90s low-flow toilets, I hate you...

90s low-flow toilets, I hate you...

Baltimore, MD · Member since 2018 · 431 posts · 281 votes

So the government mandated lower flow toilets in 1994.  It took until about 2005 before manufacturers figured out how to do this without making toilets that clog all the time. I have lived in a townhouse built in 1998 myself, and it was the first time in my life that I clogged a toilet just by using it.  I didn't even just clog it once but multiple times in the 4 months I lived there.

Aaaaand my new condo was built in...1998. Sure enough, all the toilets are original. Sure enough, in the two weeks I was there doing a deep reset, I clogged a toilet and had to plunge it.  And sure enough, because I'm renting to college students and they are still babies, one clogged a different toilet today and has been texting me.  He thought that this was something a handyman needed to fix.  Um...no.  You need to plunge it, I said.

There are 3 plungers already (left by previous tenants) that I distributed among the 4 bathrooms, but of course, his is the one without a plunger.  Since he didn't have a plunger in his bathroom, he had to text me again to inform me of this. I told him to borrow one of the other THREE from one of the other guys or buy one, and that they were left behind as a courtesy.

Babes in the woods.

But that did confirm my decision to replace the toilets when I refresh the bathroom, because his response when the toilet clogged was to flush it twice more until it "nearly overflowed" and he said that he's scared to do it again in case it does overflow.  My mommy senses are tingling and I'm very much afraid that he actually DID overflow it a little and just doesn't want to admit it.

Gah.

There will be a follow-up with a question about the new hotness dual flush toilets...lol.

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Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
5y

Well you could always get a giant one to replace those old fashioned ones.

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  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    @Genny Li always have a handy plunger. I learned this when we had a unit being worked on and one of the workers clogged it for me when it was under reno!      I had your experience with a 50 something women in one of my apartments.  She calls and says toilet is clogged and I say did you plunge it and she says she doesn't know how....what is she supposed to do?

  • Etna Green, IN · Member since 2015 · 207 posts · 157 votes
    5y

    @Genny Li gotta be honest here...i was born in 84 and i have never had to plunge a toilet. I am pretty handy tho and i could probably figure it out.

  • Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    New toilet $100 at Lowe’s or Home Depot 

    Installation $50 - $100


    seems pretty simple a pretty simple solution to me 

  • Baltimore, MD · Member since 2018 · 431 posts · 281 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Colleen F.:

    @Genny Li always have a handy plunger. I learned this when we had a unit being worked on and one of the workers clogged it for me when it was under reno!      I had your experience with a 50 something women in one of my apartments.  She calls and says toilet is clogged and I say did you plunge it and she says she doesn't know how....what is she supposed to do?

     There were 3 in the unit for the 4 bathrooms!

  • Baltimore, MD · Member since 2018 · 431 posts · 281 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Michael Plante:

    New toilet $100 at Lowe’s or Home Depot 

    Installation $50 - $100


    seems pretty simple a pretty simple solution to me 

     I'm going to start changing them out myself over Christmas. Which is why I have another thread about toilets. But it's $400. 4 toilets. 

  • Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    5y

    Well you could always get a giant one to replace those old fashioned ones.

  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    @Genny Li   yes I heard you,  Just telling you how I learned my lesson even during the reno.  At least your tenant was a 20 something...

  • Baltimore, MD · Member since 2018 · 431 posts · 281 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Colleen F.:

    @Genny Li   yes I heard you,  Just telling you how I learned my lesson even during the reno.  At least your tenant was a 20 something...

     Lol!!!!! I knew already that I was renting to babies so I would have bought one if I didn't already have one there even before I clogged the toilet myself. I wouldn't have thought of it if they were actual full adults. 

    One asked me today, "How much is the rent again?" so he could send it via Zelle. *facepalm*

  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    5y

    Just tell him to add fiber to his diet and he won't be clogging toilets... Seriously, some people have poo problems or they use a half roll of toilet paper cleaning up. Either way, any toilet clogs when there is too much trying to go down. You can also suggest the "flush twice" method to him. Flush once after you do the deed and once after you wipe. Less to clog in each flush.

    I would also say in my experience that low flow toilets made today can still be a problem. The type they install in spec homes or the $99 Home Depot special will have the exact same issues. The toilet needs a larger trap and better flow angle. You need to spend a few bucks to get a good toilet. I have gone through all my properties and replaced toilets. The old 6 gallon toilets would overflow if there was a clog and they wasted water.

    Like most things, there are two sides to this debate. I have seen landlords argue that 30 year old toilets are the best. They dump 6 gallons a flush, but all that water keeps the drains clean. Anything will go down and not clog the main. The newer toilets drop 1.6 gallons and if someone flushes a wet wipe, you can clog a drain. Some people prefer the clog to happen at the toilet, figuring if it is harder for large things to pass, it protects the drain more. 

    One other suggestion is spell out in your lease who's responsibility a clogged toilet is. A toilet clog is almost never a landlords problem.

  • Baltimore, MD · Member since 2018 · 431 posts · 281 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:

    Just tell him to add fiber to his diet and he won't be clogging toilets... Seriously, some people have poo problems or they use a half roll of toilet paper cleaning up. Either way, any toilet clogs when there is too much trying to go down. You can also suggest the "flush twice" method to him. Flush once after you do the deed and once after you wipe. Less to clog in each flush.

    I would also say in my experience that low flow toilets made today can still be a problem. The type they install in spec homes or the $99 Home Depot special will have the exact same issues. The toilet needs a larger trap and better flow angle. You need to spend a few bucks to get a good toilet. I have gone through all my properties and replaced toilets. The old 6 gallon toilets would overflow if there was a clog and they wasted water.

    Like most things, there are two sides to this debate. I have seen landlords argue that 30 year old toilets are the best. They dump 6 gallons a flush, but all that water keeps the drains clean. Anything will go down and not clog the main. The newer toilets drop 1.6 gallons and if someone flushes a wet wipe, you can clog a drain. Some people prefer the clog to happen at the toilet, figuring if it is harder for large things to pass, it protects the drain more. 

    One other suggestion is spell out in your lease who's responsibility a clogged toilet is. A toilet clog is almost never a landlords problem.

    Loool! I can assure you that I don't normally clog toilets, and I don't use much TP. Literally the only toilets I've clogged has been these late 90s toilets. I think it may even be the exact same model of American Standard toilets in my condo as in our corporate rental (that I was renting, not owning)!

    I have lived with $99 dollar spec toilets and literally never clogged one. I liked them fine. (I had to do something about the mint green and Smurf blue toilets before I got around to gutting the bathrooms. I donated them when I replaced them btw, so no waste there. Some vintage fanatic even took one of the old ones!) But which ones have less problems in your experience?

    Of course, I made him deal with it himself. :) I'm their landlady, not their mommy!

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