Wally’s Workshop

When you first realize your toilet is blocked you can get a sinking feeling in your stomach. You operate the toilet as you normally have, and rather than the expected flow of water, you start to see the bowl filling with water as it rises and threatens to overflow. If you have a water cut off valve you should close this to stop the flow of water, otherwise you keep your fingers crossed that the volume of water can remain within the toilet. If you are really unlucky the overflow has happened and you now have water all over the floor to deal with before you can start to address the cause of the problem and the original blockage.

Most householders experience a toilet blockage very infrequently and have little idea of the steps they should take. This article will give you some of those invaluable pointers.

First remember that this is not a dire emergency if you have other toilets you can use, it is merely inconvenient. If you are lucky and have a minor drain blockage it can be cleared without too much effort. You need a simple plunger which can be purchased from any hardware store and this should be part of the basic DIY armory of every home. Before you start making waves with this make sure that the water level is not too high in the bowl or your attempts to clear the blockage will create a flood. If required empty some water out of the toilet with a separate bowl and make sure this does not splash onto the floor.

Now you can use the plunger, gently place it into the toilet and place the end over the water outflow drain in the bottom of the toilet. A few gentle push, pull movements should loosen a simple blockage and you will hear the remaining water flow away. If this is not successful you have a more major blockage and you will need to take additional action.

You will now need to employ a different tool to help you, a toilet snake. Once again these can be purchased at the local hardware store or rented from a hire shop. There are several varieties of plumbing snake, get one designed for a toilet and not the more regular drain snakes. You do not want to damage your toilet bowl and a toilet snake will be less likely to scratch the toilet.

To use this insert the snake into the toilet and ensure that the end passes into the water outflow at the bottom of the toilet. You are going to push the snake into the toilet whilst turning the handle to rotate the end of the device. This will allow it to cut into any drain blockage and break it apart thereby loosening it, and allowing the water to flow taking the blockage with it. Repeat the operation several times if you are not successful on the first occasion.

Using the simple approaches outlined above you should find that you can clear most toilet blockages without calling in expensive assistance. If these steps cannot clear the blockage you may have a blocked sewer or drain system which will require assistance from experienced drains contractors.

George Writing is an experienced home maintenance practitioner and has written many articles on the ways in which householders can help themselves in an emergency. For further information on blocked drains visit his site at http://dyno-home-maintenance.info