Toilet/Urinal Clog or Emergency
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1Emergency shutoff of Toilets or UrinalsUsing a wrench, turn the chrome hex nut cover on the front of the wall shutoff valve to the left (Counterclockwise) to open.
Remove hex nut cover. (see below photo, red arrow)
Insert a flat head screwdriver.
Slowly Turn screwdriver to the right (Cockwise) until the water stops flowing.
Replace the chrome cover on the valve.
Notify Michael, Greg, Roger or Debra if an emergency for repairs.
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2Understand what is going onTypically, the size of the bowl allows one flush of water to stay in the bowl without overflowing. A bowl full of water and a second flush may overflow if an obstruction is not overcome by the force of the water. The job of a plunger is to have enough captured air to push the clog through the toilet trap and into the larger drainpipe. By having the wall shutoff valve available to turn off you can avert a large overflow or reduce it if the sewer can't take the flow. If all else fails, use an out of order sign and call for a plumber at Debra.
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3Suggested Tools
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4Why remove the cover from wall stop valve?Turning the screw clockwise will turn off the water supply flow to the toilet if necessary. This can also used to adjust the amount of water that enters the bowl during a flush. Sometimes if this valve is open all the way, it will be entirely too much water going into bowl. This condition is caused by the worn or wrong internal components of the flush valve being over capacity for the bowl size. If that occurs the flush valve requires rebuilding with the proper diaphragm for the desired capacity.
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5Clear the clogBe sure to have the plunger flap extended so it fits in the bowl trap entrance. Have enough water in the bowl to create a good seal on the plunger. Sometimes one good push will clear a clog. Sometimes a push pull action is required to free or break down the clog. If that is not successful you can leave the clog soak for a while and try again later. You can also use the plunger and re-flush as long as you can force most of the water out of the bowl with the plunger. If you are not confident the clog has cleared, get a bucket of water from the custodial closet and pour water into the toilet for a controlled flush. You can also use the plunger and re-flush as long as you can force most of the water out of the bowl with the plunger. The bucket method is safer than using the flush lever because it can't overflow.
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6Clean upAfter verifying the proper setting for the flow through the wall, stop valve, replace but do not tighten the beyond snug with a tool. The cap will break if you over tighten it. The cap needs to be tighter than finger tight, because sometimes people will play with it or turn it off. The custodial closet contains bowl disinfectant/cleaner and a small bowl mop to clean the bowl with. The blue water can also clean the plunger if you put it in the bowl while the bowl is blue. A few paper towels can be used to set the plunger on as well. After you’ve cleaned and flushed it, please put an additional amount of bowl cleaner in it and mix it up so the water turns blue signifying to the next users that the toilet has been serviced and cleaned.
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