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Toilet Repair - Fixing a Toilet That Doesn't Flush
There can be several reasons why a toilet doesn't flush.
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Broken Lever - When you operate the handle on the outside of the toilet, it operates a lever inside the cistern and that could be broken.
These can be easily fitted. The lever pulls on a wire. The rod of the siphon that the wire connects to could be broken, or the wire may have come unhooked. The benefits of do-it-yourself fixing a toilet are evident in particular where the cause of a problem is found to be as simple as when the wire has come unhooked. Just think for the brief minute it takes you to solve this problem of the hassle, time and money that could have been wasted on a call-out to a plumber!
Split Diaphragm / Broken Siphon- The most common cause of the toilet not flushing and needs fixing is that the diaphragm is split. The siphon works by a diaphragm lifting up a load of water, pushing it round the bend. When it goes round the bend it starts a self-perpetuating siphon action - that's the flush, and it carries on until all the water in the cistern has gone. But if the diaphragm, which is made of plastic, is split then it won't ever successfully pull the water upwards. So you may need to replace the diaphragm or the whole toilet siphon.
Keen decorators who have paneled in the toilet cistern make this job of replacing the siphon more difficult, because the paneling will have to be removed to gain access.
Replacing just the diaphragm may be the only option if the siphon is an unusual design, such as one that incorporates the mountings for an overhead push-button linkage rather than the more common type previously described.
Fixing / Replacing Toilet Siphon
To fix or replace the toilet siphon, turn the water off and then flush to get rid of most of the water from the cistern. You can bail the rest of it out using a small jug, or other container. When the cistern is empty, disconnect the wire linkage that operates the siphon.
Then disconnect the pipe from the bottom of the siphon, which involves undoing the nut and sliding it down the pipe that leads to the toilet. You may need a pair of water pump pliers with a jaw capacity of at least 50mm for this, or you may be able to do it by hand. Then undo the nut that holds the siphon into the cistern, which results in the siphon rising up inside the cistern. When the nut's completely undone, you can take it out and then put in the new one, do the nut up again and replace all the other bits you've taken off. When you put the new siphon in, make sure the sealing washer is in place, or it will leak.
Water Level - When you are fixing and replacing the siphon, the water level inside the cistern may need to be adjusted. You can do this by adjusting the level screw on the ball cock. You may find that the new siphon requires a higher or a lower level of water, but you can experiment to see what produces the best results.
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TIPS: For a close coupled toilet
For a close-coupled toilet, the whole cistern will need to be lifted off. This entails emptying the cistern as much as possible (as before), disconnecting the pipe to the ball cock, disconnecting the overflow pipe, removing the wood screws that secure the cistern to the wall and finally undoing the two wing nuts on the bolts that clamp the cistern to the toilet. In extreme cases these may be rusted up and will have to be cut with a hacksaw, so you should have a new close-coupled toilet kit on hand (these cost about £10). Be careful not to break the porcelain. Access is very difficult. You can often get away with cutting part way through the bolt and then bending it until it snaps. The bolt can be so badly rusted that its swelling can crack the eye in the porcelain toilet pan.
When fitting a new siphon to a close-coupled toilet it's not so important that it doesn't leak, because any weeping will pass down the toilet pan. The nut that secures the siphon also secures the metal plate that the clamping bolts pass through. A close-coupled toilet fixing kit includes a new plate, two bolts and a rubber doughnut for the cistern to sit on.
TIPS: Checking for an overflow
You may find when you purchase a property that the previous owner has replaced the toilet cistern without reconnecting the overflow. Perhaps they thought it was too much trouble to make a 30mm hole through a cavity wall, or perhaps were unaware of the need for an overflow. In such circumstances it is possible to replace the siphon with a flapper type flush valve, which has a built in overflow. This ensures that if the ball cock fails, the water level will rise and then pass down the overflow into the toilet pan, rather than overflowing the cistern and ending up on the floor. The removed siphon may be kept for re-use at another property.
Good luck with fixing your toilet!
