treasureforu,

You have a toilet which is older than 1994 and is a "Gravity" flush toilet. Water pressure does not affect the flushing, just the refill time. You have 6 gallons to flush, so plenty of water, does the water swirl in the bowl when you flush? If not, the holes along the underside of the rim may be getting clogged. The swirling action helps keep the bowl clean. Could also be the tank is not entirely flushing, short flush. Watch the tank level when you flush, is the water level dropping to the bottom of the tank?

What type of piping do you have in the house? Is it galvanized? Can you drain the water heater? Or is the drain clogged?

Hope that helps,

Dan Martyn

Thanks Dan! After I posted this I realized that the water pressure would not be the problem with the toilets because of the tank. Our house was not built until 1997 but I suppose it could be an old toilet if the builder had some in stock. The tanks don't empty well at all. You have to hold down the flush handle for a really long time to get the tank down to about 1/3 filled. The average person would not hold down the handle long enough to get even half the tank emptied. So I guess that could be the problem. Is that something that can be fixed or would it be better to get new toilets?

The water pressure in this house is very low compared to our last home which is about 7 miles from here. It might be a city water problem though so I will call and see if the water pressure is low in our area. I know they have had problems with low pressure in the Charlotte area so maybe that is the problem. I have no idea what kind of pipes we have. I do know that this home was built very well (except the toilets LOL). Even our home inspector was impressed because the house shows almost no signs of settling etc.
Another problem we have with the master toilet is that it moves. We knew it was loose when we bought the house but we figured it could be reseated and it would be fine. My husband took it up, replaced the seal and bolts and it was fine for a bit but is loose again. Any idea why it would be loose?
Thanks again for the help!

More likely, the toilets are 6.0 litre/1.6 gallon models, which is the standard nowadays.

When the federal government first mandated 1.6 gallon toilets, early models from many manufacturers didn't work very well. You may have toilets from that early era. Newer models from most manufacturers have been vastly improved, so if you aren't successful in finding a way to get your toilets to flush more thoroughly -- your best bet may be to replace them. Most people posting here seem to like the Toto brand.

treasureforu,

My mistake on assuming the toilet to be 6.0 gpf, wa8b is correct, probably a first generation 1.6 gpf. Some of the toilet design flaws included the swirling action which reduced the flushing capability. I invested in a kohler pressure-lite flushing system which utilizes water line pressure to flush (Can be noisey).

The loose toilet: Toilets are bolted to the "closet flange" which should be bolted firmly into the subfloor. You would have to pull the toilet again and check the closet flange to make sure it is secured properly and that the floor has not rotten under the flange. If you have a concrete floor, the closet flange can be secured with tapcon screws or stainless steel screws with anchors. A new wax ring would be required and don't overtighten the closet bolts as you may end up cracking the toilet. Plastic shims help level the toilet especially and the bolt points. Bolt caps cover the bolt heads. 100% pure silicone around the fixture base, seals around the base.

Hope that helps,

Dan Martyn

Thanks wa8b. I think that you are right about it being an early era toilet. I saw that everyone on here likes the Totos but my husband wants the toilet that we had when we remodeled our home 4 years ago. I was all for getting a Toto because of all the good reviews but he wants the other. He is bigger than me so I think that I will give in. LOL

Thanks Dan. I am thinking it might need to be shimmed. I think the newer floors which are tile are the problem. I am betting something is just not level. I am going to suggest we try shimming it when we get the new toilet. We actually bought a level and maybe that will show what is off. I don't know if he thought about adding the silicone so I will have to check. So does it actually matter if a toilet is a bit loose?? Can you tell we don't know what we are doing! Thanks for the help!

Toilets should never rock.