pasadena_commut
Well-Known Member
Last week I finally got around to soaking our toilets with some muriatic acid (diluted about 1:3 in water, estimated) to remove all the hard water deposits stuck in the bottom and also in the main jet line. (They had previously each been cleaned with two bottles lime-a-way toilet cleaner, which made them mostly clean, except for the toughest deposits.) I did this by removing about 4/3 quarts of water, taping up all the rim holes with painters tape, then putting in that same volume of muriatic acid through a long funnel underneath the flap, directly into the top of the toilet bowl opening below, cover the top with saran wrap. This put the fluid level back up to the original water line. A couple of hours later, and after a tiny bit of scrubbing with a plastic toilet brush, and the toilets are now clean everywhere I can see. One of them flushes very well, the other is still a little slow, it looks like the flow in the big jet hole on the bottom is still a little slow. I'm going to run a wire up past the water line to see if that helps any. All the rim holes are clear.
Anyway, the other possibility is that there is enough build up from above the water line and up and over in the trap that it is slowing the exit. Is there some sort of spray tool one could attach to a hose (or bit of tubing) to thread that up into and through the trap to blast that area a bit to clean it? This is not a clog per se - a toilet auger goes in and out without resistance.
Note, safety equipment was a 3M half mask with acid filters and eye protection.
For your amusement...
Before flushing the acid it was diluted with baking soda (from a 5 lb container from Smart and Final, which was the cheapest in my area.) When this is added it reacts violently releasing tons of CO2 which forms bubbles. Added just a little at a time (around 1/3 of a cup) to avoid bubbling over. On one toilet those bubbles would collapse rapidly on their own and then more could be added. So the fluid was neutralized in about 10 minutes and could be flushed. But in the other toilet there was some detergent like material present, and the bubbles persisted for a ridiculously long time. I had to keep poking them with the toilet brush to pop them to get the foam down enough to add more baking soda. It took a little more than an hour to neutralize that one. Two people use one toilet, and two other people the other. My best guess is that I am at fault, since mine was the foamy one, and due to a gut condition I have to consume about 1/2 a tablespoon of Miralax a day. Miralax stabilizes the bubbles in the glass when I wash it out after drinking the stuff. Anyway, I was surprised by this, since the toilets appeared to be pretty clean to start with.
Anyway, the other possibility is that there is enough build up from above the water line and up and over in the trap that it is slowing the exit. Is there some sort of spray tool one could attach to a hose (or bit of tubing) to thread that up into and through the trap to blast that area a bit to clean it? This is not a clog per se - a toilet auger goes in and out without resistance.
Note, safety equipment was a 3M half mask with acid filters and eye protection.
For your amusement...
Before flushing the acid it was diluted with baking soda (from a 5 lb container from Smart and Final, which was the cheapest in my area.) When this is added it reacts violently releasing tons of CO2 which forms bubbles. Added just a little at a time (around 1/3 of a cup) to avoid bubbling over. On one toilet those bubbles would collapse rapidly on their own and then more could be added. So the fluid was neutralized in about 10 minutes and could be flushed. But in the other toilet there was some detergent like material present, and the bubbles persisted for a ridiculously long time. I had to keep poking them with the toilet brush to pop them to get the foam down enough to add more baking soda. It took a little more than an hour to neutralize that one. Two people use one toilet, and two other people the other. My best guess is that I am at fault, since mine was the foamy one, and due to a gut condition I have to consume about 1/2 a tablespoon of Miralax a day. Miralax stabilizes the bubbles in the glass when I wash it out after drinking the stuff. Anyway, I was surprised by this, since the toilets appeared to be pretty clean to start with.
