Mobile Home Toilets

Manufactured home toilets

The good thing is mobile home toilets are just like those in site built homes. You probably don’t want to buy the extra large size because of space limitations, but all the normal toilets and parts are the same.

Below are listed the symptoms and solutions for a series of common toilet problems. Just scroll down the page until you find symptoms that fit your situation.

Clogged or slow toilet

Symptom: Toilet won’t flush or won’t flush solids completely and nearby drains (sink-shower-tub) seem to be draining normally.
Logic: Toilets don’t usually slow with age. Something has to be obstructing the normal flow of liquids. If the nearby drains are OK the problem is with the toilet. If the nearby drains have problems too, there is a clog farther down the drain line.

First Solution: Use a plunger to try and force the obstruction down the drain. If this fixes the problem consider yourself lucky. You might also assume the cause of the problem was behavioral, not biological, and see if you can figure out who did what to cause it. As a child, my wife tried to flush a green apple with predictable consequences; her parents were not pleased, but the plumber they called thought it was pretty funny.

Second Solution: A plunger may not be strong enough to break through the obstruction (a green apple will not be impressed a with a plunger). At this point, you need to try a Drain Auger.

Optional Solution: Before or after trying either of the about solutions you might consider having someone with small hands (possibly the suspected perpetrator) cover their hand and arm with a trash bag and see if they can reach in and pull out the obstruction.

Symptom: Plunging or the auger helped some, or for a while, but then the problem returned.

Logic: Something, for example a toothbrush, gradually accumulates solids which can be cleared by the auger or plunging, but which rapidly accumulate again. I know, I know, NO ONE in your family would be dumb enough to drop a toothbrush in the toilet. Are you SURE the nice little old lady you had look after the house while you were gone didn’t have a young grandchild with her when she came over to water your plants?

Decision Point: This may be the point at which you call a plumber. Besides being nasty and unpleasant, toilets are heavy, VERY fragile and the following solutions require additional skills, tools, parts and materials. However, parts and materials have gotten better and easier to use while hired professionals have gotten more expensive so I would encourage you to look through the more ambitious solutions to see if they are worth attempting.

Solution: Someone is going to have to remove the toilet . When removed the toilet can be turned upside down, shaken, have high pressure water or the auger forced through it from both ends, and someone can reach in from both ends to try and find the obstruction. After the obstruction has been removed replace the wax ring, remount, and check for leaks.

Logic: It the toilet works and there are no leaks then the problem is solved. However, I had a case where I did all this and the problem remained, so I replaced the toilet. The customer was happy when her new toilet worked but I was still really wondering what the problem was.
To find out, I used a hammer to break apart the old toilet bowl (which provided an excellent demonstration of just how fragile they are). Jammed up inside the bowl I found a U shaped cap from a cosmetics bottle. It was plastic, about three inches wide and flexible enough to get forced though an opening and then expand. It acted very much like a barbed hook. I couldn’t see it from either end, the plunger had no effect, the auger went right past it, and water pressure wouldn’t move it.

{ 6 comments… read them below }
John Thomas
We have a 1997 and are plagued with slow drains. we have replaced the toilets to no avail. It appears that the far end was lower than the end nearest the septic system. I have raised the far end between 6 nad 8 inches to no avail . septic system is fine . could or would a roto rooter type device possibly remedy this situation.
Paul
I have seen a situation where a low spot in the main drain line gradually accumulated solids until the line clogged. So in the situation you describe the Roto Rooter would probably be worth a try.

de
both of my toilets wont flush properly. no other problems found. Very slow flush, then water drains out of toilet. Could there be an obstruction where the two meet under the house or could my vent be stopped up on top of the house.
Paul
I’m thinking it would be unusual to have two toilets so close together they would have a common drain line that came together before any sinks or tubs/showers were also connected. I would start with snaking each one and see what happens. Any chance you had kids visiting

Jessie Dunn
will a standard toilet fit in a mobile home