That a three week wait to fix a broken toilet isn't acceptable?

[prestatynprlck]

I am in council owned housing and last night the handle on my toilet has broken and will no longer flush, I have lifted the lid and tried to fix it myself but no luck. I rang the emergency repairs number and they said that it is not an emergency as I can flush it with buckets of water and the next available appointment for repair is the 22nd of January. Am I being unreasonable that I shouldn't have to pour buckets of water down my loo every time I use it for the next three weeks? The woman on the phone this morning said that if it was her she would just call a plumber herself which I am probably going to end up doing but it sticks in my throat. I could probably manage for a few days but three weeks with no working toilet, really?

They do, most HA and council offer tenants independent home insurance!

I'm an MNer and I don't think that at all.

Use some of the savings to get a plumber or even a handyman to fix it then.

But a broken handle or broken connector to the handle will not, at all, affect the ability of the toilet to be flushed. Which means you’re not manually flushing it correctly. Show us a photo and we can tell you how to make it flush without the handle. And if you don’t want to fix the handle yourself then at least you can flush it for the next 3 weeks.

If it’s just the chain to the handle detached, you can reattach it yourself. If the chain is broken, you can patch it with a paper clip in the short term

BTW, I'm a homeowner and had to wait 4 weeks to get a plumber in to sort out a non emergency repair. No parts required and it cost me 400quid. It's the lack of availability of plumbers that's the issue.

People are trying to help you. Let them.

Doesnt even need a plumber. A handyman can fix it. Mind a plumber isnt even a qualified trade.

I used one of the old style brown bakerlite door knobs for about 6 months as a replacement toilet flush handle as the plastic 'axle' bit from the original had perished and the doorknob had a metal one glued into it that was a good fit.

Was definitely a talking point for visitors when they had to turn the doorknob to flush the toilet.

Then why so unwilling to even attempt what is a very very easy and basic repair to fix? If you're planning on being a home owner in the future you really need too learn very basic DIY.

Here you go

@prestatynprlck our shower (in our privately owned home) which 4 people use at least once a day broke at the start of December.

With the power of the internet we’ve figured out what’s wrong. Unfortunately the part has been discontinued so we need a whole new shower fitting. I cannot get a plumber out for another 3 1/2 weeks (it’s been broken for 4 weeks already).

If you’re not willing to let us help you by sharing pictures, using YouTube and putting in a decent bit of effort I think you’ll have to accept that a bit of inconvenience for 3 weeks isn’t all that bad.

Kindly OP, I'm 99% certain that 99% of all adults have had to fix a toilet handle, and you're being quite argumentative about it.

Your understanding of a non flushing toilet being an emergency is potentially incorrect.
An emergency "non flushing" is when the water won't go down at all, which could be a blockage or a vent draining issue etc, and cause a risk of sewage leakage etc.
A broken handle is not the same as a non flushing toilet.

Post a picture of your bog. At least we can help you determine if it's actually non flushing, in which case you need to call the HA back. However, it's likely to be the handle/mechanism. You've said you don't know what's wrong with it, so let us help you help yourself.

This happened to me a couple of days before Christmas - the plastic lever that connects the chain to the handle had snapped. I fixed it with a <£3 part and a quick Google.

If you post a picture, I'm sure someone here will be able to advise - it could well be a very quick and simple repair that isn't worth waiting for a plumber for.

Pull the metal clip upwards and it should flush.

As for why the handles loose, investigate any broken parts and tighten or replace.

If you pull this metal bit up, does it flush?

If there is an S shaped pice of metal just pull that upwards. That should flush the loo.

This bit

So you don’t think you’re responsible for basic maintenance of your house?
What you’ve described is a basic problem, if you take a photo or video and go to a plumber’s merchant they should be able to advise you what you need to do to fix it. We had a similar issue recently, think it cost about £20 for the part and DH fixed it (he’s not a plumber).
But yeh if you insist on HA fixing for free then wait 3 weeks. Probably such a long wait because of people getting them out to fix basic every day DIY, because people won’t take any responsibility for maintaining their home

What happens when you pick up the end of the black piece of plastic? Does it still have a piece of S metal attached?

So, does it flush when you pull on the metal part? Is that what you tried already?

I hope it’s not stupid to say this but remember the cistern water is from the tap just the same as the water you put in the kettle

Live diy, love it. Better than parking, let’s have more!

Oh yeah! I’ve encounter people who won’t fix their toilet because they don’t want to put their hand into the cistern water. It’s clean clean clean!