A clogged toilet can cause some discomfort, after all it can look and smell quite disgusting. It’s not just discomforting because of the sight and smell though, it can also be a very annoying process to unclog.
It can be a very frustrating couple of minutes, providing everything you’re doing works but when it doesn’t you may find yourself in a very irritating couple of hours for you to deal with.
Sometimes you may find that your toilet is being very difficult to unclog, when this happens it’s always good to know what is the best thing to use to break that cycle and have full access to your toilet.
Some methods that will be mentioned below can fix your problem in moments with very little effort, others may require you to put a little bit of effort in when you’re doing it.
There’s not just one way to unclog a toilet that’s for sure, as plenty of things you can use will get the job done, whether that be a plunger or a plumbing snake for example.
The methods below are what we feel are the best to unclog your toilet, so let us get started
Plunger
Obviously this is the first thought for everyone and there’s good reason for that, they’re reliable. You may find that a standard plunger will not be enough for some unclogging issues and you need a heavier duty one.
Before doing this you should remember to use some gloves and wear some clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty as you will be around the splash zone.
Once you’ve aesthetically and mentally managed to prepare yourself, place the rubber part of the plunger into the bowl whilst still gripping the handle, then you simply need to push down with some pressure applied and pull it back up, this will create a vacuum of sorts.
This will then suck the clog out and the water and human waste will go down the drain.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
If you have found that a plunger hasn’t worked and it’s time to move on to another method then start here. These are often household items that you can find in your cupboards. To start this, mix half a cup of baking soda with 3 cups of warm water.
Mix all of this together to create a formula. You should make sure that before you use this, the baking soda has completely dissolved into the water and then pour this down the toilet bowl. Once you’ve done this, wait 15-20 minutes and then pour two cups of vinegar into the bowl too.
The formula should break apart the clog allowing it to flush through properly without any issue.
Boiling Water and Dish Soap
If the previous two methods have not worked and it is time to move on to another method, then a simpler formula for you to try is boiling water and dish soap, you want to pour around 2 gallons of boiling water after letting it cool for around two minutes.
While you’re letting the boiling water cool down you should pour 3 cups of dish soap into the bowl. Once you have done this, retrieve the water that you were letting cool down and slowly pour it down into the bowl.
Let it settle for a few minutes to attempt to break up your clogging and then flush your toilet and let it all wash away.
Plumbing Snake
If you have found the previous methods aren’t helping your problem then it might be time to take a trip to the store and purchase a plumbing snake. A plumbing snake allows you to thread down all the way to the bottom of the drain and with a coating of rubber you won’t have to worry about it scratching your bowl.
Before doing this, like with the plunger you should put some rubber gloves on so none of the overall disgustingness will get on your hands. Once you’re ready, thread it down the toilet until you feel some resistance in front of you.
Once you have done this, turn the handle on the plumbing snake clockwise to force the blockage down the drain, this will be made aware to you by being able to move the snake freely. After this flush the toilet to ensure that it is fully cleared.
If it doesn’t work at first try again as there may still be some debris down there.
Wire Hanger
For those who don’t know you can in fact use a wire hanger to unclog a toilet. Take the hanger and start to straighten it out, cover the wire in an old rag of some kind to avoid scratching the bowl, you can use some tape to make sure the rag is secured.
Once this is ready and you have your gloves on push this into the bowl. While pushing it, start to twist the hanger, by doing this you can clear out what is clogging your toilet.
In Summary
There are many ways to unclog your toilet for when you’re stuck in this situation. When beginning to unclog your toilet you should make sure that you’re wearing some gloves to avoid any of the mess or splashing that will happen.
Sometimes your usual methods of unclogging a toilet just really aren’t working, instead of getting frustrated and panicky and start looking for numbers of plumbers, you should try some of the above listed methods, baking soda and vinegar is great as it is stuff that you may be able to find in your kitchen cupboard, the same goes for boiling water and dish soap.
However if you have found that these formulas don’t work, try a plunger or a plumbing snake to break up the clogging but like mentioned earlier make sure that you are prepared to deal with the splashes that you will be creating. Again a wire hanger is something you’ll find at your own home.
