Know how to Convert Low Flow Toilet to High Flow
If you are tired of the insufficient flushing power of your toilet, we have brought you a dependable solution. We’ll help you convert low-flow toilets to high-flow. Although low-flow toilets are meant to be environment-friendly and save water, they defeat that purpose by being inadequate. You can definitely increase the flow of your toilet on your own to solve this problem.
How To Convert Low Flow Toilet To High Flow- A Guide
While all low-flow toilets cannot be converted into high-flow ones. There are some things you can definitely try to make it work. Follow the given procedure to make your toilet flush better.
Examine the clogs
It is very important to determine the root cause of a problem before you arrive at a solution. It is possible that the low flow of your toilet is because of certain clogs. To determine the presence of these clogs, you must pour about one gallon of water into your toilet and then flush.
If your toilet is able to flush all the water with ease, then the low-flow cannot be attributed to any clog present in the toilet. If your toilet fails to flush all the water, there could be a clog blocking the proper flow. Such a clog can be adequately cleared with the help of a plunger.
Another useful tool in clearing clogs is the toilet snake. This tool can reach all the way up a pipe and break down any build-up of debris in the U-bend. You can safely insert the toilet snake up to the bottom of your toilet bowl and keep pushing until you are certain about the presence of the blockage.
Toilet snake is a very efficient instrument that also lets you know when you have safely unclogged the toilet because you feel the relief due to the loosening of the clog.
Check the water level
Remove the cover of your toilet tank and check the level of water. If the water level is lower than normal, you can raise the tank height to the appropriate height to correct it. This may be the reason behind your toilet’s low flow.
The insufficient water level in the tank would imply that there isn’t enough water to meet your demands during a flush. The adjustment of the float should be able to correct the water level. An increase in the length of the float valve level would imply that more water goes into the tank before it is shut down. Adjust the float until the water level gets set between the maximum and minimum markings of your toilet tank.
Look for clogs in flush holes
It is possible for flush holes to get clogged. This factor can also cause the low flow in your toilet. The clogging of the flush holes generally occurs because of lime or mold.
Such a clog can be cleared with the help of a coat hanger, bobby pin, or a small drill bit. Once the flush holes have been cleared, you may flush the toilet to see the difference.
Clean the rim jets
The rim of your toilet has small holes on the underside that serve to supply water into the toilet bowl. Rim jets can get clogged over time because of various deposits that build up. Thus, a lesser amount of water will be supplied to your toilet bowl and the flow will be reduced.
You can utilize a thin wire to clean out your rim jets by scraping. Usually, a coat hanger is bent and utilized for this purpose. The exterior and the interior rims of the jet must be adequately scraped. You might witness the appearance of clogging debris at the tip of the scraping wire. Once the rim jets have been scraped sufficiently, you can scrub them clean with the help of a reliable toilet cleaner.
Use bleach
The next solution involves cleaning your toilet with bleach. This is recommended when the mechanical methods to improve your toilet’s flow fail to work. Bleach can effectively dissolve organic and inorganic residues and help in cleaning the toilet. Shut down your toilet’s water supply and clear out all the water present inside the toilet. You then have to pour about one gallon of bleach into the bowl and let it rest for about fifteen minutes.
Concentrated bleach is a reliable cleaning agent but it can also deteriorate the structure of your toilet due to its harsh action. That is why it is recommended that you utilize a mixture that is two parts water and one part bleach.
Now flush the toilet. This will be a cue for the bleach to act on the hidden culprit behind the low flow of your toilet. Any unrecognized blockages may be cleared just with the use of bleach. When you turn on the supply of water again, check the toilet’s status by flushing it again and see if the low-flow has been improved. Flushing properly after the use of bleach is essential so that no bleach remains in the pipes and there is no corrosion.
Soak in vinegar
Vinegar is a very powerful and reliable ingredient when it comes to issues related to the toilet. Also, it is not as harsh as bleach so that no harm occurs to the structure of your toilet. Open the lid of your toilet tank. Then carefully remove the rubber hose situated at the head of the overflow. Let the tube remain inside the tank and position the funnel at one end.
Through the tube, pour down about 1 quart of vinegar. Let this vinegar rest for some time and then add baking soda until it starts hissing. Let this vinegar remain in your toilet for about two hours and don’t disturb your toilet in the meantime. You can then flush the toilet and see if the flow has improved.
You can also utilize a mixture of vinegar and baking soda. As vinegar is very acidic, it acts well on the basic depositions in the toilet and helps in effectively clearing them. Make sure that you don’t add more baking soda than is required as it could cause a deplorable explosion of the bubbly contents of the toilet on you.
Check the flush valve
The flush valve lies at the bottom of the tank and is often recognized as the site of such problems. It is possible that your flush valve has been damaged or degraded over time. This would leak water into the bowl even when you aren’t flushing.
Whether the issue lies with the flush valve can be analyzed by pouring some drops of a food colorant into the water tank. If this causes a change in the color of water in your toilet bowl, it implies the inefficient seal of your flush valve. Inspect your flush valve for signs of damage. Check its sealing abilities by pushing back the ring. If there is a problem with your flush valve, it’ll have to be replaced.
Get a new toilet
If you have applied all the given steps and consulted a plumber but the low flow in your toilet still hasn’t been corrected, you must consider discarding this inefficient toilet and getting a new one in its place. The perfect solution for this problem is definitely a replacement.
This time, get yourself a toilet with a larger tank that can hold in more water and flush more powerfully than your previous toilet.
Rebuilding your toilet
There are certain differences in the basic construction of a low-flow toilet that make it different from high-flow ones. The water line in low-flow toilets is located near the front of the toilet bowl. This allows much more part of the bowl to remain submerged in water. Also, the flush valve of low-flow toilets is much larger than high flow ones. The larger size of the valve allows more water to flow and allows a quicker removal of waste.
It is not really possible to convert a low-flow toilet into a high-flow one. This is because the basic construction of a low-flow toilet is different as compared to a high-flow one. You can only convert a low-flow toilet into a high-flow one by essentially rebuilding its basic structure. This would require a lot more effort than the problem demands. It is suggested that you rather buy a new toilet.
Conclusion
You cannot magically convert a low-flow toilet into a high-flow one because of the basic differences in their structure. But you can apply certain techniques that increase the flow of water into the toilet bowl and help you flush more effectively.
However, low-flow toilets are designed to utilize minimum water so the maximum amount of water in the flush may be limited. The best solution is a complete transformation of the integral structure of the toilet. Otherwise, get yourself a new toilet that supplies sufficient water during flushing. Never get stuck with a problem!