing Behaviors And How A Plumber Can Address Them
Is your toilet behaving badly or strangely? There are certain things you can do to address its behavior. Actually, for most toilet behaviors, you are better off calling a plumber. They don't just work on pipes, after all. They have experience fixing all sorts of water-related appliances, including toilets. Here are some common, weird toilet behaviors and how a plumber will likely address them.
Behavior #1: Making you hold the handle down forever.
Does it seem like every time you flush, you have to hold that toilet handle down for ages? You might get annoyed when others in your house don't do this, resulting in residue being left in the toilet. Chances are, this is happening because the chain that connects your toilet's flush handle to the flapper has elongated. A link or connection may have broken. A plumber can open the back of the toilet, replace the chain, and save you some time on every subsequent flush.
Behavior #2: Acting like you flushed when you didn't.
After you flush, your toilet tank should refill with water. But strangely behaving toilets will sometimes refill their tanks even when you have not recently flushed. No, there is not a ghost in your house. Your flapper is just broken. The flapper is a piece of plastic that sits over the pipe that leads from the tank to the toilet bowl. If it cracks, water starts leaking through it. Thus, your toilet bowl stays full, but the tank keeps emptying, and your toilet has to keep refilling the tank. Flappers only cost a few dollars, and thankfully, a plumber can replace one pretty quickly.
Behavior #3: Flushing and having "stuff" come back up.
Does it appear that everything has gone down the toilet, only to have some of it come back up again? This usually points to a partial blockage in the main drain pipe at the base of your toilet. Sometimes, plunging it will do the trick. If that does not work, a plumber can use a hydro jet to blast away that grime. Then, your flushed stuff will stay where it belongs instead of making a reappearance.
If your toilet is behaving weirdly, it's not just weird -- it needs some repairs! Contact a plumber in your area. Almost every plumber should offer the basic services described in this article. Describe your toilet's behavior and schedule a time for them to come make repairs.