How to unclog a clogged toilet

How to unclog toilet?
  11 answers
  • John Rennoldson John Rennoldson on Jan 12, 2016
    1/3 cup dish soap, fill bowl with hot water and wait 5 minutes. Add another 1/3 cup dish soap and more hot water. Flush.
  • John John on Jan 12, 2016
    Plunger. You rarely find the bowl empty when it's clogged. If the plunger doesn't work, it's time for the snake. If that doesn't work, it's time to call in the professionals.
  • Alexis Alexis on Jan 12, 2016
    Probably start with buying a new plunger. Most plungers date from the early '70s and are dying of dry rot. Then fill the bowl with hot water if there's any room left and plunge and plunge and plunge. Sometimes it takes many plunges.
  • Hope Williams Hope Williams on Jan 12, 2016
    Hi Melody. First, you can try a round bowl brush. It usually works pretty quick. From there, I would definitely follow @John 's recommended steps.
  • MN Mom MN Mom on Jan 12, 2016
    Not to be gross, but if you can wait, whatever waste is in the bowl should disentigrat if you leave it sit for a bit. Definitely buy a commercial grade plunger. They're usually black and have a plug that fits into the opening in the bowl itself and not the basic cheap red rubber kind. Give it a flush and start plunging. Be sure to have some old towels around in case you overflow. Good luck!
  • Connie Mar Connie Mar on Jan 13, 2016
    Always use a plunger first. If that doesn't work, then try a snake. Toilet brushes are for cleanup afterwards. My husband tried a snake first recently and nothing happened except a huge mess in the toilet. The plunger took care of it. Make sure it's a heavy duty plunger as the cheap, flimsy ones won't help. There have been times when the problem has resolved itself, but that means nobody can use that toilet in the meantime.
  • John Grimley John Grimley on Jan 13, 2016
    Having worked maintenance in an old people's home, the easiest trick I have found... if the water level has dropped (which it almost always does), fill a bucket with hot water & pour in as quickly as you can & from a height - so loads of water is dropping into the bowl. Doing this a couple of times often does the trick. If not, all that hot water left to soak in won't hurt & helps to break up whatever's causing the blockage (often it was loads of paper/paper towels). If you can bear to get up close & personal, there's the plunger. If you have an old string mop you can put that in & 'poss' the bowl. There's an old trick with a cheap plastic football - cut out the valve to leave a hole about 2" diameter, fill the ball with water (make sure the toilet has plenty of water in it so the ball doesn't empty) & place the ball in the toilet bowl, rotate the ball until the hole points downwards then press hard. The ball should form a seal in the toilet & the water which is forcefully ejected from the ball should clear the blockage. Have fun :-D
  • Johnchip Johnchip on Jan 13, 2016
    1. use plunger, 2. pour buckets of water from head height into the bowl. 3. Use a pipe/drain router to snake the pipe. I just had a problem where the clog would not come out no matter what . After the guy ripped up the pipes and septic, we found plastic cap in the turn of the trap in the toilet and it would not come out until you took the toilet off the floor and then it was easy. I told the guy to check the unit itself first.. but no. they needed to go backwards. it is either removed with plunger, buckets of water or ....it is in the unit.
  • Msi1170121 Msi1170121 on Jan 17, 2016
    I heartily endorse pouring in water as Mr. Grimley recommends...most of the time this does the trick. If you do have to plunge, DO NOT flush then plunge unless you want dirty water. on your floor. Fit the plunger with the sleeve in the drain and SLOWLY depress until you have a suctionon it then pull upwards. Often this will dislodge the blockage and allow the toilet to drain. Another handy tip that doesn't seem to be commonly known is that if you flush and only then discover there's a blockage, instead of watching it overflow or grabbing the towels, turn on the tub and/or sink full force. This cuts down on the water flow to the toilet and is faster than cutting off he water going to the tank.
  • John Grimley John Grimley on Jan 17, 2016
    In hindsight, the ONLY time I haven't cleared the bowl using my methods (above), I had to remove the toilet & pipework. I discovered a couple of disposable razors lodged in the main pipe. the first had snagged on some debris where the pipe had been cut to length & an elbow joint added. the second razor had snagged on the first. Every other time had been the result of someone shoving too much loo roll or paper towels down. Not sure what you've got in America but the UK uses 4" diameter soil pipes all the way from the loo to the sewer.
  • John John on Jan 18, 2016
    I'm a software engineer, but 3" is standard soil pipe from the WC on down. According to an internet search. That's always valid, right?