How to Unblock a Toilet Easily With These 6 Most Common Ways

Identify the Type of the Blockage

A sign that a blockage is forming is the water draining slowly from the toilet. When you notice this, do not wait for the toilet to become completely obstructed. It is much easier to unblock it early on.

The second type of stoppage is when, after flushing the toilet, the water in the bowl is very little or there is none at all. This means that there is an issue with the air circulation in the waste pipe.

Lastly, there is the complete blockage which is identified by how the water level in the toilet bowl keeps rising towards the brim and does not drain away. If you have this type of obstruction, move as much water as possible from the bowl into a separate bucket and avoid the temptation to flush again, otherwise, you risk having to deal with water spilling everywhere and a much bigger mess.

If you are having trouble identifying the type of blockage, call a plumber to deal with your blocked toilet in London.

Note: A blockage in a toilet macerator or waste outlet needs diagnosing the root of the problem and application of unblocking methods different from those used for standard toilets. Your best bet is to contact a Saniflo plumber who will help you remove the blockage the hassle-free way.

Prepare the area

Place old towels and newspapers around the toilet bowl to protect the floor from any overspill, splashes or drips. Save your best towels for another time. It might be a good idea to have a bucket waiting on standby, should the case to pull up rather than pushing down a blockage arise. Use rubber gloves and wear old clothes to protect yourself.

Prevent overflows

To ensure that no overflowing nightmares happen that day, you will need to turn the shutoff valve. Look for it on the pipe coming off the wall behind the toilet. Turn it clockwise and make sure not to accidentally break it if it is not budging and you use too much strength. You can spray a little penetrating oil on the valve to loosen it.

If that doesn’t work or you have an older toilet that doesn’t have a shutoff valve, deal with either the float or the flapper inside the water tank. Don’t worry, the water inside the tank is the same as the one that comes out of the tap.

The float is the large ball-like or balloon-like element that sinks down when the water level drops and opens the water valve to fill up the tank. You can use something to keep it upright. Alternatively, you can close the flapper. That is the circular drain stopper attached to a chain. Doing either of these three options will prevent water from filling up the tank after you have flushed.

Double-check your plunger

Before proceeding with the plunger, double-check if you can remove the obstruction manually if it is a child’s toy or another object. If that is not the case, then it is time to pick up the plunger. Make sure you are using the correct one: a plunger that has a rubber flange that can fold back up into the suction cup when not in use is for toilets; a plunger without one is for sinks. Using the wrong instrument will make the job more difficult and time-consuming since you won’t have a tight seal around the hole. To make the plunger even more effective, you can soften the rubber by soaking it in hot water for a few minutes.

Before you start plunging, make sure the plunger is submerged in water and it is completely covering the pipe. You can add water from the sink to the toilet bowl to achieve the best results.

It’s time to plunge

Start by slowly and firmly pushing down to create a seal and then pulling up sharply to dislodge the obstruction. When you pick up the pace, you will notice the water starting to drain. It usually takes at least 15 minutes to unclog a toilet.

When draining, some water may dislodge and push forward the blockage. If it doesn’t, then fill up the toilet bowl with water to its usual level again and repeat the process. Some stubborn clogs containing hair or wet wipes may require a couple of rounds of plunging.

Clean your tools

Once you are done, it is important to give your tool a good clean. The best way is to pour some bleach and washing liquid into the toilet bowl and swirl the plunger for a few minutes in the mixture. Then rinse it by flushing the toilet twice. This will also help move the blockage forward.

Unclog Your Loo with a Drain Auger

A toilet auger (also known as a closet auger, drain auger and plumber’s snake) is essentially a long, flexible cable, which has a handle on one end and a corkscrew-shaped tip on the other. It also has a rubber covering that protects the toilet bowl from scratches. Follow these steps to find out how to unclog a toilet with a snake:

Insert the cable into the toilet

Start by inserting the auger into the toilet and positioning the curved part of the instrument at the curved part of the toilet bowl. If you can still see the cable, then you need to push the auger further in.

Rotate the handle until the blockage is clear

Hold the auger housing in one hand and rotate the handle slowly with the other. Make sure you don’t use too much force as this could backfire and make the cable coil back. Turn the handle patiently in one direction until you get some resistance. When you feel like it cannot go any further, then it is safe to assume that you have reached the blockage.

If the cork-screw tip perforates the blockage, you can pull the cable out along with the obstruction. Alternatively, the tip can break the obstruction into smaller pieces, which can then be flushed away safely.

Get the cable out

If the cable can go in deeper than before and there is no resistance anymore, pull it out by rotating in the opposite direction.

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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR TOILET WON’T UNCLOG

We rarely think about toilets until something goes wrong. When our toilet malfunctions or clogs, it can be more than a minor inconvenience, especially if we don’t have a plunger. Keep in mind that a severely blocked toilet could interrupt your household completely.

Although clearing the blockage is frequently as simple as plunging the drain, you might need to run an auger through your plumbing.

Moreover, some clogs might be far down the pipe or extremely hard to remove that you’ll require services from Air America. Fortunately, these tips will help you unclog your toilet.

Plunger

While this tool might appear basic, it remains the best way of unclogging a toilet. We recommend all households to have this tool and preferably one with a flange because they work best to unblock toilets.

When using this tool, you need to place the plunger in the toilet bowl and push it down gently. The first push is simply to eliminate the air. Take care not to push forcefully, otherwise; you might splash dirty water on yourself.

Once you have a good seal, pump the plunger down and up forcefully while sustaining the seal. Finally, pull the tool up sharply while breaking the air seal. You’ll notice the water rushing down the drain. If this hasn’t fixed the blockage, repeat the steps until the clog loosens.

Vinegar and Baking Soda

When your toilet won’t flush and you don’t have a plunger, you can turn to non-toxic household cleaning aids: vinegar and baking soda. You probably know that vinegar and baking soda are great at cleaning numerous surfaces, function as great deodorizers, and are helpful in keeping our drains running smoothly.

However, these household cleaners also work when you need to fix a blocked toilet if you don’t have a plunger. We recommend you add a cup of baking soda to your blocked toilet and wait for some minutes. Next, pour two cups of vinegar slowly into the toilet.

Vinegar and baking soda will typically react to form bubbles, so ensure you pour carefully and slowly to prevent the toilet water from overflowing or splashing. Allow the baking soda and vinegar mixture to work for a couple of minutes.

You’ll need to flush your toilet to establish whether the clog has cleared. You might need to repeat the process until the clog clears. The clog will clear when your toilet makes a fast suction sound and drains naturally thereafter.

Hot Water and Dish Soap

Heat up a gallon of hot water on the stove and pour some dish soap into your toilet while the water is heating up. When the water is extremely hot, but not boiling, pour into the toilet carefully. Wait for 10-15 minutes while the dish soap and hot water soften the clog.

Once you do so, the toilet will unclog and flush freely. Alternatively, you could use hot water and shampoo from the sink if you wish to clear your toilet without leaving your bathroom.

Household Bleach

Similar to soap, household bleach helps break down the waste. The procedure resembles the one that involves dish soap. Simply replace the solid or liquid dishwashing soap with 2-3 cups of bleach. After one or two minutes, pour one cup of powdered soap. Wait 10-15 minutes and flush your toilet. You’ll discover this approach is more efficient for a very clogged toilet.

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5 Ways to Unclog a Toilet

Tried and True: Use a Plunger

It's not very high-tech, but a plunger remains your best first option when faced with a clogged toilet. The key here is to use the right kind of plunger for the job. You'll want to use a toilet plunger versus a sink plunger. These plungers have a bell shape with a cylindrical sleeve coming out of the bottom. This sleeve fits into the drain hole of the toilet bowl while the surrounding rubber cup forms a tight seal. (Sink plungers lack this sleeve and won't be as effective.)

To get the job done, make sure there is at least enough water in the bowl to cover the drain hole, then angle the plunger so that the sleeve extends into the hole. Using short, sharp, strong strokes, move the plunger up and down several times. Remove it from the bowl and flush. Repeat if necessary.

Snake It!

Sometimes plunging is simply not effective when trying to unclog the toilet, so you may want to have a go with a snake. This device is a long semi-rigid coil of wire that has a corkscrew-style tip on the end. There’s a range of toilet snakes to choose from, but your best bet is one called a closet or toilet auger, which is a bit more heavy-duty and designed specifically for getting around the twists and turns in a toilet bowl.

To use it, insert the tip of the auger into the drain hole and crank the handle in a clockwise direction. Eventually, you should feel the tip of the auger stop working its way down the toilet, which means you have found the clog. At this point, push the auger forward and back a few times until you feel the clog break up. Then, rewind the auger and flush the toilet.

Get the Hang of It

If you don't have a snake or auger on hand, you can get much the same result by unwinding a simple wire hanger. You can leave the curved part of the hanger intact to act as a hook, but you may want to cover it with a bit of electrical tape or duct tape to protect your toilet's porcelain surface. Feed the unwound hanger hook end first down the drain and when you hit the clog, work it back and forth to clear. Use rubber gloves to keep your hands clean.

Brush Bonus: In a pinch, you can try using your toilet bowl brush to work the clog free. The brush will have a harder time handling the curves of the bowl and won't extend as far as a snake or hanger, but if the clog is relatively close to the opening of the drain hole at the bowl, it might just do the trick. You'll definitely want to wear long rubber gloves for this procedure as you'll need to reach pretty far down for the best chance of success.

Soap Up

If mechanical methods of removing your clog fail (or if you don't have the tools you need to execute them), you might want to try chemical methods. The easiest way to try this out is to squirt about 1/4 cup of liquid dish detergent into the bowl. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so that it has a chance to travel through the water and into the drain, where it will hopefully surround the clog and lubricate it. Follow this up with a pot of very hot water that's just below the boiling point, and the clog should rinse free.

Make A Clog-Clearing Recipe

Your kitchen can be the source of more clog-busting help in the form of the tried-and-true duo of vinegar and baking soda. Because this creates a fizzy reaction, you may want to remove some water if your toilet bowl is filled to the rim, or at least put some old towels around the base to catch any spillover. Then put one cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar in the bowl and let it go to work for about a half hour. Follow up with piping-hot water, and hopefully, the clog will have dissolved enough for you to get back to flushing success.

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