There is nothing more frustrating than using the toilet and then having the flush backfire on you. Not only does this leave you in a mess, but it also causes your toilet area to be stinky.
Get rid of the annoying problem and – learn how to fix toilet water pressure. Try these methods and revive the water pressure in your toilet now.
Table of Contents
- Check For Clogs Or Leakages
- Push Up The Toilet Tank Water Level
- Clean Any Mineral Buildup From Flush Holes
- Enjoy The Rejuvenated Toilet Water Pressure Now!
A typical toilet operates without being significantly impacted by changes in water pressure, albeit low pressure may result in lengthy wait periods between flushes. Pushing the flush handle, however, does depend on the water pressure. For a flush to be effective, a lot of water needs to go fast from the tank toward the bowl. The bowl is emptied by the waste pipe’s suction, which is caused by the water’s flow rate and volume.
With one exception, a toilet that won’t flush completely almost always has a problem with its interior workings. Incorrect supply pressure will prevent a pressure-assist flush system from functioning properly. However, most issues with typical flush valves may be resolved with a few straightforward adjustments or thorough cleaning.
Let’s have a look at the three major steps to having your toilet water pressure restored:
Check For Clogs Or Leakages
The most likely cause of ineffective flushing is a blockage. If you observe that it takes a very long time for your toilet to flush, empty, and fill again, you most likely have a clogging problem. If the pipe is blocked, a toilet drain won’t be able to suck wastewater for long. To determine whether your toilet is backed up, we advise adding a gallon of hot water to the bowl. If the gallon of water doesn’t flush, you most likely have a blockage on your hands.
Here are some steps to detect and seal any leakages that might be causing a lower toilet water pressure:
- Turn off the water supply to the toilet: Locate the shut-off valve of the toilet on the wall and turn it clockwise to stop the water supply. If you want to check for leaks from the tank to the toilet bowl, put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait overnight. If the toilet bowl water has changed colors, there is a leakage.
- Flush the toilet: After turning off the shut-off valve completely, flush the toilet to drain the tank of any water.
- Take off the lid to the toilet tank: To look into the toilet tank properly and inspect the source of clogs or leakages, you need to take off the toilet tank lid and look inside. Make sure that you put the lid on a stable surface, from which it won’t fall off and break.
- Inspect the inner components of the tank: Examine each component inside the toilet tank for any evidence of wear and tear – which is common after years of setting up plumbing. To make things easier, look for the fill valve and the flush valve. The fill valve is a long tube that fills up the tank with water, and the flush valve is like a gateway – a small opening closed with a rubber or plastic lid, which gets pulled by a chain to let the water flush into the bowl.
Two other important components are the ballcock and the chain of the flush valve. If either of them has water inside, the tank won’t fill properly. So shake the ballcock and the chain to get rid of the excess water. Better still, replace these two components. It is easy to get a replacement or repair tools from a local plumbing store – or call a trusted plumber.
Push Up The Toilet Tank Water Level
The toilet tank water level is important to build up water pressure – just like a full glass of water has more weight than a half glass. A half-filled water tank won’t provide the same water pressure – which might also indicate that your main water supply to the toilet has been obstructed.
Let’s go through the steps to increase the water level of the toilet tank:
- Drain the toilet tank free of water: You need to drain the water in the toilet tank because you need to work unobstructed on the parts inside the tank. Close the shut-off valve, open the toilet lid and pull the flush valve in the tank to drain all of the water into the bowl.
- Find the fill valve: In most toilets, the fill valve is a vertical tube placed on one side of the tank. It provides a water supply to the tank and measures the optimum water level in the toilet tank. Fill valves come in ball and cylinder construction – and you can toggle them both for your desired water levels. Ballcock fill valves have a rubber ball that floats above the water level to gauge the height, and the cylindrical one measures the cutoff after which the fill valve is blocked from supplying any more water.
If you notice any damage to the fill valve, replace it immediately.
- Reset the fill valve height: If your fill valve has a ballcock design, you can grab the stem near the balloon gauge and turn it anti-clockwise till it reaches your desired height. You may use a slender object like a screwdriver to do this. For a cylindrical fill valve design, just hold the clips at the cylinder edge and push them up or down as per your desired tank water height.
New toilets seem to have a sliding cylinder mechanism for the fill valve – you need to adjust the screw above the cylinder to adjust its height. Ensure that you mark the water level in the tank before draining it so that you know the normal water level required for a complete flush before you choose your desired water level. To make things easier, some manufacturers mark an optimal level of tank water level on the interior of the tank.
- Test the flush: Now that you have chosen the level to which you want the tank water to be, turn on the shut-off valve and let the tank fill. Now, flush the tank – and observe if you are satisfied with the flush. If you aren’t, repeat the previous steps till you reach the tank fill level of your liking. Ensure that you don’t overfill your toilet water tank because that would make you flush multiple times – which is wasteful.
Clean Any Mineral Buildup From Flush Holes
Wherever water stands stagnant for a long time, impurities clog and corrode. The same happens with the water in your toilet water tank. Mineral deposits of calcium and grime would build up on the inside of your tank and make your water impure and even clog the flush valve. Regular cleaning and scrubbing are required to avoid this.
Most people use bleach soak in their toilet tank to clear the mineral buildup, but we recommend vinegar and hot water soak in the water tank – that would be less corrosive than bleach. This soak being used regularly would reduce the chances of mineral buildup and consequent problems.
Another important part of restoring your water pressure is to clean the flush holes and siphon jets, with the instructions below:
- Empty the toilet tank by closing the shut-off valve and flushing the toilet tank until it is empty.
- Take some waterproof duct tape and stick them on top of the siphon jets to block any pathway down to the toilet bowl.
- Add some vinegar to the toilet tank and let it dissolve.
- Flush the toilet tank so that the diluted vinegar travels down to the siphon jets and cleans any buildup inside.
- Let the vinegar rest for 30 minutes before taking off the duct tape and draining the siphon jets.
- Open the shut-off valve, fill the tank and flush again to get rid of the buildup inside.
If you are not satisfied with the cleaning, you can always use a brush to scrub the siphon jets clean.
Enjoy The Rejuvenated Toilet Water Pressure Now!
We have provided a simple guide to restoring your toilet water pressure. If none of these tips work, you can always seek professional help from an industry-recognized plumbing company that would provide you with cost-effective solutions. However, even if you have little to no plumbing experience, we believe you can fix the water pressure in your toilet in a jiffy, with this detailed guide.
Read More: What Causes Low Water Pressure In The Whole House?