There can be lots of reasons why a toilet doesn't flush, it could even be that there is no water supply to the tank, or the tank is empty. Spare your blushes and fill a bucket of water to flush away anything in the bowl, then you can get to work on a DIY toilet repair.
If you never seem to have the time to pop out and get the right parts for your toilet, my personal choice for online plumbing shopping is Plumbworld
Broken Lever - When you operate the handle on the outside of the toilet, it operates a lever inside the cistern and that could be broken.
These can be easily fitted. The lever pulls on a wire. The rod of the siphon that the wire connects to could be broken, or the wire may have come unhooked (this is the most common one). The benefits of DIY or do-it-yourself fixing a toilet are evident in particular where the cause of a problem is found to be as simple as when the wire has come unhooked. Just think for the brief minute it takes you to solve this problem of the hassle, time and money that could have been wasted on a call-out to a plumber!
Split Diaphragm / Broken Siphon - The most common cause of the toilet not flushing and needs fixing is that the diaphragm is split. The siphon works by a diaphragm lifting up a load of water, pushing it round the bend. When it goes round the bend it starts a self-perpetuating siphon action - that's the flush, and it carries on until all the water in the cistern has gone. But if the diaphragm, which is made of plastic, is split then it won't ever successfully pull the water upwards. So you may need to replace the diaphragm or the whole toilet siphon.
Keen decorators who have paneled in the toilet cistern make this job of replacing the siphon more difficult, because the paneling will have to be removed to gain access.
Replacing just the diaphragm may be the only option if the siphon is an unusual design, such as one that incorporates the mountings for an overhead push-button linkage rather than the more common type previously described.
Fixing / Replacing Toilet Siphon
TOOLS NEEDED - Water pump pliers with a jaw capacity of at least 50mm, small jug, or other container,
To fix or replace the toilet siphon follow these simple DIY steps:
A) turn the flow of water off (usually there is a valve where the water enters the toilet, if not find the stop cock) and then flush to get rid of most of the water from the cistern. You can bail the rest of it out using a small jug, or other container.
B) When the cistern is empty, disconnect the wire linkage / hook that operates the siphon.
C) Then disconnect the pipe from the bottom of the siphon, which involves undoing the nut and sliding it down the pipe that leads to the toilet. You may need a pair of water pump pliers with a jaw capacity of at least 50mm for this, or you may be able to do it by hand.
D) Then undo the nut that holds the siphon into the cistern, which results in the siphon rising up inside the cistern. When the nut's completely undone, you can take it out and then put in the new one, do the nut up again and replace all the other bits you've taken off. When you put the new siphon in, make sure the sealing washer is in place, or it will leak.
When you are fixing and replacing the siphon, the water level inside the cistern may need to be adjusted. You can do this by adjusting the level screw on the ball cock. You may find that the new siphon requires a higher or a lower level of water, but you can experiment to see what produces the best results.
You can order plumbing tools from plumbworld as well as parts.
TIPS: For a close coupled toilet
For a close-coupled toilet, the whole cistern will need to be lifted off. This entails emptying the cistern as much as possible (as before), disconnecting the pipe to the ball cock, disconnecting the overflow pipe, removing the wood screws that secure the cistern to the wall and finally undoing the two wing nuts on the bolts that clamp the cistern to the toilet. In extreme cases these may be rusted up and will have to be cut with a hacksaw, so you should have a new close-coupled toilet kit on hand (these cost about £10).
Be careful not to break the porcelain. Access to change the toilet syphon is often very difficult. You can often get away with cutting part way through the bolt and then bending it until it snaps. The bolt can be so badly rusted that its swelling can crack the eye in the porcelain toilet pan.
When fitting a new siphon to a close-coupled toilet it's not so important that it doesn't leak, because any weeping will pass down the toilet pan. The nut that secures the siphon also secures the metal plate that the clamping bolts pass through. A close-coupled toilet fixing kit includes a new plate, two bolts and a rubber doughnut for the cistern to sit on.
Instructions for a low level can be slightly different as you need to undo the lower of the two large nuts beneath the cistern using a large pipe wrench or pair of water pump pliers & disconnect the flush pipe and push it to one side.
Place a bucket or bowl below the cistern and undo the syphon replacing nut below the cistern, some water may be released by the syphon, take note of washers or screws that are removed as new ones need fitting when replacing the siphon.
Un-hook the lift rod from the lever and take out the syphon. Refitting is a complete reversal of removal, be sure to fit any washers - new ones are better as the old ones may have perrished a bit - that you have taken out. Ensure everything is tight but do not over tighten (as you can crack plastic) fittings before refilling the cistern.
If your toilet gets blocked if could be that something larger than is meant too, has gone down the toilet. Things that are not meant to be flushed like ladies sanitary items and baby wipes can build up in the u-bend even if they appear to flush fine to begin with. Your first port of call is to get something like a metal coathanger and bend it so that you can feel around in the u-bend area of the toilet. If this does not free anything up and the toilet is not actually overflowing, it may be worth giving a very forceful flush, of throwing a bucket of water down it fast - this can sometimes dislodge a blockage.
You cant always assume the blockage is internal, I moved into a new house a few years ago and the drains outside were blocked with a bit of rubble. In a very short while a build up of baby nappies got caught on the rubble, and blocked the whole street! (whoever would try to flush baby nappies down the toilet??)
TIPS: Check overflow is not blocked up or none existent!
You may find when you purchase a property that the previous owner has replaced the toilet cistern without reconnecting the overflow. Perhaps they thought it was too much trouble to make a 30mm hole through a cavity wall, or perhaps were unaware of the need for an overflow. In such circumstances it is possible to replace the siphon with a flapper type flush valve, which has a built in overflow. This ensures that if the ball cock fails, the water level will rise and then pass down the overflow into the toilet pan, rather than overflowing the cistern and ending up on the floor. The removed siphon may be kept for re-use at another property.
The bit you need most of all when doing anything with the water! This is usually either a round knob with grips on or like a small lever to turn. It's job is to cut off the water supply to the toilet. Its normal location is on the pipe that feeds the tank - you can follow this back from the toilet - sometimes people have boxed this in, so if you can't find it you may have to dig around!
The water tank of a toilet is usually behind or above the part you sit on. It is the part that is filled with water before it flushes and stores it ready. You can get both gravity feed toilet tanks, or pressure-assisted cylinders.
The toilet bowl is the ceramic part that has the seat fixed to it, they can either have a direct drop into the water, or a small shelf inside.
This is a round kind of donught shaped rubber ring that forms the seal between the tank and the bowl. Some more modern toilets are all in one, and don't have this part.
Fix It Yourself. Your DIY guide to fixing and repairing in and around the home. This DIY guide is written with the novice in mind, but if in doubt of your skills you should seek advice from a qualified person. Most of these things I have tackled myself over the years and have gained hands on experience in fixing things myself. I normally try to have a go at fixing something myself before I call in the professionals, but as soon as I realise I am out of my league - I call in the boys!