Many people don’t know that under the flood rim of a toilet is a series of holes about an inch apart. This is where the water that washes down the sides of the bowl and makes the flushing action comes from.
Over time, in older toilets, these holes become clogged with that good old Lake Mead calcium and lime and causes the lazy flush. One more example of the need for some type of water conditioner in the home.
We used to use wire coat hanger ends to ream these holes out but then the movie Mommies Dearest came out and Faye Dunaway scared us big bad plumbers. “No more wire hangers ever!”
The fact is that the Lake Mead soup is especially insidious. It clogs up the toilet apparatus entirely, one can not just ream out the holes, the toilet must be replaced. When I go to and older house and I see the all too familiar lazy flush, I usually recommend the toilet be replaced. Then the customer is good to go for another 20 years if they have a water conditioner. I think it should be mandatory that all homes in the Las Vegas Valley have water conditioning systems because not having one causes so much damage to the plumbing system. They have legislated several new plumbing applications in recent years that I don’t think are nearly as important as water conditioning.
Happy flushing!
