How to Fix a Sluggish Toilet

As long as there is sufficient water running through your toilet drainpipes after you flush, enough air to keep the flushed material moving and no blockages to impede progress, your toilet should operate normally. When any one of these conditions aren't met, though, flushing may be slow and incomplete. Accurate diagnosis isn't always necessary, because you can often correct the problem by plunging the toilet, which is very simple to do. When plunging doesn't work, a basic understanding of the operation of a toilet will help you plan a strategy for restoring it to working order.


Plunge the toilet, submerging the plunger entirely so it makes an effective seal with the toilet bowl. If there is a partial blockage in the waste line, the action of the plunger may loosen it and allow the waste water to flow freely, correcting the problem.


Turn off the water to the toilet and flush it. Put on rubber gloves that cover your entire forearm to grope for obstructions in the toilet P-trap. While the bowl is empty, reach into the inlet and feel for debris. Turn the water back on after you've finished.


Listen for gurgling sounds coming from nearby drains when you flush the toilet. They are a sign that the toilet vents are blocked; the sound is created by air being sucked through the drains. Clear the vents by climbing on the roof, removing debris from the vent openings and spraying water from a garden hose into the openings.


Remove the tank cover and check the tank water level. It should be about an inch below the opening of the overflow tube. If it is lower than that, there may not be enough water to fill the waste pipes and create suction when you flush the toilet. Raise the water level by screwing the float ball clockwise to make the float arm shorter. If you have a cup-style float, shorten the arm that connects it to the shut-off valve so it has to rise higher to turn off the valve.


Straighten out a paper clip and poke it into the water inlet holes around the rim of the bowl to clear mineral deposits. These deposits can slow the flow of water into the bowl, which prevents the formation of suction needed for flushing. They are especially likely to be present if your toilet is old.


Clear the waste lies with a toilet auger if the problem persists after you've adjusted the water flow in the toilet and sprayed water into the vents. Insert the auger into the toilet bowl and feed it in until you encounter resistance. Crank the auger handle to work the head through the obstruction.


Feed a sewer auger through the roof vent if the sluggishness persists. The auger should be long enough to reach through the main soil stack all the way to the sewer, about 20 feet in most cases. Crank the auger handle when you encounter resistance and keep cranking until you've worked through it.