The end of the cardboard center.

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Kimberly Clark announced this week they will “roll” out their experimental toilet paper roll without the cardboard center.  The move is falling under the “green” wave that is sweeping the nation.  Along with saving money on the carboard up front, they are looking to save money on the recycling of the unused portion of the cardboard. 

What does this mean for us plumbers? Well for starters, many a plumber have credited their successful careers to this little cylinder.  How you ask?  Because many people, believe it or not, will actually flush it instead of throwing it away.   If you have ever done this, you should make that practice a thing of the past. 

What does this mean for the rest of us?  It won’t mean much, unless you have school age children.  What are the kids going to do when they need a 6 inch cylinder for their school projects?  What are they going to use to color on and make a “thingamajiggy” out of when they are bored out of their minds in the middle of February.  Being halloween, I cannot help but think of the problems this is gonna play on the aerodynamics of flying toilet paper rolls over trees by the mischievous youths. 

Does this also mean the demise of the paper towel holder and wrapping paper holder are not far behind.  Somebody must put a stop to this.  I for one, will never tire of playing taps through a wrapping paper holder.

Poor flushing toilet?

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Today we will try to shed some light on why your toilet won’t flush, or flushes poorly.  There are a few causes of this, and most can be remedied.  Most of us have seen the toilet that fills up to the top, swirls around for awhile, and then eventually goes down.  The first thing you will want to determine is, whether or not it CAN flush but is having trouble, or it simply WON’T flush.  A simple test for this is to get a bucket of water, and then flush the toilet and pour the bucket into the toilet at the same time.  If it goes down fine, it is a problem with the water coming from the holding tank through the ports.  If it does not go down ok, then you have a blockage in the toilet itself, or in the drain line serving it. 

If it flushed ok with the bucket test, it most likely has clogged ports.  The ports are located under the rim.  You can use a small mirror and clean these out with a wire coat hanger, screwdriver, or a nail.  You should also clean the main port or “jet” at the bottom of the bowl as well.  After these have been cleaned, pour some vinegar into the tank slowly while holding down the handle.  Vinegar breaks down calcium and lime deposits that have accumulated in your bowls ports.  If you are on well water and have hard water stains in your bowl, this is almost a guarantee that your ports are slowly closing off.  Also, if you have ever used any sort of blue tank tablet, the remains of it may be clogging one or more of your ports.  This can be a little bit of a problem, since it will just move every time you attempt to poke at it.  Don’t worry, it will dissolve in a few MONTHS.

If it did not flush when a pail of water was dumped down it, you will have to address the blockage.  The easiest thing to do will be to try and plunge it a few times.  Be careful about excessive plunging though, as this could actually cause the wax seal to leak.  If the plunger is unable to clear the problem, then you will have to use a toilet auger.  If the closet auger is still unsuccessful, it most likely means that you have a blockage further down your drain system.  This will require the toilet to be pulled and the drain to be snaked.  This is best left to a professional. 

One more possibility could simply be that you have a very poor quality toilet.  Before the ’50’s, toilets used as much as 7 gallons of water per flush! By the end of the ’60’s they were using about 5.5 gallons per flush.  In the ’80’s, toilets were now using only 3.5 gallons per flush.  In 1995 The National Energy Policy Act (H.R. 776) went into effect and mandated toilets to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush.  Unfortunately, almost all of the early 1.6 toilets were terrible flushing units, especially compared to all of their earlier counterparts.  You may have one of these. 

A few more thoughts and suggestions: 1. NEVER use drain cleaning chemicals.  These are only band-aid solutions that will only clear minor scum, but will not remove the actually blockage.  You should always just hire a professional drain cleaner (we DO NOT clean drains by the way) to clear your line properly.  Ancient mummies are still found with hair on their heads, do you really think  chemicals will dissolve it in your drains?  If it did, it would also be eating away at your drain lines, which would be even worse I would imagine.  2. NEVER use a tank tablet.  That pretty looking blue stuff has bleach in it, which eats away at all of the plastic in your tank and can clog your ports. 3. There are some very nice 1.6 gpf toilets available now days.  Most of them will flush better than the 3.5 gpf.  There are also dual flush types, that will flush 1.6 or 1, and there is also a 1.28 gpf.  4. DO NOT put chemicals in your drains.  Did I say that already?

Clean Work Area

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Today was a very welcome surprise.  I was called in to investigate and fix a leak that was occuring somewhere at the toilet.  When I got there, the homeowner told me that she had cleaned all around the toilet for me.  Those of you that know me, know how much this actually meant to me. 

Far too often, when I tackle a project in somebody’s home, there is quite a bit of stuff in the way.  This happens most often when trying to fix something under the kitchen sink or bathroom sink.  Most peoples sink bases are used as storage, and they are almost always full, and need to be cleared out.  This is never a pleasant job, since you never know what you are gonna find under there.  Ant traps, cleaners, jars with mystery fluid, and tupperware are always a big hit.  The bathroom is almost always worse. 

Another problem area is the basement, when a leak needs to be fixed or a water heater replaced.  Now, I certainly don’t expect the area to be made ready for a royal entry, but at least make a path.  There was one job I was on for a Calvin College professor, who seemed to own more books than the congressional library.  The problem was,  75% of these books were in my way.  I doubled as a moving company that day. 

The point of all of this is this: as a courtesy to your service person, whoever it may be entering your home, try to be aware of potential areas they may be working in and make sure it is safe and clean if possible.  This will make the job go safer, smoother and faster, which by the way, will save you money with an hourly plumbing company such as us.  
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All Area, All ready to go!

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We are pleased to be up and running with our brand new blog and interactive “ask the plumber” resource.  A big Thank You to Rebecca LeClaire of www.mcdesignservices.com for all of her fantastic work getting this set up.

It is our hope that you will feel free to ask us anything plumbing related that may be on your mind.   Please remember though, that your plumbing system, and a professional plumber should not be taken for granted.  There are many real dangers involved with plumbing, that should not be taken lightly.  Any advice given should be taken as a guide, or recommendation only, and should not be viewed as a substitute for a qualified professional.  Cross-contamination, backflow, gasses (methane, propane and natural), Legionaires disease, excessive temperature and pressure explosions, flooding, and fire are all very real threats. 

Thank you for stopping by, and have a great day!