To think a toilet should flush a normal sized poo on the first flush?

[AlexPKeaton]

We are American and new-ish to the UK so I need some perspective. There are a 3 toilets in our rented house, and not one of them seems to have the ability to dispose of a normal sized poo on the first flush, and quite often not on the second, third, or fourth flush. We do flush mid-poo when we can but it's not always possible, especially for our small kids --who produce surprisingly enormous poops.-- All of this flushing is appallingly wasteful of water, and leads to the disgusting experience of regularly encountering leftover poo when going to the bathroom. It's unpleasant for us and mortifying when we have guests!

If it matters, it is a terraced house, old but refurbished on the inside. Our rent is over£5K/month, which I understand isn't exorbitant by London standards, but I have to think it should entitle us to fully functioning toilets. Actually I think ^everyone^ is entitled to that.

My DH thinks the problem comes from the main pipes in the street so the landlord can't do anything, and I will sound like a spoiled American if I bring it up. But I can't imagine everyone else just lives like this.

AIBU?

[TheCatsMeow]

Hahaha this can't be serious

I live in an old house and rarely have this problem OP. Maybe you have huge poos?

[AndNowItsSeven]

£5 k a month is exorbitant!

[MTPurse]

5k a month?

[Branleuse]

I love in an old house and one of the toilets upstairs is like this. I think theres a drain block somewhere tbh. I wonder if thats the problem in your house.

Do you have any weird smells in the house?

[NickNacks]

Oh give over.

Never had a problem flushing a regular poo, occasionally the whoppers ds produces when he's constipated but even then the second flush gets rid of the excess.

[Seeyounearertime]

£5k a month? you shouldn't need to poo cause your land lord has proper reamed your backside haven't they?

as for the poo, maybe you have the dreaded low flow toilets?

Not much you can doo doo about that i'm afraid, keep flushing or have regular curries from the local takeaway, that should loosen them enough.

welcome to UK btw.

[GetSchwifty]

I live in a new build and have this problem too, never had it before. It's grim.

[RoganJosh]

I don't see how the problem can come from the pipes. The water fills the cistern and then flushes from there. I wonder if your cisterns are set up to not fill completely, which is environmentally friendly, but doesn't work if you have to then flush again.
It's definitely something you should be able to get sorted out and not something to put up with.

[pasturesgreen]

Can't get over the fact you spend £5k a month on rent

That's positively exorbitant!

Sorry OP, not your point, I know.

[Artandco]

Maybe it's your families diet? American sized giant poos!

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Its something to do with the water pressure I think. How horrible for you, and I do assure you that not everyone who lives in an old house has to put up with this!

[origamiwarrior]

Agree it's more likely to be the flush rather than any pipes. Simple test, next time you do a poo, lift off the cistern, pour in an extra couple of litres of water (either by pushing down on the float so the tap opens, or by pouring in water from a jug) and see if that solves the problem. If it is newly refurbished house, the toilets might be designed this way to be water-saving.

[NorthernRosie]

£5k a month. Weird stealth boast as not sure what that's got to do with the toilet flushing.....

[londonrach]

Wow..ive just moved out of london and 5k is an awful lot. Are you renting a large house. Re the poo. No idea. Are you in a new build with one of those internal flushing toilets. Flush button within the top.

[ABetaDad1]

Check the tank is filling up completely. Take the lid off and look. If it isn't full adjust the ball cock so the water level comes up higher. A higher volume of water will produce a more powerful flush.

Low flush toilets never produce the power of a high level old fashioned Victorian toilet with the tank above head height.

Check also the valve is working properly. If it isn't opening properly the flush will not have the power.

Check that someone hasn't put a brick or water conservation device in the tank as that will reduce the volume of water.

Finally check that the toilet isn't one of those that has a low dose flush and a high dose flush. We have a special valve where if you push the handle one way it delivers a short flush and if you push it the other way it is a full flush.

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Do you have those environmentally friendly light flush and full flush buttons (a circle divided in half) on the top of the cistern? Are you sure everyone is using both buttons pushed down hard and quickly, together, when wanting to flush away more than a wee?

[rookiemere]

This maybe doesn't address the actual point, but DCs seem to produce weirdly large poos. One of DS's friends who doesn't even visit that often seems to always do a poo when here and has blocked up our toilet on more than one occasion. I find that generally a few kettles of boiled water does the trick, but on more than one occasion I have had to use a wooden kebab stick to chop things up a bit , kebab stick is of course thrown out afterwards.

I have to say the worst loos we have every come across were when we were staying in Florida - regularly blocked up with normal sized stuff, so it's definitely not just a European problem.

[80sMum]

When you flush, don't let go of the flush button/handle. Some loos have a short flush mode for press-and-let-go.

[Sallyingforth]

To start with your rent sounds ridiculous. Is your terrace house in Belgravia?
Modern toilets are made to use very little water, which is silly because sometimes you do have to flush more than once.
If yours are not very modern I would lift off the lid and see how much water they are set to fill. It's easy to change the float level.

[Seeyounearertime]

this is going to sound really, really, really dumb but:

Not knowing how US toilets work, do your toilets have two button on the top OP? are you just pushing it and it flushes because a lot of toilets you have to push the button in and hold it there to get a full flush, does that make sense? or am i talking shit sorry.

[Callmecordelia]

Yes, it's possible. I live in a new build, and our en suite was unusable even for wees because it blocked with just paper. The main bathroom blocked once or twice a month. They had been installed incredibly badly. The pipe in the ensuite meant waste had to go round more than a 90 degree angle, and the main bathroom didnt have enough of a fall on the pipe.

It cost us a grand to sort, as we had to have the bath out (which broke and could not be reused) and all the pipework redone. It's now more or less fixed.

I am cross with the people who lived here before us for more than two years, who could have claimed from the builders and didn't. What were they producing, fairy dust?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

It's not a weird stealth boast, ffs! It is being used to illustrate the fact that non-functioning toilets is a very grim thing to have to put up with given the level of rent involved.

[museumum]

Flushes can all be different. We have to press and hold our downstairs one to get a decent flush but I've seen instructions on public ones to press and release for a bigger flush.

I'd suspect your issue is an "Eco" flush or water conserving device of some sort.

[LBOCS2]

It's likely that you have a water saving cistern - which will mean that less water is coming through to push the waste away. Despite the fact that it rains constantly quite a lot over here, everyone's a bit obsessed with saving it because we're not great at storing it - particularly in London where we lose a lot into the ground because of Victorian pipe work which has not been upgraded or repaired properly.

The solution is to pour an extra jug of water into the bowl as you flush, it creates more pressure. You won't be able to fill up the tank more as it will have an overflow in it - which will just discharge outside. I think it's unlikely that your LL will replace the cisterns.

[Katarzyna79]

lol op we had this prob in last rental with 1 wc. Im convinced its crap modern toilets. Tiny cisterns to be economical but not fit for purpose. Kids just usinh tissue after pee would often get blocked. Im ocd so id literally vomit unblocking it. I just bannee kids usung it unless it was an emergency. My other toilet old victorian with cistern high up near ceiling no probs ever.

Now in new rent downstairs wc same issue im fed up only heen here 6 months happened more than10 times already and its not always poop.

What are low lying toilets i dont understand th term?

op u living in a mansion whys it 5k? im not in london though but i thghtaybe theircrebt would be doyble mine? im in 5 bed large house with some land 1300 month, 4 toilets, 2, receptions,study. crazy rent ur paying:o