Bathroom Plumbing Tips – How to Unclog a Toilet

Imagine that you are at a holiday party, perhaps at your manager’s house. Everyone is eating and drinking and making merry. You slip off to use the facilities. That’s when your worst nightmare comes true; the toilet clogs. There are several things that you can do. If nobody saw you go into the bathroom, you could sneak out, pretend to know nothing about it, and hope that no one knows it was you. If you can’t escape without being caught, though, you may need to address the problem on your own. Use these bathroom plumbing tips to help you unclog that toilet.

1. Wait it out. By this, we do not mean that you should wait for everyone to leave the party before you come out of the bathroom. What we do mean is that you should wait a few minutes for the toilet to resolve the problem on its own. Toilets work on the principle of gravity. The water in the toilet bowl will put pressure on the clog; after a few minutes, this pressure may be enough to force the clog down the drain. A typical clog caused by too much toilet paper will often dissipate on its own. Wait a few minutes, and then try to flush again. Proceed with caution, though; if it doesn’t clear the clog, you could end up with water all over the floor.

2. Pour hot water down the bowl. This works on the same principle as the previous tip, and it helps to speed the process along by using hot water to help break down the clog. Don’t pour buckets of boiling water into a cold toilet bowl; that could make the bowl crack. You can pour a small amount of hot water into the bowl, though. If you are a guest in someone else’s home, you can hope and pray that there is a drinking cup in the bathroom that you can use to pour some hot water into the toilet.

3. Squirt some soap in the toilet. Similar to adding hot water to the toilet bowl, soap helps to break down the clog faster. In lieu of informing your host of the problem, you can squirt a little bit of liquid hand soap or shampoo into the toilet bowl. Wait a few minutes, and flush again.

4. Plunge away. If you are lucky, your host will keep a plunger handy in the bathroom for occasions like these. If so, plunge away. This is the most surefire way to eliminate a clog, so give it the old college try.

5. Prevention is the best medicine. We would all rather prevent clogging a toilet in someone else’s home than try to repair it without getting caught. Here are some rather obvious, but important tips: don’t use too much toilet paper. We all know this, but it is usually what causes clogs. Don’t flush disposable wipes. This includes baby wipes, flushable moist wipes, feminine wipes, and anything else that isn’t toilet paper. The package may say that these wipes are flushable – but they aren’t.

Don’t ruin the party (or your career or your life) by clogging your boss’ toilet. If you do clog the toilet, use these helpful tips to unclog it without fessing up.

If you have a bathroom plumbing problem, call Scott English Plumbing. We are here to serve Orange County residents 24/7, so get in touch with us today or anytime to schedule a service call.