American Standard Touchless Toilet Sensors sometimes irritate people because of their partial, random, slow, and no flushing problems. It increases the clogs risk when sufficient water does not move to the bowl to clear the solid wastes.
American Standard Touchless Toilet Sensor does not work due to battery failure, incorrect distance, poor detection, poor cleaning, broken sensors, cabinets, and bars near the toilets, and moisture entry in sensors.
These touchless toilets have dual functioning and contain automatic sensors and manual buttons. I usually use the manual button when these electric devices stop functioning. Moreover, I also use the water bucket for flushing, but it is a hectic procedure.
| Problems | Solutions |
| Battery failure | Remove covers and seals for battery replacement |
| Incorrect use | Keep your palm in front of the sensor for about 3 seconds |
| Poor detection | Install cabinets and ceiling lights away |
| Poor cleaning of sensors | Use a soft cloth to remove dust from them |
| Broken sensors | Do the repair procedure carefully |
| Moisture entry in the sensor | Tighten seal-mounted screws |
Battery failure
Touchless sensors are mounted on the left side of the toilet’s tanks and generate an electromagnetic field to detect the presence of objects. These send the signals to the control module when something comes in contact with the generated magnetic field.
Sometimes these produce a weak or no electromagnetic field because of the dead batteries. These cannot detect the presence of hands when you sweep them in front of these devices.
The battery failure comes from their frequent use and hindrances from nearby objects. In addition, the weak batteries generate a weak electromagnetic field that takes more time for detection, and you can face delayed or partial flushing issues.
Batteries are more susceptible to failure when kids play with them, triggering the unintended flushing mechanism. The risk of failure also increases when these are located on the ground floor of your home and are in more frequent use.
The durability of batteries decreases when more than one person shares the same bathroom and uses these fixtures frequently.
You can increase the life of sensor batteries by limiting their use. For example, I avoid their installation on the ground floor of my home because every people can use these bathrooms.
In addition, you can replace the batteries, which are smaller in size and easy to install. Remove the cover and unscrew the mounted bolts and rubber rings. Take out the devices, remove the dead batteries, and add new ones.
Incorrect use
Many people complain that these American Standard Touchless Toilets do not completely flush the bowl when they place their hands in front of them. The issue comes when you quickly move your hands back, and the electromagnetic field cannot detect the presence of objects.
You can mostly do these because you are in a hurry and do not have enough knowledge for their functioning. However, the issue also comes because of dirty hands, and the electromagnetic waves cannot detect because of hindrances.
Many people do not know about their location and sweep their hands away from the mounting area. These generate the magnetic field in their intended location and cannot detect the presence of objects that are away from them.
These can only detect objects and human hands when they come into the area of the generated magnetic field. Therefore, it is necessary to keep your hands in front of these devices for about 3 minutes so they can recognize the presence of objects and send signals.
These do not work when you are 3 feet away from these fixtures. These are located on the left side of the tank, and swipe your palm in front of them rather than moving them in other directions. I always keep my palm on the power-off mode button of these devices, and these blink blue light within seconds to trigger flushing.
Poor detection
Touchless sensors stop working because of poor detection of human hands. The issue of poor detection comes from hindrances of the other electric devices in the bathrooms.
The electromagnetic field generated by the other electronic devices hinders their functioning and causes poor detection.
In addition, the detection issues also come because of their incorrect installation. Internal bathroom conditions also affect their functioning. These do not function correctly when relative humidity and ambient temperature exceed the normal range.
These cannot detect objects correctly when cabinets are bars are mounted near them. In addition, the frequent opening and closing of cabinets or bars cause hindrances in their functioning.
These can also detect objects other than human hands. The sound created by the opening and closing of cabinets interferes with their functioning.
Ceiling lights also generate a low electromagnetic field and cause problems. I always keep the exhaust fans on and open the windows for better ventilation and decrease the relative humidity.
Install these fixtures away from the cabinets and add the cabinets approximately 4 to 5 feet away from them. Avoid mounting ceiling lights above your bathroom toilets because they generate an electromagnetic field, and you can hear the buzzing sound from them.
Poor cleaning of sensors
Touchless sensors cannot function properly when American Standard Touchless Toilets are not cleaned or maintained correctly. For example, dust can come on them when bathrooms are not used frequently.
The dust issue usually comes due to the user’s negligence in regular cleaning. Moreover, the guest bathrooms are not frequently used, and people do not clean them regularly.
Dust and dirt can accumulate on these devices, which cannot generate enough electromagnetic fields. In addition, the limescale from the water can also build on their internal components and hinder their functioning.
The limescale buildup chances on the sensor’s internal components increase if your home has a hard water supply. So I prefer to turn them off using the power-off button and keep them with a soft cloth to remove dust and sticky residues of soaps during bathing.
You can hire an expert to clean internal components because it is complicated to deal with them.
Broken sensors
American Standard Touchless Toilet Sensors can develop cracks when you use harsh rags for their cleaning. The issue also comes when you clean them forcefully and exert pressure on them.
These can also break when something heavy from the nearby falls on them. Sometimes the tiles can come off the walls because of their loose attachments and break them.
The issue also comes when children have heavy toys on them while playing. The chances of their wear and tear increase when you are doing repairing procedures on tanks or replacing them.
You can prevent their breakage by checking the mounting of nearby fixtures so they cannot directly come on them. Then, repair or replace the tanks carefully, and you can call a plumber for the correct procedure.
Moisture entry in the sensor
Touchless toilet sensors contain seals in their surroundings to prevent them from moisture and outside temperature fluctuations.
Rubber seals can get damaged with their age and incorrect installation. Seal is fastened with screws to prevent water entry into their electric parts.
Loose screws leave gaps in the seals, and water can easily enter. The issue also comes when you do not fasten them properly after replacing the batteries.
I always inspect the seals and covers regularly and ensure that there is no gap between them and screws are tight. Then, I usually tighten the seal-mounted screws with small wrenches.
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