This Is How You Unclog A Toilet Quickly
Inside: Toilet clogs can sometimes be a homemaker’s worst nightmare, as they typically happen at the most inopportune times. Find out the exact process of how to unclog your toilet quickly; without having to rely on your husband or plumber to do it for you.
Do you sometimes feel you’re living amid a horror movie, as you press down the toilet flusher handle, watching the water, poop, and toilet paper rise to the edge of the toilet seat? Your eyes grow big and you pray it stops before teetering over the rim spilling its contents onto your bathroom floor.
Unfortunately, toilet clogs happen. Sometimes it due to too much toilet paper and other times someone “accidentally” dropped a toy car, Lego® or something else that shouldn’t have been flushed.
Sure, you can attempt to clear the toilet clog with vinegar, dishwashing liquid, cola, or other strange things you read about on the internet, but do you really want to wait a few hours hoping it’ll unclog the toilet?
You can also wait around for your husband to return home from work, or call the plumber; but why would you want to wait that long when you can resolve the issue in a quick and efficient manner?
If you have kids, a clogged toilet isn’t always due to an excess of toilet paper. If your kid decided to flush a small toy down the toilet, all the liquid dish soap, vinegar, and other household cleaning agents aren’t going to dislodge that obstruction.
Recommended Reading: How to clean a toilet like a professional cleaner.
The thing is this. You never know what’s obstructing the water flow. Why waste precious time trying to unclog a toilet when you don’t know what clogged it in the first place?
Unclogging a toilet shouldn’t be a waiting game. The obstruction needs to be dislodged promptly. The longer the toilet remains clogged, the more it will jeopardize the integrity of the toilet’s flushing system. It can also lead to pipe damage.
Although unclogging a toilet is an unpleasant task and for some a little challenging; however, unclogging a toilet isn’t as difficult as you may have imagined.
As there isn’t a technical plumbing term (that I could find) for the area that removes the poop and pee from the bowl after you flush; for this article, the term drainage hole will be used.
Supplies needed to unclog a toilet
- Disposable gloves
- Plunger
- Toilet snake/auger
- Disposable tarp (if removal of the toilet is necessary)
- Large plastic bag (if removal of the toilet is necessary)
- Putty knife (if removal of the toilet is necessary)
Step 1:
You’ll want to turn off the toilet water valve. The valve is located behind the toilet.
Step 2:
Make sure there’s enough water in the toilet bowl before using your plunger. If there’s not enough water, you can add some from the bathroom sink or bathtub. Fill up a cup or bucket and pour it into the toilet bowl.
Don’t overfill the toilet. You’ll want just enough water to cover the drainage hole in the bowl.
Step 3
The easiest and usually the quickest way to remove a toilet clog is by using a plunger.
Place the base of the plunger over the drainage/flush hole and press down firmly. Without losing suction, you’ll want to push down and release the pressure, allowing the plunger to return to its normal state.
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At this point, the obstruction should be dislodged. If the water drains down the drainage hole, pat yourself on the back for a job well done. If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to use a toilet snake/auger.
Peachy Tip: To make sure you’ve removed the obstruction, don’t flush with the toilet handle. Remove the tank lid. Gently pull up on the chain and release a little water into the toilet bowl at a time by manually opening and closing the flapper.
How to use a toilet snake/auger to unclog a toilet
Step 1:
Put on disposable gloves before using a toilet snake.
Step 2:
Place the plastic pointed piece of the toilet snake down and position the pointed end into the drainage hole. (That’s the part where everything gets flushed down the bowl).
Step 3:
While pressing down, turn the handle of the toilet snake clockwise. Once you either feel the clog or the toilet snake doesn’t go any further, you’ll want to turn the handle counter-clockwise to pull it out from the toilet bringing it back from the inside of the toilet to its original position.
At this point, it should have dislodged whatever was in the bowl, by either bringing it up or forcing it down into the sewer pipe.
Step 4:
Analyze the situation. If a lot of toilet paper came up, you’ll want to remove it.
Scoop out the debris using your toilet brush, or bathroom plunger. Immediately place in a plastic bag and throw it in the trash.
If this doesn’t work, proceed to the next step.
How to remove the toilet from the floor
Before proceeding with the removal of the toilet, you’ll want to make sure the toilet has no water in it.
This part can get pretty messy if it’s filled with fecal matter. Not trying to gross you out, remove the water and anything else that’s floating in the toilet.
You can use a disposable cup to remove the contents. As you remove the contents, either place it in a plastic bag or flush each cup full of toilet water in your other toilet bowl.
Step 1:
Make sure the water valve is still off.
Step 2:
After the toilet has been drained of all its contents, you’ll need to remove the bolts that are holding the base of the toilet to the floor.
Place it on a plastic disposable tarp or large plastic bag.
Step 3:
Remove the tank from the toilet. Depending on your toilet 2 or 3 screws are holding the tank to the base of the toilet.
Remove the toilet from the floor. If you’re having trouble with this, you’ll want to rock the toilet from side to side to dislodge it from the wax seal.
Place it on a plastic disposable tarp or large plastic bag.
Step 4:
Turn the toilet on its side and look for the clog. If you see the obstruction, force it out from the top or bottom.
Step 5:
Using your toilet snake, place it down the sewer hole and try to dislodge the clog.
Step 6:
You’ll need to remove and replace the wax ring (See below on how to change the wax ring)
Step 7:
Place the toilet back in its original position, making sure the bolts are secured.
Step 8:
Turn the water valve back on
This is how to change the wax ring on your toilet
Step 1:
Scrape off the old wax ring. You may want to use a putty knife for this part. The old ring may look different than the new one, so don’t worry. Make sure you scrape all the wax off the flooring.
Step 2:
Place the new ring in its place.
Step 3:
Carefully lift the toilet and put it back in its original place. Make sure to push down on the toilet so it makes a good seal with the wax ring.
Securely tighten the bolts and cover with the bolt caps
If nothing works to unclog a toilet
If nothing you do dislodges the drain, you’ll want to call the plumber.
Your turn
What’s the craziest thing that you ever found in your toilet? Share in a comment
Stay Peachy!
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