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A blocked toilet is a small emergency with a simple solution, as long as you resist the urge to flush again. Here is how to do it cleanly, and what to do when the plunger is not enough.
First: stop the water
If the bowl is full and rising, take the tank lid off and push the flapper down by hand, or close the small shut-off valve behind the toilet. The bowl will stop rising. Wait a few minutes; a partial clog often lets the water level fall on its own.
If the bowl is very full, bail some out into a bucket before you plunge, or it will end up on the floor.
The right plunger
A flange plunger has a soft rubber collar that folds out from inside the cup. It seals against the toilet's outlet in a way that a flat sink plunger cannot. If you only own a flat one, buy a flange plunger and keep it beside the toilet. It costs little and it is used more than any other tool in the house.
Plunging properly
- Fold the flange out, and put the plunger into the bowl so that the flange goes into the outlet. There must be enough water in the bowl to cover the cup; add some from a bucket if needed. Plunging air does nothing.
- Push down gently the first time, to expel the air from the cup without splashing.
- Then pump firmly and steadily, ten or fifteen times, keeping the seal. The pull is as important as the push: you are moving the blockage back and forth to loosen it.
- Pull the plunger away sharply. If the water rushes out, flush once to confirm. If not, repeat two or three times before moving on.
Hot water from the tap, not boiling, poured into the bowl from waist height, along with a squirt of dish soap, and left for fifteen minutes, softens a paper blockage and often finishes the job.
The toilet auger
For a blockage the plunger cannot shift, use a toilet auger, sometimes called a closet auger. It is a short cable in a curved tube with a rubber guard that protects the porcelain. An ordinary drain snake scratches the bowl and can get stuck.
- Pull the handle up so that the cable's end is inside the curved tube.
- Put the tube into the outlet at the bottom of the bowl.
- Push the handle down while turning it clockwise. The cable feeds around the bend.
- When you feel it bite, keep turning and work it back and forth, then pull it back while turning. Either the blockage comes back with it or it breaks up and goes through.
- Flush to confirm, with the tank lid off and a hand ready on the flapper.
What not to do
- Do not use a chemical drain cleaner in a toilet. It can crack the bowl if it heats, and it makes plunging dangerous.
- Do not flush repeatedly hoping it will clear. It will overflow.
- Do not use a coat hanger or a stick. They scratch, and they push the blockage further.
If it keeps happening
A toilet that clogs every week with normal use is telling you something: a partial blockage the auger did not reach, an object lodged in the trap, a low-flow toilet from the 1990s that never worked well, or a problem in the drain line beyond. A plumber can put a camera down the line.
When to call a plumber
- The auger will not pass, or comes back with nothing and the toilet still blocks
- Water backs up in the shower or tub when the toilet is flushed, which means the main line
- An object such as a toy or a toothbrush is lodged in the toilet
- A toilet that clogs repeatedly
Find a licensed plumber near your town.