My toilet is blocked, what should I do?
Having a blocked toilet is never a pleasant situation, but you may be able to make it less bad by following our simple guide.
Blocked toilet – should I put chemicals in?
The answer is a definite no.
The chemicals won’t clear it. To make matters worse the plumber who comes to fix it will have to deal with an even more toxic brew in the toilet bowl.
Unblocking a toilet from inside the house
Get a cheap old-fashioned mop with loads of floppy cloth strips as the head like this one available from Amazon.
Slowly push this down into the bottom of the toilet bowl. Now use this as a plunger gently pushing it back and forth in the outlet at the bottom of the bowl. The cloth strips form a pretty good seal in the outlet which, when you push it back and forth, creates enough pressure to clear most blockages.
Whether this works or not, you’ll probably want to throw this mop away afterward.
Toilet blocked – toilet freshener stuck inside toilet
A very common problem is the plastic toilet fresheners getting stuck in the toilet pipework if they fall off.
If you can’t reach your hand inside the toilet bowl to get it you will have to remove the toilet to collect it from the other side.
This is a job for a plumber or at the very least an experienced DIY plumber.
Toilet blocked – Unblocking a toilet from outside
If it still won’t clear it may well be blocked outside. If it is it is probably best to call in some professionals.
Most houses will have an inspection cover they normally lift up with a big screwdriver or crowbar. Some have locks on and some are airtight.
There’s a chance that when you lift it a backlog of waste might come flooding out.
When you take the lid off the manhole there will be two possibilities. The manhole cover (also known as an inspection cover) will either be full of sewage or empty.
Toilet blocked – Manhole full of sewage
You will need some drain rods like these. Just tighten the rods together and push them in the direction away from your house.
Remember that they screw together in one direction. If they get stuck only twist them in the direction that tightens them up. Turning them the other way will disconnect them at a joint you can’t get to which is not good.
I personally have only ever used the rods without an attachment to start with. This tends to poke through any blockages allowing the backed-up water to get away.