And End To My Low Flow (Toilet) Woes

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LOL Joe!  Somebody else is still doing so, and it would appear that the Korky rep picks up the tab for some really good lunches.

 

Thanks for the cleaning advice.  We all agree that low flow = high maintenance.  I do need to get in the habit of brushing the bowl on a daily basis. 

 

I've successfully removed the mineral ring with Lime Away and a green scrub pad in the past.  How much worse could a pumice stone be?  Once the ring is gone, I'll be incentivized to use the brush and keep another ring from forming.
 
My house has two builder grade Pro Flo 1.6 flush toilets in it installed when they rehabbed it before I bought it. They are 5 years old and the whole flush valve setup in mine started leaking and not stopping the flush when tank was full. It also plugs easily and takes a couple of full hold flushes to clear and sometimes a plunging . The design is cheap, has small water passages and has already been discontinued. I replaced the setup with a Fluid Master PerforMAX fill valve with leak sentry. It's a lot louder but fills quickly and will not keep refilling the bowl and tank if it leaks down once the flapper or something wears out.
7 year warranty and it mostly works fine but still barely overfills the tank after adjusting it as far as I could.
I plan to eventually replace it with a better dual flush 1.2/1 as water here is very spendy. Replaced moms old master suite toilet with a cheap Home Depot Glacier Bay 1.2 that actually had mostly great reviews and it has worked perfectly for them so far and doesn't plug so might try their dual flush version as it also gets great reviews and is well priced.
Can't afford a 500 or whatever comode when I replace it so we'll see what I end up with someday.
 
I guess to a point

we still get what we pay for. Builders don't always use quality fixtures, and if you do upgrade, they may scalp you. They get good quantity discounts.
I installed a Korky flush valve and flapper in my older Kohler Wellington toilet, and it has worked fine for a year.
Chlorine in the water or other minerals break down the rubber parts.
 
Afraid to change

We have a long line to the main sewer, probably about 100' from the farthest toilet. We have added two clean outs due to all of the problems clogging the line. Now we have 4 cleanouts total and no line clogs for a couple of years. I feel the existing 4 gallon flush units we have might be needed for the long line to push the flow through. I came close to changing last year because of the drought here. But we were not cut back by the water company so I left well enough alone. We do have our own Ridgid electric drain cleaner because of the problems.
 
Cadet 3

"Powerwash" makes me think it has a pressure assisted flush system.

 

That price isn't all that bad considering it's a relatively uncommon corner toilet.
 
Ralph,

I would hold off on using any abrasives on the bowl.

Instead, if you already haven't tried it, shut off the supply water line to the toilet. Flush it so that the water level is well below the lime line. Then liberally apply lime away, or other anti-scale product. I'm not sure, but a phosphoric acid based solution might work (check the label to make sure it's ok for porcelain). I have a gallon jug from Smart & Final called "Lime Gone". It's basically phosphoric acid. For showers and sinks etc, it recommends diluting 50/50 with water, brushing on the deposit, and then rinsing off. But it also cautions that some surfaces might get etched. Caveat cleaner.

I would definitely not use a green scrub pad. Those have silicon oxide in them and it's harder than glass, and will scratch up the bowl so it will never be the same again.

http://www.jondon.com/betco-stix-2.html?gclid=CLaP69ae09MCFQRufgodbqIJ-w
 
I use this, it has 9.5% hydrochloric acid in it.

110573.jpg
 
Thanks guys.  So a pumice stone is definitely out, or are we just talking about avoiding cleaning solutions that contain abrasives?  The upstairs toilet is old school 1960, and since it gets used little, it develops a mineral ring and the pumice stone makes short work of it.

 

Rich, I've had success with Lime-Away in the past, but that was with a green scrub pad, and forcing the water out of the bowl first (I see no evidence of damage to the porcelain, though).  I think I'll do something similar, but will coat the ring with the Lime-Away and then walk away for at least an hour.  What should I use as a substitute for the green pad?

 

Meanwhile, I'm loving that I only need to push down on the lever and let go, rather than hold it down.  The Korky sends through enough water to clear the bowl for all jobs, big and small.  I couldn't be more delighted.
 
Ralph,

when I was a teenager we moved to the North Sonoma Co. coast and we had a well. The well water had a lot of iron in it and stained the toilets terribly. My Mom went to the hardware store in Guerneville and asked them what she could use to get rid if these stains. They sold her Whink and it worked like a charm. It's still available and it also works on hard water deposits. You just squirt it along the edge under the bowl rim and it drains down and just like magic the rust deposits disappear. I believe the active ingredient is oxycilic (sp?) acid.
HTH,
Eddie

http://www.whink.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cEcommerce.Product&ProductID=35676&CategoryID=-1
 
Thanks Eddie!  I see that both ACE and OSH carry it, so I'll buzz over and check.

 

I know exactly what you mean about Sonoma County well water.  It was so bad at my friend's house in Sebastopol that it turned all of the glassware brown, and it stunk of iron.  Undrinkable, as was anything made with it, like coffee.
 
You're welcome Ralph! BTW, iron in well water also reeks havoc on whites in the washer, especially if you use LCB. The chlorine will set rust streaks into the fabric that are next to impossible to get out. As I recall the water always tasted like petroleum to me and the redwood storage tank used to have a ring around the water line that felt slightly oily. Maybe if we had drilled down deeper we would have struck oil! Who knows?
Eddie
 
Promotional and owner's literature should indicate whether your corner model Cadet has the anti-microbal bowl or not.  If it doesn't, thank your lucky stars and bleach away!
 
Am I doing this wrong?

What ever happened to putting some Comet in the toilet bowl using a toilet brush to clean the bowl? I have been doing this for 50 years and never a problem. It has not taken the finish off. I have done this on old and new toilets. It only takes a few moments of cleaning and a flush and it looks like new. A quick spray of Windex on both sides of the seat and surrounding areas wiped with a small cleaning rag and they shine like the day they were installed. Am I missing something here?

Jon
 
Oh for

Petes sake, how deep into the vitreous china can the "microban" be?
If it is applied to the surface like scotch guard, it will wear off anyway.
If it is mixed in with the color glaze, it will last a long time, so bleach away.
Kohler says you can use any low abrasive cleaner with bleach in it on all of their cast iron, fireclay, and vitreous china fixtures.
Silestone also does for their solid surface counter tops with microban. Windex, soft scrub, bleach, Lysol, etc.
 
"Am I missing something here?"

Yes, a new toilet with anti-microbal bowl surface. 

 

I still use cleanser on the two other toilets in the house, one of which dates to 1960, and the other to 2014, neither of which has the anti-microbal surface.
 
Jon, I'm leaning toward taking that same approach.  I just need to be sure I'm not going to ruin the bowl surface and create bigger cleaning problems for myself.  I couldn't care less about the anti-microbal BS, since the bowl still requires brushing just like any other toilet.
 

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