You flush your toilet, and the water rises. You try again, and it goes even harder. You know better than to try a third time and risk overflowing the toilet. A clogged toilet is a pain, but it’s certainly easy to remedy. Here’s how to fix a clogged toilet.
Don’t flush
Toilets don’t unclog by repeated flushing. Doing so will just make things worse. Until you actually are making demonstrable progress with your unclogging efforts, you should not touch the flusher.
Determine the cause
You don’t properly appreciate a toilet until it stops working. A clog doesn’t happen for no reason. They happen when a toilet is forced to take in more than it can handle or items that were never meant to be flushed. You obviously shouldn’t flush a pen or a toy down the toilet. But you also shouldn’t flush things like paper towels or diapers. Additionally, using too much toilet paper can clog your toilet fast. It’s not too difficult to fix, but it’s much easier to avoid a clog in the first place by flushing with more discretion.
Plunge away
If you don’t have a plunger, go get one right now. It doesn’t matter whether or not your toilet is clogged. You need to have to have a plunger (or failing that, a toilet snake) to get rid of clogs as quickly as possible. When you retrieve your plunger, get it loose with some high-temperature water.
Get it deep into your toilet and plunge with purpose. Use a consistent rhythm that’s strong but also loose enough to make sure that your plunger is able to move. As you continue, you should see and hear your toilet cooperating. The water should start to recede. When you feel ready, you can flush. If it flushes smoothly, you’re good to go. Should the water rise or not do anything, you might need to plunge more.
Avoid future clogs
It’s not difficult to not clog a toilet. Just make sure you don’t flush anything that doesn’t belong. You can easily find a list of things that shouldn’t be flushed. Print it out and put it up to inform your family and guests.
If your toilet won’t unclog after repeated effort, it’s time to find professional help. The team at All About Plumbing & Septic will be more than happy to help you with unclogging your toilet and any other plumbing problems you might be having with your pipes and drains. Please give us a call today at 828-552-5721 so we can schedule a visit.