Effective Blocked Toilet Repair Methods
If you want to attempt to fix your blocked toilet yourself before needing to call a professional toilet plumber, there are numerous DIY options available.
There are several items that will make toilet repairs significantly easier. Have these handy items on hand:
- An effective toilet plunger
- A bucket
- Rubber gloves
- A drain cleaning product (usually available from a supermarket or hardware store)
- Towels or old newspaper to lay on the ground
- A wire coat hanger or drain snake
With these products within arms reach, you’ll have everything you need to attempt to resolve your blocked toilet problem. Among the DIY methods are:
The plunger is typically one of the easiest methods of fixing many types of toilet blockage. Be sure to lay out any towels or newspaper around the base of the toilet, and that you’re wearing rubber gloves. If the bowl is too full that moving a plunger up and down will cause an overflowing toilet, empty some of that water into your bucket.
It’s important to note that you will need a specific toilet plunger for the most effective results. A standard plunger with just the rubber suction cup at the end is not designed to fit in the opening and so will not work. A toilet plunger has an additional component that fits in the opening of the toilet bowl to make plunging possible and effective.
- Inserting a wire hanger or toilet snake in the toilet drain
Some blockages simply need to be dislodged with the use of a wire coat hanger or a drain snake. All you need to do is to straighten out the wire hanger and push it through your toilet’s U-bend or S-bend. Move the unravelled hanger around until you locate the clog, then keep moving the hanger until you dislodge the blockage. You should then be able to flush the toilet without it filling up.
If you don’t have a wire coat hanger in your home or want a similar solution you can use more than once, you may want to consider purchasing a drain snake from a hardware store.
- Using drain cleaner products
There are numerous drain cleaning products available on the market. Some are chemical based, others are organic, and both claim to be able to unclog your blocked toilet. Be sure to follow the instructions; pour a generous amount of cleaner in your toilet bowl. Wait half an hour to allow the cleaner to take effect and pour boiling water down the toilet drain to flush the cleaner away. Personal safety is paramount, so be sure also to have sufficient ventilation in the room.
Once you’ve tried any or all of these approaches, if you’re still having no luck fixing your clogged toilet, it may be time to get an experienced blocked toilet plumber in to unclog your toilet drain. Luckily there’s almost certainly a Cyber Plumbers technician in your area.
