Can a macerator toilet get clogged?

[Neal]

YES! I've done it three times!

I remember prior to ordering my coach my salesman mentioned the macerator toilet as something that you could put anything into it like it was one of the monster wood chippers. I learned the rule from someone somewhere early on is nothing goes in the toilets other then body stuff, i.e. no gum, etc. Well, I was surprised to see my dometic macerator toilet actually get clogged and now it's happened three times. The cause? KLEENEX! There must be something in the oils in kleenex/puffs etc. or that the tissue itself is a bit strong that it wraps itself around the blades, who knows. Since never putting kleenex in the toilet and instead in the trash can I've never had an issue even with what may be times of concern with excessive TP. I've also heard issues when people use the water saving mode but I never use that. I want a good flush with all the water to chase it that you can.

So now the question, how to clear the clog. There is no plunging as the valve is closed when the flush action is not in use. Time is on your side. Hopefully you're using the scotts rapidly dissolving RV toilet paper I get from amazon. Let the TP or whatever have time to dissolve and a flush a few hours later may actually work. The other option is to turn off your water and get a plunger. With the water off now trigger a flush so the valve opens and try plunging. I've also added draino (it is safe for plastics) but you should probably flush several times and dump the tank if concerned. The first time I had to take a bucket and transfer the nearly overflowing toilet to the other toilet I'm fortunate to have and also glad it's a gravity drop and not a macerator but it's still near puke worthy.

The moral here is yes you can clog a macerator toilet and do not put anything in it other than toilet paper!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Good points, Neal.

I believe the issue with Kleenex is its fiber structure. Toilet paper is usually made with short fibers in order to allow it to dissolve quickly when it comes in contact with water (or other liquid ). Kleenex, OTOH has longer fibers so that it will not dissolve quickly in the presence of liquid (no need to get specific here). At any rate, the long fiber structure of Kleenex makes it problematic when the macerator tries to pulverize it.

You are absolutely correct in saying that only "body stuff" and "toilet paper" should go into the macerator toilet. This seems to be hard for some folks to understand since conventional gravity toilets will handle a wider variety of disposable products. Whenever we have guests use our toilets, we find a way to explain this to them without getting gross. I have considered placing a sign in the bathroom that says "Only pee, poop and toilet paper goes into the toilet."). LadyDi has cast a dissenting vote on this, however.?

TJ

 

[Buly]

TJ is right. It is the fibers design in the paper. Kleenex and paper towels are designed not to tear apart easily, and they will wrap around the macerator blades. Only way to clean them I think is the nasty way of opening the unit and removing the stuff by hand. On my boat I had signs by the toilets:
DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN THE TOILET, UNLESS YOU HAVE EATEN IT FIRST. (TP EXCLUDED) ?

even than, a visitor put large paper napkins in, and I had to disassemble the toilet and clean whole mess.....

 

[Chuggs]

The blade has to do the work, but if you have a stubborn clog...using a plunger along with the macerator whirring does help.

 

[NWIP]

We have a towel rack above the toilet. One night a wash cloth was on the rack and during the night someone unknowingly. knocked it into the toilet which was then flushed. Next flush created a nearly overflowing water level and some panic. Original investigation was thought to be too much TP but then on further inspection wash cloth determined the culprit. Took some time to extract but accomplished.

Now nothing on towel rack prior to bed time and lid kept closed.