The bathroom throne is the most important seat in the house and must operate at its full potential every flush. We don’t give it much thought until there is a blockage, which is the most important daily problem.
Do you have an issue with your toilet clogging up? It could be from foreign matter or mineral build-up, as well as venting and sewer issues. Whatever the problem, you need to know how to solve it. Ideally, you can contact a plumber to fix a toilet that keeps clogging up. Alternatively, you may like to tackle the problem by yourself.
Here is how to fix a toilet that keeps clogging up.
1. Fix a clogged toilet with a plunger.
This tool is designed specifically for blockages in drains, and you have plenty of drains in your house, including sinks, toilets, tubs and showers. Make sure you have a dedicated plunger for just toilet duty to prevent any contamination of harmful bacteria.
Although operating a plunger seems pretty straightforward, there is a method to get full plunging power. If your toilet is filled with water, you are good to go; if not, flush it to get some water in the bowl. Place the plunger head over the hole and make a tight seal. This is vital. Then plunge once to get the air out.
With a steady force, use up and down strokes to create pressure and suction in the drain. This will work to break up the clog and flush it away. After you have a clear drain, wash and disinfect your plunger so it is ready to go next time it’s needed.
2. Fix a clogged toilet with boiling water.
Boiling water works by washing away buildup in your toilet drain, including:
- Soap scum
- Dirt
- Hair
- Debris
While it won’t dissolve hard mineral buildup or heavy debris, it can melt away the sticky scum that traps other stuff.
Boil a pot or kettle of water and slowly pour it down the drain. It needs to make its way down to the location of the clog to do its magic. Try flushing to see if it worked, and follow up with more boiling water as needed.
3. Fix a clogged toilet with commercial & DIY cleaners.
You can go out and buy a drain cleaner from the store or make your DIY solution to clear the clog. For a homemade cleaner, just look at your cupboards. All you need is baking soda and vinegar to make a solution to pour down your drain. The chemical reaction works great for dissolving buildup and reusing your water.
4. Fix a clogged toilet with plumbers snake
A plumber’s snake is brought in when these other methods have failed, and you can buy or rent one at your local home improvement store. Using a snake is fairly easy and involves feeding it down the toilet drain until you get to a clog and turn the auger to break up the debris. Cleaning up after is another matter, but it has to be done.
These methods are great for unclogging your toilet drain, but if this problem is often happening, you need to address other issues.
5. Prevent clogs by flushing the right items.
Have a family meeting and discuss what people are putting down the toilet drain. Your toilet is only meant to flush away bodily waste and toilet paper. Anything else should be thrown into the garbage or compost. Common items people try flush are:
- Food scraps
- Oil and grease
- Sanitary napkins
- Paper towels
- Baby wipes
- Condoms
Other items are accidentally dropped into the toilet and flushed down. Toys, makeup, toiletries and other material shouldn’t be kept near the toilet bowl or on the sink counter close to the toilet.
6. Prevent clogs with plumbing maintenance.
Our sewer system has vents that allow toxic gases to escape, so they don’t back up into our homes. If these get blocked with debris, it can cause low pressure in your plumbing and affect flushing. Go up on the roof and check that the vent pipes are clear. Leaves and other material can get blown in or brought in by critters to make their home, so you will need to clean it all out.
Here are some ideas to prevent a clogged toilet:
- Boiling Water Ritual: Regularly pour boiling water down all your drains to combat the buildup before it becomes a clog.
- Use Less Toilet Paper: Most people unroll more than they need per wipe. Try to scale back and implement the fold-over technique for your toilet paper, so less is used.
- Double Flush: This is a method to flush away waste material as you produce it. Instead of waiting until you are done, give a mid flush to divide the contents and wash away easier.
- Eat More Fibre: I’m not here to give you dieting advice, but when people don’t eat many fibrous foods, they have larger, more solid waste coming out. This causes toilet blockages, which can be corrected by softening your stool with an extra serving of greens.
There we have it; how to fix a toilet that keeps clogging up. Use these methods and preventative ideas to keep your waste water flowing so you can enjoy your time on the throne.
