Low-flow toilet ok w/marginal sewer?

Plumbob · Jun 13, 2005

I'm considering replacing our old American Standard Plebe toilet with a Toto 1.6 gallon model.

We live in an older home with a sewer line that needs yearly cleaning due to roots from large maple trees about 50 feet down the line. The roto-rooter guy always has trouble at one spot where the sewer pipe must be broken or coming apart. He always manages to get through it and all the way to the street sewer however. We have found that roto-rooting on a yearly basis (and never flushing paper towels) is enough to ensure no clog-ups.

Will a low-flow toilet that flushes a lot less water per-flush, cause more frequent clogs in this marginal sewer line?

Terry · Jun 13, 2005

Rootx for clearing out roots

Roots in sewer lines

It's hard to say, I'm running 250 feet out to the city sewer here and have never snaked the line. I talked to an engineer and he was running ever farther with low-flows.

You might try a product like Rootx that kills the roots in the sewer line.

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

Plumbob · Jun 13, 2005

Well, we have the sewer "problem" under control (w/yearly snaking). So if there's any chance that flushing with less water will aggravate the problem, I'll just keep the existing old toilet and not replace it with a low-flow.

hj · Jun 13, 2005

sewer

Plumbob said:
I'm considering replacing our old American Standard Plebe toilet with a Toto 1.6 gallon model.

We live in an older home with a sewer line that needs yearly cleaning due to roots from large maple trees about 50 feet down the line. The roto-rooter guy always has trouble at one spot where the sewer pipe must be broken or coming apart. He always manages to get through it and all the way to the street sewer however. We have found that roto-rooting on a yearly basis (and never flushing paper towels) is enough to ensure no clog-ups.

Will a low-flow toilet that flushes a lot less water per-flush, cause more frequent clogs in this marginal sewer line?

Even a "good" sewer will have a problem if you put paper towels in it. But since roots basically create a "sponge" in the line, as long as there is no paper, etc., to close the "pores" water will flow through it regardless of whether it is a 1.6 or 3.5 toilet.

Plumbob · Jun 14, 2005

hj, Great. I thought maybe with less water washing through the roots, that the solid matter would be more likely to accumulate around the roots, and clog up a bit sooner. I hope that's not the case.

Low-flow toilet ok w/marginal sewer?

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