"Do not go where the path may lead. Instead, go where there is no path and leave a trail"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Home: Quote

Home: Blog2

My Toilet Is Blocked, How Do I Fix It?

John Haggarty

Dec 10, 2018

2 min read

A blocked toilet usually does not mean that you are facing a major drainage failure – all going well, it is just a temporary nuisance that you can fix yourself. However, some can be trickier than others, so we are going to outline some techniques to get everything running smoothly from using a simple plunger to employing effective but damaging chemicals.

1 Plunging

In all honesty, we probably don’t have to go into too much detail here. We should all have a good idea of how a plunger works. However, here are some quick tips:

Buy a good quality plunger. If you buy a cheap one, and it doesn’t work, you will end up spending more money in the long-run and having to wait longer to have your toilet unblocked.
Start with a gentle plunge as initially the bell is just filled with air. From here, push and pull with force.
Ensure that the plunger is covered with water the whole time, and make sure you maintain the seal!

All going well, after a little bit of effort you will force the blockage down and you will hear the water running again. Remember to wear gloves!

2 An Auger

When a plunger just won’t cut it, you need to upgrade to something more sophisticated. That is where an auger or ‘plumbing snake’ could do the trick. Available on Amazon or in any tool/DIY shop, these tools can really make the difference and do the job where a plunger fails. Here is a brief overview of how the process works:

Place the wire casing into the toilet and feed the auger down the toilet pipe. You should not be able to see the actual wire portion when you begin the process.
Place one hand on the auger housing and turn the handle slowly with the other to work the auger down the drain. Be patient: Wind it down slowly or else it will just turn back on itself and back towards you!
If the auger stops moving down the drain, reverse crank a couple of times to free it up, and then begin cracking it normally again. Eventually the auger handle should be very tight against the auger tube. At this stage, crank it a few more times.
All going well, the blockage will have cleared. Flush the toilet to make sure and if it does not work you may want to try again a couple of times.

Remember to wipe the auger dry when you are finished so that it does not rust when in storage!

3 Chemicals

If manual processes don’t work, you might have to resort to chemicals. You have two options.

Firstly, you can use an enzyme cleaner. This is preferable if you know that the blockage is organic. Enzyme cleaners will only work on organic substances which means they will do no harm to your pipes, although they will not work if the blockage is plastic or metal etc.

Alternatively, you can use a drain cleaner. This can make short work of anything causing troubles in your pipes – but it will also make quick work of your pipes. Because it is corrosive, it will target things indiscriminately, reducing the lifespan of your pipes with every use.

Comments

CLEARWATER DRAINAGE

This is the Clearwater Drainage, where I will tell you everything you need to maintain the pipes on your property and keep everything running smoothly and at capacity. From maintenance tips to repair guides and everything in between, this website is a one-stop shop for everything pipe and drain related.

If you have any specific questions or need help on a particular topic, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I will offer assistance in any way I can!

Read Our Blogs

Home: Welcome

HOW IT WORKS

As an industry professional, I have been asked thousands of questions over the years. Some are common, and some are obscure, but all of them are valid. On this website, I am going to address some of the most important ones so that you can arm yourself with the information you need to keep your water running properly!

Every page will focus on a specific question or topic that we have been asked about in the past and I feel is useful or fundamental to be aware of. Some pages will take the form of a repair guide, outlining one technique at length or several brief overviews. Others will answer questions that we have been asked multiple times in the past.

This website will by no means replace the need for professional technicians or plumbers; there are a significant number of problems which will require specialist training and equipment, especially when it comes to drainage systems.

Nonetheless, there is a lot of work that you can do yourself with a little bit of effort and patience, so do not shy away from it!

Home: About

WHAT I WILL COVER

I have worked as a plumber for fifteen years. I have faced huge projects that have me tied up for days as well as routine jobs that take twenty minutes. The most striking thing I have found is that people will call out professionals for absolutely anything.
Even if you call a plumber out for a job that takes five minutes, you will still be charged a call out fee to cover the cost of the tradesperson taking the time to come out to your home in the first place which is only fair.
This ends up costing the public hundreds of unnecessary pounds because of call out fees. What is the point in paying someone else just to offer you some information that you could have Googled and spent an hour or so doing?
As a result, you are much better to try and fix it yourself. It is my job to make sure that you have all of the information to get going and do an adequate job without making the situation worse than when you began!

Home: About

DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE

Most home maintenance is purely aesthetic. As frustrating as it might be that there is a crack in some plaster, it isn’t going to go much further than that. Ripped wallpaper might be ugly, but again this is about as far as it goes.

Instances, where water is concerned, are an entirely different matter. Water damage can quickly cause incredible amounts of aesthetic and structural damage when not appropriately guided which will lead to thousands of pounds in repair costs.

It is impossible to absolutely guarantee that a drainage fault or emergency is never going to take place. This is the nature of the systems and water appliances. However, there are a number of measures you can employ to minimise the risk that a critical failure will occur.

Some of these steps are more committal than others, just as some are more effective than others. Regardless, all of them are valid and worthwhile.

For anyone who has not experienced widespread flooding resulting from a faulty toilet or a collapsed/burst drain, it is difficult to overstate just how quickly the damage will accumulate. Take it from me; it is crucial you do everything you can to avoid it!

Home: About

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about plumbing or have something in mind that you would like me to cover then don’t hesitate to get in touch. Everything I cover will be based on the most common questions I have been asked over the years by customers or addressing jobs I carry out all the time that I do not need to be called for.

However, there will be many things I miss or overlook so make sure to reach out to me if you need anything cleared up.

Home: Contact