How To Unclog a Toilet

So you did it again.

That’s ok, a clogged toilet is one of the most common household repairs and something every person should know how to remedy.

How To Use a Plunger Without Making a Mess

If you do not have a plunger then you need to go buy one, no exceptions, every household should have a plunger.

Using a plunger very straight forward but a little bit of technique can make the process cleaner and more efective.

What you do not want to do is put the plunger in the toilet and give it one hard push. This will push out all of the air in the plunger and the sewage that clogged the toilet in the first place will bubble out of the toilet and spray around the room.

What you want to do is gently put the end of the plunger around the hole in the toilet. You want to create a seal with the plunger around the drain.

Now slowly push out all of the air from the end of the plunger so it bubbles gently without making a mess. With the plunger slightly compressed and seal around the drain you want to quickly jiggle the plunger up and down without ever breaking the seal from the toilet drain.

You are not trying to push the clog down in one go. You want to push and pull the clog so that it gets broken up by the rapid movements.

What If The Plunger Doesn’t Work?

If the plunger cannot seem to work and your toilet is still clogged, you are not out of luck yet.

If it is not an emergency, lots of times letting the toilet sit will allow the toilet water to soften the stool and break down the toilet paper so you plunge it out later.

After you use a plunger be sure to rinse it off in the clean toilet water before returning it back to its home beside the toilet. If you plunger lives somewhere else perhaps clean it a bit more thoroughly.

If the toilet has sat and you still cannot plunge it there are a few more options to consider before calling a plumber.

How to Manually Break Up a Clog

A messy yet effective method for breaking up a clog in a toilet is to simply break it up. Plumbers have a specific tool to do this called a drain snake, but you can achieve the same thing with some household items.

A wire coat hanger can be unbent and used as a wire that can be used to poke and prod the clog to break it up. If you are going to be doing this you need to wear latex gloves as you are dealing with raw sewage.

Do not flush anything except for sewage. If you are worried about dropping something in the toilet or a piece of the hanger breaking off stop what you are doing. The best way to damage your plumbing is to flush something other than bodily waste and toilet paper.

My Toilet Still Won’t Flush

If you have done all you can and are fairly certain that you have either broken up or removed the clog but you toilet just still will not flush, you can follow my full troubleshooting guide for seven other reasons why a toilet won’t flush.

→ [Why Won’t My Toilet Flush]

Why Won’t My Toilet Flush? How to Diagnose the Problem

When To Call a Plumber

If the clog is simply too stubborn to be unclogged yourself, a plumber with the right tools can quickly and relatively cheaply unclog your toilet for you.

If you are uncomfortable sticking anything in your toilet then there is no shame in calling a plumber. You are probably just smarter than the rest of us anyway for keeping your hands out of the toilet.