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Two Ways To Unclog Your Toilet

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No matter how good your plumbing is, at some point, you are going to end up with a clogged toilet. It's just one of those facts of life. Not only will it get clogged, but it will probably happen at 11 pm on a Saturday night. That means that you may want to try to handle it on your own first before you have to call a plumber to come fix the issue. 

Plunger

There are all kinds of different kinds of plungers. The one that is best for toilets has a little extension that comes from the cup. That part is designed to go down the drain in the bowl so that a better seal can be formed. Without that, it would be hard for a plunger to create enough of a seal to effectively work.

Before you get started plunging anything, you may want to put on some gloves, since you never know what you might encounter while plunging your toilet. On your first stroke of the plunger, go slowly and carefully. There is going to be air in the cup that may cause water to splash up. You may think that you want that air in the pipes so that you can get rid of the clog, but what you want is the water in the pipes. The first down stroke will get rid of the air, and the up stroke will start to pull in water so that you can dislodge the clog. 

Dish Soap/Shampoo

Another option open to you is to use some dish soap or shampoo to get the clog out. You should squirt a pretty good amount of either one of those things down into your toilet. Then you will want to pour some hot water down the drain after it. The hot water will hopefully start to break up the toilet paper that is making up the clog. The slipperiness of the soap or shampoo should help the clog to slide down the pipe easier. It will take some time for it to happen since it will take time to break everything down. You may want to try this before you pull out the plunger, if you feel like you have the time. 

If you have a clogged toilet, it can turn into all kinds of problems. For more information, contact a professional in your area like those found at Bishop Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, Inc.


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