I looked and didn't see a thread with troubleshooting or repair tips. So I thought, why not start one. 
My daughter had a sleep over (with 5 giggling screaming girls, lol), and the next morning the powder room toilet wouldn't flush properly. Immediately I assumed that one the girls had flushed too much paper, or something that didn't belong in the toilet.
Flash forward, after 1.5 hours of random plunging, and snaking a plumbing snake down the toilet. It still wasn't flushing correctly, so I googled "slow toilet". Would you believe it was one of the drop in tablets that are supposed to help keep the toilet clean?! When they break down they plug up the little holes under the rim, that the water comes out of. Without the proper force, the water just swirls and doesn't take everything down.
So, if your toilet will take the water down when you empty a bucket into it, but doesn't have a proper flush when you press the lever, check the rim holes to see if they're clogged. The internet is a wonderful thing! I was 5 minutes away from taking the toilet apart or snaking the clean out. Ick!
Oh, also, Bar Keeper's Friend, gets the marks off the toilet from the plumber's snake. I guess you're supposed to use an auger instead of a snake on the toilet. The auger has a protective sleeve on the part that touches the visible part of the bowl so it doesn't mark it up. I thought it was scratched forever! :cry:
My daughter had a sleep over (with 5 giggling screaming girls, lol), and the next morning the powder room toilet wouldn't flush properly. Immediately I assumed that one the girls had flushed too much paper, or something that didn't belong in the toilet.
Flash forward, after 1.5 hours of random plunging, and snaking a plumbing snake down the toilet. It still wasn't flushing correctly, so I googled "slow toilet". Would you believe it was one of the drop in tablets that are supposed to help keep the toilet clean?! When they break down they plug up the little holes under the rim, that the water comes out of. Without the proper force, the water just swirls and doesn't take everything down.
So, if your toilet will take the water down when you empty a bucket into it, but doesn't have a proper flush when you press the lever, check the rim holes to see if they're clogged. The internet is a wonderful thing! I was 5 minutes away from taking the toilet apart or snaking the clean out. Ick!
Oh, also, Bar Keeper's Friend, gets the marks off the toilet from the plumber's snake. I guess you're supposed to use an auger instead of a snake on the toilet. The auger has a protective sleeve on the part that touches the visible part of the bowl so it doesn't mark it up. I thought it was scratched forever! :cry:
