How to Unclog Your Toilet Fast

The clog trouble has returned! And to make matters worse, you’re having a couple of friends over tomorrow. That sounds like a very real horror story. The mothers keep telling us how the toilet seat should be put down, how the cistern needs servicing, and how a specific toilet bowl cleaner by Dr Pooper is the best. As wise as we’d believe ourselves to be, not listening to them, we still end up facing the beastliest of all clogs. Now you’re thinking, well, how do I unclog a toilet and fix this mess?

Common Reasons Toilets Get Clogged

A jammed toilet is gross. It stinks and is absolutely distressful. The first step, however, to restoring sanitation is to work out what is causing the problem. Some of the most common causes why toilets get clogged are below:

• Flushing Solid Matter

Poor flushing habits are a common reason. Toilets stop functioning properly when they are choked with solid rubbish. Chunky household items, like sanitary napkins, toilet tissue paper, clumps of hair, and polythene packets, when forced down the toilet, block the proper passage of waste. This also pushes the waste and slug back into the toilet bowl, worsening the situation.

• Buildup From Hard Water 

Minerals like calcium can accumulate in the rims and traps of the toilet plumbing over time. If you live in regions where hard water is dispensed frequently, this might just be the reason. The narrowing of the pipes from these minerals building up in the bends of pipes can clog your toilet.

• A Weak Flush

A flush can be considered weak when the water pressure is not strong enough to drain waste. This can lead the garbage excreta to float back into the bowl. If the swirl of water from the cistern seems slow or weak, that might also be happening due to a couple of other reasons:

• Damaged float in the cistern

• Congestion in the U-traps and P-traps

• A flapper in need of replacement

Unless you’ve tried before, a plumber will need to fix a flush problem.

• Blockages in the Sewer line/vents

The plumbing systems in our toilets use a certain degree of air thrust to drag the wastewater out. This mechanism ensures that the garbage water flows through the septic system uninterrupted. When the pressure of air in the vents is absent, the vacuum created isn’t enough to pull out waste. Additionally, any internal clog in the sewer plumbing might cause waste to back up into the toilet.

Tools & Supplies You May Need To Unclog Your Toilet

Before you call in a plumber, there are a few tools and supplies you can use independently to try and unclog your toilet. Only when they fail to work would you need the intervention of a professional. Gather these tools, which are also some of the best stuff to unclog toilet:

• Plunger

A back-and-forth, pushing and pulling mechanism goes into dislodging a clog when using a plunger. The rubber cap on the top of the plungers is designed to seal the clog tightly and narrow air pressure around it. Plungers are useful when clearing out minor clogs caused by tissues, solid items, and human waste getting stuck in the drain pipes.

• Drain Snake

Useful in removing grime or clogs deep in the plumbing, a drain snake is a lengthy metal cable that can be inserted deep into pipes. It is flexible and can be rotated at the discretion of the user. They penetrate the plumbing system and pull out whatever waste material is causing a clog.

• Dishwasher and Hot Water

Similar to the chemical function performed by baking soda and vinegar, dishwasher soap is effective in breaking up waste and grime. Pouring hot water through the toilet drain later can help force out the decomposed clog down the pipeline.

• Septic Cleaner

A quick, relieving way to clear your toilet of clogs, especially when a plunger fails, is through a septic cleaner. Proteins in these products eat up organic waste promptly. It disintegrates them further down to particles that can be passed through the toilet drain. Moreover, they have stain removal properties that clean your toilet bowl while promoting waste pump out.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Unclog a Toilet

Unclogging a toilet does not have to be as difficult as launching a rocket. A simplified guide can help you get rid of an overflowing toilet. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to unclog your toilet right:

Step 1: By placing a plunger at a right angle to the toilet bowl, seal it over the clog. Use rhythmic thrusting plunges. This motion helps create a vacuum, which is then followed by air pressure. It can aid in flushing the waste down the drain and unclogging it. 

Step 2: If the plunger does not work, try using baking soda and vinegar.

• Pour a cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl

• Follow it up closely with vinegar

• Let it rest for a couple of minutes and watch for fizzing

• Try flushing it again

Step 3: If a chemical breakdown of organic matter does not help, the obstruction might be deeper in your plumbing. Insert a drain snake with an auger slowly into the drain. Navigate to hook it on the clog or waste blocking the passage. Once you’ve found the mass of grime sealing your pipe, you can pull it out and dispose of it.

Step 4: When none of these DIY steps help fix your overflowing toilet, it is probably because the waste matter or clog is too massive in size. In such a case, pour some septic cleaner into the toilet bowl and let it sit. The enzymes will work fast to decompose any kind of dirt, grime, or waste. 

Step 5: Flush the broken-down organic waste. Call in a plumber for a professional check in case the clogging persists.

Best Products to Unclog a Toilet

Apart from rubber plungers and augers, toilet bowl and septic drain cleaners are thorough and efficient in unclogging toilets. These products use advanced formulas that eat up organic solids and waste material. The bioactivated cleaning is another perk in addition to the potent enzymes. Not all toilet bowl cleaners act promptly; most of them can work effectively in maintaining a clear passage over time. 

Dr Pooper’s Toilet Bowl and Septic Cleaner is a unique product in that regard. It is multipurpose and works by cleaning as well as treating the sewage in your plumbing. In case of a clogged toilet, the formula disintegrates waste matter. It also deep cleans to remove stains at the same time and controls the odour to promote overall hygiene of your toilet.

What Not to Do When a Toilet Is Clogged

While you’re trying to think up solutions and applying DIY methods to unclog your toilet bowl, there are a few things you should avoid.

• Flushing The Toilet Constantly: Do not keep flushing your toilet, hoping for it to get unclogged from the force of the swirl. This can add to the problem at hand. Excessive flushing can add more water to the clog and cause your toilet to back up and overflow. It is a hygiene nightmare waiting to happen.

• Letting It Sit Clogged Overnight: It is absolutely inadvisable to leave your toilet clogged overnight. Bacteria multiply over time, leading to foul odour and unsanitary conditions. Standing water in the bowl will also become a breeding ground for disease-spreading microorganisms.

Preventive Tips: How to Avoid a Clogged Toilet

As you promise never to allow your toilet to clog again, here are a few tips that will help avoid the nightmare of a clogged toilet altogether:

• Avoid tossing toilet paper, sanitary napkins, tufts of hair, or other paper packets into the toilet bowl. Keep a separate trash can or dustbin to dispose of them.

• Throwing harsh chemicals down your toilet is a bad idea. Many components in chemicals can be abrasive for your toilet. It can also lead to the formation of crusty buildup in the rims and traps. 

• Cleaning your toilet periodically is a good practice. Getting it checked for leaks by a plumber from time to time, too. 

• Regular maintenance helps spot clogs or blockages early so they can be treated without the hassle of an emergency.

• Make sure to keep a check on the health of your cistern and flush.  Cautious monitoring prevents last-minute worry.

• Look out for inward growth of tree roots in your toilet’s plumbing. Call in an expert to get it cleared before it inflicts damage.

Conclusion

A clean, clear toilet is central to good sanitation. As an appliance in your home that tackles one of the highest amounts of sewage, keeping your toilet properly functioning is imperative for good health. Being informed about quick tips and effective products on how to unclog your toilet can help handle a sanitation emergency calmly. On top of that, you save yourself the additional expense of reinstalling a new toilet or health scares. 

 FAQs

1. How do I unclog a toilet without a plunger?

Apart from a plunger, you can use a few quick DIY ways to unclog your toilet. A combination of baking soda and vinegar helps break up organic matter to promote easy flushing. Dishwasher soap and hot water can be used one after the other, too. If you own a drain snake or auger tip, you can insert it to pull out clogs by hooking the tip to the block of waste.

2. How long should I wait after using baking soda and vinegar?

The approximate waiting time for baking soda and vinegar to work can depend on the size of the grime. Generally, a period of 15-45 minutes is adequate for the fizzing reaction to act upon a blockage.

3. Can a clogged toilet unclog itself?

No. If flushing does not unclog the toilet, it cannot be unclogged without external intervention. To avoid an overflowing toilet or sanitation issues in your toilet, make sure to remove whatever item is causing the jam in your toilet plumbing.

4. What if the toilet is clogged with poop only?

Clogging from poop is not as uncommon as one might think. A septic cleaner that works effectively by breaking apart organic matter and digesting it through enzyme action will do the job. Try flushing your toilet once the septic cleaner has been allowed to sit for some time.

5. Why does my toilet keep clogging repeatedly?

Clogs in your toilet often might be a product of plumbing issues all over the house. Excess vacuum in the vents or blocks in the sewer lines might slow down drainage. Get a plumber to come in and check for faults in the lines of sewer transport or vents.