Problem: when I flush my toilet most often the water swirls around and doesn't flush. I've tried bending a coat hanger and snaking it through the exit hole to see if there was an obstruction. Any suggustions?

If a new toilet, the front holes may not have been cast correctly. If an older toilet it is likely mineral buildup has blocked those holes. A mittor and a coat hanger shoudl suffice to open the holes up, use the mirror to see under the rim lip and use the coat hanger to open the holes- you may need to use a larger clip instead depending on the size of the holes.

you have a blockage maybe outside in your shores

There is a clog in the line. A plunger usually solves this problem, but you have to use a toilet plunger. Your local hardware store will give you the right tool ($13). If the plunger doesn't work, you need a toilet auger (also called a closet auger), which you can buy for less than $20.

Try getting a bucket full of water and dumping it pretty rapidly into the toilet bowl. This is essentially what happens when the toilet is flushed normally, but it removes the variable of how the water is being delivered from the tank to the bowl. It should swirl and go charging down the drain, quickly leaving the bowl with very little water. If it does not act that way, then problem is definitely that the drain is obstructed. When you snaked it, you probably used a fairly short snake (about 10 feet?). Try a plunger - use a good one not the kind designed for sinks. Flush multiple times and get vigorous with it. If that doesn't clear it you will have to remove the toilet and use a much larger and longer snake (50 ft or more). good luck, Al K

it sounds like you have a small clog. try plunging the toilet, but if that doesn't work try liquid plumber or a snake

There is either something lodged in the bottom ,in the toilet,or the drain is restricted with something on down in the sewer drain.

Make sure the water level is the same in both tanks, so you know the water volume will be the same for both units when flushing. Next, hold the handle down for the full flush release to make sure the flapper (in the tank) is not closing too soon and cutting off the full water volume needed. Next, would be to get a tolet snake reamer (buy the cheapest one) and run it through the toilet bowl 3 or 4 times always turning clockwise while entering and while removing. If all this does not cure the problem, then you probably have a defective toilet outlet hole that was made too small when the toilet was formed. The outlet hole must be minimum 1 5/8 inch diameter (most are between
1 3/4 inch to 2 1/4 inch diam.) . This is an occassional industry problem; I have seen it several time over the many years. To confirm this, you need to remove the toilet and measure the hole, or get flush balls of 1 5/8 inch with 4 ft. string attached. If the ball flushes and takes all the string slack, then the hole is at least correct minimum size. If ball does not completely flush after 3 tries, then there is some obstruction or the hole is too small and toilet it therefore defective. Goodluck, Macgivor

The blockage MAY be beyond the length of the snake you used. Once I had a blockage that required 145 feet of snake. ALSO the vent could be plugged by any of several things, including wasp nests.

Clean out the holes under the rim where the water comes in from the tank. Mineral deposits can clog these. A stiff piece of wire (coat hanger) will work.

Also, if the toilet has the siphon hole at the front part of the bottom of the bowl, this can get clogged with mineral deposits. These deposits can become almost rock-like and can be very difficult to remove. Try using a short screwdriver and break these loose. Water must flow freely from this hole for the toilet to flush properly.

Mine does this too, from time to time. I've found that it usually means there's a plug somewhere down the line that you can't reach with a coathanger. Since I keep forgetting to buy a plunger, I use a johnny mop to vigorously poke in and out of the bottom hole until most of the water in the bowl is gone. After doing that, a couple flushes usually clears the line.

If that doesn't work, you'll probably need to use a snake on it.