Please help.Toilet flush twice everytime I flush.

I've never figured this one out myself.I deal with about 110 toilets in an apartment building and for an unknown reason,sometimes I get two flushes for one.Since I have a wide variety of other "situations", I've never really pursued this phenomenon.So long as you're not using alot of extra water and the rest of the toilet works,I'd take the bonus flush.

Don't know, but if I was betting, I'd bet it's a design flaw in the toilet. Matches, are all those the same brand? Just curious.

I didn't have time to get into this yesterday but I deal with some eccentric, high rent paying clients who can be annoyed by such things.Several plumbers have given me the "I don't know who cares" look when I asked this question.In 13yrs. I have found that in my case,a northeast wind across my four story roof must do something to the venting but doesn't effect all toilets nor are all of the same toilets effected the next time.
I do have one or two toilets which double flush all the time no matter what.Like I said, if all else is well,who cares?But I'd like to know what that noise is that follows the second flush,you know..burple,burple,burple...what is that?By the way,most of them are Gerber rear flush toilets.

[This message has been edited by Matches (edited August 30, 2001).]

nammc,
just thinking about your information. You said if you slow down the water flow, the problem doesn't occur. I'm wondering if the problem would be solved by reducing the flow of water that goes down the little tube (don't know the name of it) that's attached to the intake valve and injects water down the center tube into the bowl.
If the bowl fills too fast, relative to the flapper closing, could that be causing the problem?

Could it be that the chain from the flush lever to the flapper is somehow getting tangled on the float arm? As the toilet fills after the first flush, the rising float would pull up the flapper causing a second flush. The water rushing over the float arm during the second flush would dislodge the chain to prevent a third flush.

Somehow the flapper has to be pulled up for the second flush after the tank is filled or partially filled after the first flush, right?

It would take the right combination of extra chain and proximity of the flush lever and float arm, but I guess it could happen, particularly if the flush lever is pushed real hard or held down for several seconds until the float falls below the level of the chain on the flush lever, thereby letting the chain get tangled on the float. Does it happen when the flush lever is pushed lightly and quickly?

I guess that the fix would be changing the length of the chain and/or bending the float away from the flush lever and chain.

rpxlpx,
I compared the two toilet (one upstair and one down in the basement) and found the toilet that having problem with flushing twice (upstair one), the flapper does not closes after the 1st flush. It closes a few seconds later, which means that on the 1st flush ,all of the water did not exit the tank and go into the bowl. The level of water left in the tank after the 1st flush prevent the flapper from closing right away. When I flush the one in the basement, the flapper closed as soon as the water exit the bowl. Hope this info would help you solve the problem. Thanks for your replies.

hmmm, so the question is one of 2:
1) Why doesn't the tank empty completely on the first flush?
OR...
2) Why does a second flush occur before the tank can empty and drop the flapper?
I'm still back where I started. I'm thinking the bowl is filling to the point of flushing a second time before the tank has emptied once. That still makes me suspect the flow from that little tube. What happens if you redirect it to flow into the main part of the tank?

rpxlpx,
When I redirect the flow, it still have the same problem. I suspect the problem is in the bowl, where I see a lot of bubbles pushing back into the tank which I think is preventing all the water from exiting the tank into the bowl when it flushes.

That was my best shot. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. If you find out the cause, maybe you could let others know by posting here.

Rpxlpx,

Thanks for all your help. I'll replace the bowl soon. I'll let you know if the problem is fixed.

Dude,
Don't replace the bowl. I had this problem. The solution is to reduce the pressure a little at a time. If the pressure is too great the initial blast of the refill will lift the flapper. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked.

This flushing twice problem has just occured on my toliet.It was ok yesterday but last night it started.It seems that the water cannot get out of the bowl as fast as it did earlier.My vent is clear but I'm guessing there may be a slight blockage in the drain although plunging didn't change anything.Any comments?

Dear Lost,
Try using a coathanger to clean the holes under the rim of the bowl and then shut off the water and pour a bottle of CLR right down the flush hole inside the tank. Let the CLR set for around 1/2 hour and fill the tank and flush. Lime deposits will build to the point of restricting the water going to these outlets.
Len

A piece of information. CLR will cut most buildup of minerals (calcium, lime, rust), but in my house it didn't work on the shower door. (I'm on a private well.) After trying various products, I used plain vinegar to cut the built-up water deposits. Works slow, but works.

Water level in tank to High. Rebuild kits set the water height on 1.6 gal toilets to high. cant shut flapper until tank is empty lower float to shut water off earlier.

Kaleb

Incoming water flow pressure doesn't allow the flapper to shut properly, thus, a double flush. Turn the water supply down.

~ 2sasees

Sounds like you have the wrong typed of flapper installed. If you have a 1.6 gal toilet, make sure you have a flapper rated for 1.6 gal. I had the same problem and it turned out i had a 3.5 gal rated flapper installed in my 1.6 gal toilet. Replaced it and that solved the problem. Hope this helps.

I had this problem and I solved it by repositioning the refill tube directly above the flapper. As the toilet gets down to where it would normally flush again, the water flow from the refill tube knocks the flapper back down and the second flush does not occur. Not a technical solution, I know, but it makes my wife happy.

Your problem is typical with a low flow toilet that either doesn't have the needed flush chain float or the existing flush chain float is impregnated with water.

The double flush is caused by the initial surge of water through the jet (hole at bottom of toilet) in low flow toilets using up the water in the toilet faster than the water can recover from the water tank. When the water in the toilet is used up, the siphon takes in air (gurgling sound),kills the siphon and the toilet starts filling up again as there is still water in the tank. The second flush occurs due to all the water not being gone from the tank.

You can simply lower the tank shutoff float real low to fix it ....but you risk the possibility of more stoppages than usual as you will not get the maximum toilet jet velocity available. To have your toilet work at maximum efficiency get a chain with a float or replace the existing float and set the tank water to highest water level (gives you max jet velocity) in the tank. What the float does (it is adjustable)is it will shut the tank shutoff stopper with some water still in the tank eliminating the second flush and using very little water.

Nammc,
I have 2 questions for you,
1- What brand of toilet are you working on ?
2- Do you live in a single family home or a multi story building ?

Duane Cotton
Bobvila.com, expert Moderator

Adjust the fill valve to fill less water.

I just bought a Victorian house and the toilet does the same thing. For 6 months I just thought it was the design of a vintage john. Its large and has a large tank. Then I asked my brother, a master plumber, and he said, "No, you have a vent blockage, probably at the lave or the tub. Check to see if there is any blockage. Were there kids in the seller's family? Probably a toy or something blocking the air that is needed to get all the water down the drain. When the water flows faster than there is air to 'vent' the pipe, the clean water will back up and refill the bowl a second time". He said try some Draino in the lave (sink, to you and me) and also the tub. I am going to try and will keep all posted on the result.

"I asked my brother, a master plumber," "He said try some Draino in the lave (sink, to you and me) and also the tub." Sounds like a master Jack A** to me. Just lower the level in the tank and throttle down the shutoff valve so the bubbles don't hold the flapper open for an extended period and you won't have the double flush.

I found that by slowing the fill rate down by closing valve a little on the water supply line outside the toilet I can get the flapper to drop and skip the double flush. The down side is it takes the tank twice as long to fill after the first flush.

Sylvan Tieger, S. Tieger plumbing co

VERY SIMPLE problem to fix

1- The water going down the refill tube may have to much pressure keeping the flapper from seating properly

2- The water level in the tank is to high holding the flapper up longer then needed and this gives a double flushing action

Iceman! Thank you so much! I fixed this crazy problem by closing my water intake spout. It was wide open. I removed the tank cover and watched the flush. The flow was so strong it did what you said. I turned down the pressure and bang...good to go!!!

Have this issue as well just replaced flap I think the newer design is for water saving....just a theory but lower the float so water shuts off sooner(below water level line)...I am going to attempt this soon don't see why it won't be the fix for the problem....easy as this old flap old water level...New flap New water level. I'm hoping

I had a toilet that would triple flush and burp water up the overflow pipe! Solution...I reduced the incoming water pressure at the shut off valve! Problem solved!

Simplest of all. Put a brick or jug of water, that fills the open space in the tank behind the seat. They don't have any moving parts to break, adjust, or replace and it works.

To me, this is not a problem but a bonus. I live in a ranch, my septic tank is far away from my home, a little extra water after each flush will insure all wastes will reach the septic tank. Some time ago, I replaced the hardware inside all my three toilets. One of them started double flushing, it was great. The repair kit I installed on all three were with adjustable overflow pipe. Yesterday, I adjusted (higher)the overflow pipe and the water level on the other two toilets, sure enough, now all my toilets flush twice every time.

So, water level does make a difference.

I had same problem . I called plumbing service , they came and solved problem but they adviced me to have Double Cyclone Flush . Then I searched on the net found that Double Cyclone flush systems are still quite specialized and are only used by a handful of manufacturers at present. It seems to be a good alternative however to dual flush systems. Due to the technology used, the double cyclone system ensures that are a far smaller amount of water is used in each flush, however, the same force is still is there as you would expect from a normal flush. This ensures that your water bill stays low but your toilet does not suffer or become clogged. Instead of using Rim holes like a standard toilet use, the double cyclone flush toilets has two nozzles. A propulsion system expels water via a siphon and this is what creates the most efficient flush. This flush system incorporates some of the same technology used in gravity flush toilets, however, no power is lost and less water is used. I got great and informational reviews about this issue from http://www.pickatoilet.com/

I had my toilet continuously flushing and the water on tank overflows and became my problem for almost a week now. My toilet is a bit old and already have cracks so I was thinking of replacing it with a new one instead of letting the plumber do the fixing. Do you guys think it's better? What brand would you recommend? I've encountered the TOTO toilet and articles like this one https://www.jenreviews.com/best-toilet/ says that it's a good choice. However, I still want to hear your opinions to help me decide for the most cost-efficient toilet. I will be purchasing a new one this weekend so your suggestions would highly be appreciated.

The toilet flapper is the problem. If you changed the toilet flapper with an older style, there isn't an additional hole in the front of the cone section (not the bottom of the cone). The hole in front of the cone causes the flapper to close faster. Another tip is using a coat hanger to clean the water spots around the rim of the bowl as well as the bottom siphon jet at the bottom of the bowl to aid in more efficient flushing.

Same problem. Kohler hi back flushes 3 & 4 times. Reduced water held in take by half. Problem solved. 1 push. 1 flush

i had the same problem and I also lowered the water pressure little by little until I got the one flush,good luck.

My toliet double flushes they repaired it 3 times it's still doing that my water suddenly increased and there saying it's not because of my toilet double flushing is that true?