Quickly Repair a Toilet that Won’t Flush in 3 Easy Steps

If you’re faced with a toilet that doesn’t flush, it can present a problem for you and your family. This is especially true in households that use one bathroom.

Lucky for homeowners, it’s a bathroom plumbing problem that’s easy to fix, and in most cases can be done without the help of a Dallas, TX plumbing professional.

Here, we outline different ways you can deal with this problem at home. Here’s how you can repair a toilet that won’t flush in three steps.

1. Pour Water Into the Bowl

If you’re unable to get your toilet to flush, one way to force it is by pouring a large bucket of water straight into the bowl. This will initiate the flushing process, getting rid of any waste while possibly fixing the problem itself.

It’s important to remember you shouldn’t pour the water too slowly or it will simply raise the water level in the bowl. Enough water must be poured in a short amount of time for this trick to work.

2. Find Out If It’s the Flapper in the Tank

If that doesn’t work, it might be time to take a look inside the tank. In most cases, a toilet that doesn’t flush is due to the flapper not being seated correctly.

The flapper, which is located at the bottom of the tank, can open up to let water flow into the bowl and then close so the tank can be refilled. A chain that’s attached to a rod connected to the handle holds it. When the handle gets pushed down, the rod lifts up the chain along with the flapper to begin the flushing process.

Any time you try to flush and no water enters the bowl, but you hear water still running, it’s likely caused by something preventing the flapper from being seated correctly. It could be due to a worn flapper, a loose chain or perhaps the chain is stuck between the flapper and the opening. It’s possible for the problem to be solved by jiggling the handle, but if that doesn’t do the trick, you may have to be more hands-on.

Remove the tank’s lid and see what’s wrong with the flapper. Take care of the problem by properly seating the flapper by hand, re-attaching the chain or pulling the chain from under the flapper. If the tank was empty, it may now fill up with water. Flush the toilet normally and wait to see if the flapper seals the opening correctly. If it does, congratulations, problem solved. Put the lid back on the tank and go about your day.

3. Contact a Technician to Search for Clogs

Should neither of the solutions above work, and you can’t figure out what’s wrong, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a bathroom plumbing technician.

They will inspect your toilet, find the problem and deal with it on-site. If there’s a clog, it may require special tools only a bathroom plumbing professional has to solve the problem.