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Tag: toilet clog

clogged toilet

A clogged toilet is one of those household problems that always seems to happen at the worst possible time. Maybe you’re hosting guests for dinner, or you’re rushing to get ready for work in the morning. Either way, a backed-up toilet demands quick action. The good news is that most toilet clogs can be fixed without too much trouble if you know what to do.

Let’s walk through the best ways to handle this messy situation so you can get your bathroom back to normal as quickly as possible.

Stop the Water First

When you notice your toilet starting to overflow, your first move should be to stop more water from entering the bowl.

Lift the lid off the tank behind your toilet. Inside, you’ll see a rubber flapper at the bottom. Push this flapper down to stop water from flowing into the bowl. This simple step can save you from a major toilet overflow and water damage to your bathroom floor.

You can also turn off the water supply valve. This small valve sits at the base of your toilet where it connects to the wall. Turn it clockwise to shut off the water completely.

Start With a Plunger

The trusty plunger is your first line of defense against a blocked toilet. But not just any plunger will do the job right. You need a flange plunger, which has an extra piece of rubber that extends down from the cup. This design creates a better seal inside your toilet bowl.

Here’s how to unclog a toilet with a plunger the right way. Make sure there’s enough water in the bowl to cover the plunger cup. If the water level is too low, add some from the sink.

Position the plunger over the drain hole and press down gently at first to get rid of any air. Then start plunging with firm, steady pushes and pulls. Keep the seal tight and use about 15 to 20 strong plunges.

Don’t give up too quickly. A stubborn clog might need several rounds of plunging before it breaks free. Take breaks between attempts to let water drain slowly if the blockage is starting to move.

Try a Toilet Auger for Tough Clogs

When plunging doesn’t work, it’s time to bring in a drain snake. This tool, also called a toilet auger, is designed specifically for toilets. It has a long, flexible cable with a curved tip that can reach deeper into your plumbing than a plunger can.

Insert the snake’s end into the toilet drain. Crank the handle clockwise while pushing the cable forward. The snake will work its way through the pipes until it hits the clog.

Once you feel resistance, keep cranking to break up the blockage. Then pull the snake back out slowly. You might need to repeat this process a few times to clear everything out.

A drain snake can handle most clogs that plungers can’t, including those caused by foreign objects or buildup further down the pipe.

What About Drain Cleaner?

You might be tempted to reach for chemical drain cleaner when facing a tough clog. Hold that thought. Most plumbing experts advise against using chemical cleaners in toilets.

These harsh products can damage your pipes over time, especially if you have older plumbing. They can also create dangerous fumes and might not even solve the problem.

If you want to try a gentler approach, mix hot water (not boiling) with dish soap. Pour this mixture into the bowl and let it sit for about 15 minutes. The soap can help break down greasy clogs, and the warm water adds pressure to move things along.

Recognizing When You Need Professional Help

Sometimes a clog is more than just a simple blockage. Certain warning signs tell you it’s time to call for emergency plumbing services. If you notice a slow flush in multiple toilets throughout your home, you might be dealing with a main line problem. This situation requires professional equipment and expertise.

A sewer backup is even more serious. Signs of a problem include water backing up in other drains when you flush. You may hear gurgling sounds from your drains. You might also notice sewage smells coming from your toilets or drains.

These issues need quick plumbing help from a plumber in Utah. They can find and fix the problem before it causes serious damage.

What to do when your toilet won’t unclog after you’ve tried everything? Don’t keep forcing it. Repeated attempts with the wrong tools or methods can actually make the problem worse or damage your toilet.

The Best Way to Clear a Stubborn Toilet Clog

For really stubborn blockages, the best approach combines patience with the right technique. Start with the plunger and give it a solid effort.

Move on to the snake if plunging fails. Between attempts, let the toilet sit for a while. Sometimes giving a partial clog time to soften makes it easier to clear.

Avoid flushing repeatedly when the toilet isn’t draining properly. Each flush adds more water to an already full bowl, increasing your chances of an overflow. This mistake creates a bigger mess without solving the original problem.

Preventing Future Clogs

Prevention is always easier than dealing with a backup. Only flush toilet paper and human waste. Items like paper towels, wipes (even “flushable” ones), feminine products, cotton swabs, and dental floss should be thrown in the trash. These products don’t break down like toilet paper and are common causes of clogs.

Watch how much toilet paper you use in a single flush. Large wads of paper can create blockages even though toilet paper is designed to dissolve in water. If you need to use more, split it into two flushes instead of one big one.

Pay attention to your toilet’s performance. A consistently slow flush often means a partial clog is forming. Addressing this early can prevent a complete blockage later.

toilet after clog repair

When to Call Action Plumbing

Dealing with a backed-up toilet is frustrating, and sometimes the problem is bigger than a DIY fix can handle. If you’ve tried the basic steps and your toilet is still giving you trouble, it’s time to get the best utah plumbers who know what they’re doing.

Action Plumbing has the skills and tools to fix any toilet problem. This includes simple clogs and complex sewer line issues. Our team responds quickly to emergency calls because we know plumbing problems don’t wait for convenient times.

Whether you’re dealing with persistent clogs, strange gurgling sounds, or backup issues affecting multiple fixtures, we’ll diagnose the real cause and fix it right the first time. Don’t let a toilet problem disrupt your day any longer. Contact Action Plumbing today for fast, reliable service you can trust.

There are a few possible plumbing issues in your home or building that may require both immediate action and some long-term care approaches, and a good example here is a concern no one wants to deal with: A toilet that’s overflowing water. There are some early steps you should take here to prevent immediate risks like flooding and water damage, but once you’ve managed to stop the actual overflowing from happening, there are also a few general steps – including those involving professional plumbers – that are required to fully remedy the situation.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we’re here to help. We offer not only a wide range of toilet repair services from the best plumbers in Salt Lake City, but also 24/7 emergency plumbing services in cases of toilet overflow or other forms of water damage you’re having trouble mitigating. Whether on your own or with the assistance of our plumbers, what are the basic steps to stopping a toilet that’s overflowing, plus what should you do once you’ve managed to stop the overflow effect? Here’s a primer.

Lid Removal

Before we dig into the specifics here, we wanted to drive home one big theme: Immediate action is very important when you notice an overflow toilet. This is not an issue that can be left until later, as it risks major flooding and water damage in both the bathroom where the toilet is located and the rest of your home, particularly the areas below that bathroom.

The first step to take when a toilet is overflowing is to carefully remove the toilet lid from the tank. This requires no screwdrivers or nails – all you have to do is lift it up. Simply set it aside in a secured location, but don’t worry about laying it down on towels or any other laborious process, as this will just waste time.

Flapper Valve

Next up, you need to reach down into the toilet tank and press down on the flapper valve. This refers to a rubber piece, usually black or dark-colored, that sits in the bottom-center of your tank. The flapper is what opens and closes to allow water into the bowl – by holding it down, you will be stopping more water from entering and, therefore, overflowing.

Some choose to wear gloves while doing this, but this technically isn’t really necessary. While it’s true that sanitation is always important around the toilet, the upper toilet tank contains clean, sanitary water that has not been exposed to any human waste.

Tank Fill Valve

From here, once your flapper valve is secured and will stay closed, you need to lift up on the float that operates what’s known as your tank fill valve. This is the main water supply to the tank itself, and the water levels inside your bowl will change in coordination with this feature. When this water source is cut off, the bowl should begin to see a slow drop in water level.

If this happens within 60 seconds or so, you can usually release the tank fill valve float and let the bowl refill naturally – the issue is usually solved here. However, in other cases, the water level will not drop here; in this case, you need to continue to hold the float while you use the toilet supply valve – which is near the floor or the wall behind the toilet – to completely turn off the water supply. This is done by turning the toilet supply valve as far as you can clockwise. You may need someone to help you with this, as some toilet supply valves will be far enough away that you won’t be able to twist them while also holding down the float.

Actions Once Toilet Stops Overflowing

Once you’ve managed to get the toilet to stop overflowing, meaning you’ve mitigated the immediate flooding and water damage risks that were present, you can move toward diagnosing the actual issue that caused the overflow to begin with. Again, this is often a concern where homeowners will call on our plumbers to assist them with – but if you’re particularly handy and want to take a shot at this process yourself, here are some basic areas to attend to:

  • First and foremost, stop the use of all plumbing fixtures (sinks, toilets, laundry machines, etc.) while you look to diagnose the issue. You may have solved the flooding concern in the toilet in question, but it’s possible the larger culprit that caused it is still present within your system. Let everyone in the home know they should not use any fixtures for now.
  • One of the most common issues that may cause this sort of overflowing is a blockage somewhere in the drain – for this reason, a first step here is to use a plunger or drain snake to attempt to clear the clog, especially if gurgling noises or other clear signs of a blockage are present.
  • If a toilet clog is not the problem, start moving from fixture to fixture in the home. Start on your fixtures in the bathroom and then work your way upward in the home – if possible, have another person present to see if anything happens on the lower floors while you’re looking at upper-floor toilets and drains.
  • In some cases where these initial methods aren’t solving the problem, you may have a backup in your system drain, a failing septic field, or other issues with your main sewer line. In these cases, you’ll need to contact our plumbers for a more involved remediation.

For more on how to remedy an overflowing toilet, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services in Salt Lake City, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric today.

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