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The Best Way To Unclog A Toilet

Rustic Home > Basic Repair >The Best Way To Unclog A Toilet
 
 
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For many homeowners, one of the most distasteful, yet necessary tasks you may need to perform may be unclogging a toilet. Face it; we all know that at one time or another, something happens to clog that most necessary item in any house. The kids have stuffed their washrag down it, too many tissues or even an entire roll of toilet paper has found its way inside the drain, but not out the other end. Rust and buildup in old pipes is often the main cause of slow or a clogged toilet drain, and if you don't clear it out, you'll find a big mess on your hands the next time you flush.

To avoid the potential disaster, try a few simple remedies to start. One tip includes a special recipe that may help to clear up the matter before it causes trouble.

Homemade Clog Recipe: Measure 3 tablespoons of common dish soap into a clogged toilet bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes and then try using the plunger. Try to use force when plunging, and plunge at least 10-12 times before looking to see if you've forced the drain open.

If that doesn't work, you may have to rely on other methods to get rid of that clog. Be advised that there are several things that you should never use on your toilet:

Never pour chemical drain cleaners into your toilet bowl.
Don't use a coat hanger to try to unclog the drain.
Don't use a hand auger, more commonly known as a snake, on your toilet, as you may shatter the porcelain.

Do use what is known as a closed auger to unclog your toilet. Its natural design is made specifically for toilets and won't cause irreparable damage or breakage. A closed auger is extremely simple to use and consists of inserting the padded end into the toilet drain.

Then, turn the crank handle. You may feel some pressure as the tip of the closed auger comes into contact with whatever is clogging the toilet. As you turn the crank, slowly pull the auger from the drain and you may be able to pull the object out that way.

If that doesn't work, you have one option left: removing the toilet and checking the drain to try to remove whatever's clogging it. If you feel uncomfortable about removing the toilet bowl, call a plumber. However, if you decide to check it yourself, make sure you run to the hardware store first to purchase a new "O" ring for your toilet, as you will need to properly re-seal the toilet when finished.

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Comment Script

Comments

Holy Crap!
We tried this method, with some success at first, but the toilet was still draining pretty slowly. Not wanting to give up too quickly we tried using 1/2 a cap of laundry detergent and put two boiling kettlefuls of water into the toilet. Then we just left it alone overnight. This morning our toilet is pristine and works like a charm. BEAUTIFUL! Thanks a million!
#38 - Katherine - 10/26/2009 - 16:16
Life Saver
I was skeptical, even having read the glowing comments. I really didn't want to have to call management or a plumber, so I figured I'd give it a go. I put about 1/2 cup of dish detergent and 8 cups of boiling water in the bowl, then left it about an hour. Needless to say it was a steaming, God-awful mess by the time I went to plunge it. I only plunged it about 5 times bc I was dry-heaving, but it worked. The bowl is clean, there's no more clog, and it was worth the horrible stench haha
#37 - Mel - 10/25/2009 - 11:28
worked!
wow i took a dump of a lifetime and plugged the toilet did this trick and its unplugged!!
#36 - jake - 10/25/2009 - 00:21
Best Advice Ever..
my brother clogged the toilet and he\'s like he doesn't know what happened so basically i\'ve fighting with it for 2 day now so i decided to go online and i saw your advice and read the reviews so i decided to try it. So i put the dish washing soap near the hole and pour hot water into and left it for like 15 mins. and when i came back to plunge...didn't even take long, it started flushing...u don't even know how happy I am right now....thanks a million...
#35 - JO - 10/16/2009 - 12:25
Thanks for great advice!
After plunging for two hours and a couple of previous shots of dish soap I found your advice and increased the soap, heated the water and waited. It took a couple of minutes of plunging but it's done! Why don't they make big old fat toilet drains anymore? I like to save water too but how much did I save today? Thanks a million!
#34 - Alicia - 10/11/2009 - 11:28
it really works
just as i was ready to go to bed and about to do my last toilet flush for the night.yep you guessed it plugged.i tried the dish soap+hot water+plunger and IT REALLY WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!
#33 - debbie - 10/02/2009 - 23:04
Worked like a charm
I can relate to the success of using powder detergent and 3 cups of boiling water...worked like a charm! But I have to say that it wasn't a dump that clogged my toilet or or tissue, it was my underwear!!! Somehow they were hanging up to dry, over the toilet and fell in! I never plunged it just poured in the detergent and boiling water, and was too anxious to wait a whole hour, therefore I flushed and it was back to normal. Moral of the story, never hang underwear over the toilet!
#32 - Shelia - 09/21/2009 - 06:50
Terrible clog, full of indescribable water and this worked!!!!!
I had a toilet clogged no doubt from sanitary products. The bowl was full and full of poop water. NO WAY I was touching that. I tried the plunger for 20 minutes with no luck. Then I read about the dishwasher detergent (use the type for the dishwashing machine, so there are no bubbles). I put 1/3 to 1/2 a cup in the plunger and at the bottom where I guessed the hole was. Plunged 12 times to get it near the clog. Then left for an hour and came back and plunged 12 more times. Finally!!!! The clog went down. THANK HEAVENS!!! IT WAS TOTALLY DISGUSTING BEFORE THAT!!!
#31 - K AWN - 08/18/2009 - 10:35
WOwww lol i just put dish soap after like 20 flushes and as soon as i put it in it went down.. wow?
#30 - Braddd - 08/15/2009 - 12:57
Thank You.
I tried your dishwashing soap fix and it worked like a charm. YOU ROCK!
#29 - Richard - 08/07/2009 - 07:48
Here is what really worked
All silliness aside the plunger used multiple times and the soap trick did not work.
So we used the blower like you use to blow the leaves.
Take the drain cover off in the shower and blow down it with the blower. Then go back and now use the plunger on the toilet. Flush a couple of times to make sure it is unclogged. This absolutely did work. Last time this happened we called Roto Rooter to the tune of $200 +. He found a small amount of dental floss had clogged it. Time before that a guest flushed a Tampax also will clog the toilet.
So lesson learned nothing but bodily fluids and Tpaper should be put in the toilet.
Oh yeah banana peels in a hotel toilet do not flush either.
#28 - Maryann - 07/27/2009 - 01:27
Godsend!!
I even tried buying the expensive toilet clogging stuff at the store and it didn't work. It's amazing what simple dish soap can do!!
Thanks a Ton!!
#27 - Danielle - 07/25/2009 - 18:21
Didnt work for Me
Ok, did it, boiling water Lots+10min+dish soap, gave me a ton of bubbles...not unclogged..maybe I didnt do it right? Seemed so simple to me? Ill try again/
#26 - Kendra - 06/30/2009 - 06:25
Worked like a charm!
Dish washing liquid and hot water--who'd a thunk it?! Thanks so, so much for helping. I thought that I was gonna have to stick my hand in. :(
#25 - Tosh - 06/17/2009 - 21:39
I cant beleive im on here leaving a comment but the dish washing liquid works. THANKS!
#24 - tkgreen - 06/13/2009 - 20:11
It works!
THANK YOU for amazing advice a little paitence + a little dish soap= SUCCESS really try it! awesommeee
#23 - Erin Dillinhall - 06/09/2009 - 12:10
I never believe this stuff!!!
my name is Katie, I live with 2 boys and a girl. we have a boy bathroom and a girl bathroom. One of the boys took a HUGE dump in our bathroom, clogging it for day 4 days, I was home over the weekend. when i got home and saw that the toilet was still clogged I was pissed bc i didnt want to use the boys GROSS bathroom so I came on the internet and found this dish detergent trick. I put in about 3/4 cup of powder dosh deterget amd boiling water, let it sit for about an hour, came back plunged and now have a working toilet! so glad we didnt need to call a plumber bc we are just poor college students!
#22 - Kate Critz - 06/08/2009 - 16:42
extremely helpful!!!
thanks so much for the advice with the hot water and dish soap. was trying for over an hour, decided to check the internet and saw your website--> five minutes later, a good working toilet again!
#21 - char - 05/09/2009 - 22:15
worked awesome
hot water + dish soap+ plunger worked like a charm!!
#20 - b - 03/31/2009 - 16:00
Soap worked like a charm!!! Thanks a bunch
#19 - grateful - 03/04/2009 - 07:21
Oh my gosh! I had been working on a clogged toilet for 3 hours. I was trying frantically to get it unclogged before my husband got home from work. I found this site...tried the dish detergent. Worked after sitting for 5 mins. Completely unclogged!!! Thank you! You Rock!
#18 - Kesha - 02/12/2009 - 22:16
YeS!!!!!!!
OMG it worked! my brother clogged the toilet and i spent an hour tying to unclog it. i used about 8 cups of hot water and some lysol. i plunged about 5 times. at first the water rose high and i thought it would overflow, again, but all of a sudden the water flushed right down! thanks sooo much! :)
#17 - katt - 02/07/2009 - 11:13
WOOO-HOOO
so i was struggling for quite some time until i came up on this website. 15 minutes, boiling water, dish soap, and a flush=Problem solved. :)
#16 - Steven - 01/31/2009 - 19:58
HOLY COW!
This soap thing worked amazing!! its 12 and the toilet is clogged.. i have been plunging for atleast an hour! and this work within 10 mins! i wish i would have know about the soap an hour ago! thanks so much! Now i shall go back to sleep
#15 - Mike - 01/31/2009 - 01:43
unclogging a toilet
Hasn't worked yet but will give it another try.
#14 - peggy - 01/25/2009 - 10:59
I SAW THIS ON ANOTHER WEBSITE ABOUT THE DISH DETERGENT AND BOILING HOT WATER. I DID TAKE OUT EXCESSIVE TIOILET PAPER AND DID SOME PLUNGING. I LET THE SOLUTION SIT FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES, THEN PLUNGED AND FLUSHED THE TOILET. IT SAVED SO MUCH UGLY DIRTY WORK. THIS DEFINITELY WORKS.
#13 - JOAN - 01/19/2009 - 08:38
dang.....that was cool
That idea worked so good I wanna clog it up just to see it again!!!
#12 - mille - 01/10/2009 - 17:26
done in 30 seconds
WOW! I had been working on that for about an hour and the %#&* was almost over the top. Then I tried the dish soap idea and plunged three time and "FOOOWWWSSHHH" clear as a bell.;-)
#11 - jay - 01/10/2009 - 17:23
WOW, Thanks
B-)I was ready to ripp it out. I even stuck my hand in there. But used the dish soap and it worked. Thanks
#10 - Hector - 01/04/2009 - 00:11
Dish soap and hot water worked like a charm.
Thanks for the suggestion
#9 - Tanne - 01/03/2009 - 17:16
Thanks! The boiling water,soap did the trick after a few minutes!!
#8 - NB - 12/30/2008 - 20:00
yay! My toilet is uncloged (finally)
It was clogged for almost a week, and I was almost ready to call a plumber. Some dish soap and a plumger like the one darlene (comment #2) worked like a charm. I've been using a cheap dollar store plunger, paid almost $8 for this one. Didn't even need the auger. YAY!:-D
#7 - Heidi - 12/21/2008 - 13:59
Wow i cant believe this worked
I want to thank you seriously. Ive had a clogged toilet for about 3 months now so ive been plunging everytime i use the bathroom. the super has even tried with a snake to clear it. I used the boiling water and soap and when i first flushed it didnt go down but i thgouht maybe i didnt plung hard enough so i just plunged again and it worked thank you so much
#6 - Elizabeth - 12/14/2008 - 02:06
Did the dishwashing detergent work
:-D Yeah!!!!!You are a life saver! I have no money like all the rst of the people on here, and never looked on the internet. I had spent a fair amout of money to try this to work.10 minutes of work with the dish soap, and plunger and I have a toilet that flushes! You are the greatest.:-):-)
#5 - poormsfix-it - 11/29/2008 - 20:23
Unbelievable!
OMG! I cannot believe it worked!
I spent over an hour trying to unclogged the toilet. I got tired and came to look for an answer on the internet. In less than five minutes I uncogged the toilet using the soap and the boiling water method!
Thank you so much!:-D
#4 - Rina - 11/16/2008 - 20:13
i can't believe it
soap actually works! thanks for the advice
#3 - wow - 07/07/2008 - 18:07
Best plunger - in agreement
I agree with Darlene!! I bought the accordion type plunger as well. Use that in combination with dish soap (1/4 cup or so.. don't be "stingy") and boiling water ( 4 cups or so). Plunge about 6 times and it should be unclogged and you should have a clean bowl as well!!!
#2 - Lucy - 05/08/2008 - 00:14
best plunger
the only thing that would unplug my toilet, short of a plumber, was the $5 accordion type plastic plunger at home depot. our toilet weas plugged tight with baby wipes and even those turning handled type augers didn't help.
#1 - darlene - 10/02/2007 - 11:13
Another Option
Empty out most of the water....yuk!
Grab a bucket of water, hold it up at least waist high and pour it into the toilet, aiming at the hole. The weight of the water will often unplug the toilet.
#0 - Amy - 09/23/2007 - 22:00
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