A clogged drain or pipe can bring an evening to a screeching
halt. When the toilet backs up, the bowl fills, and water can overflow. This is
when a homeowner must proceed delicately, or the problem can snowball into
costly repairs and some serious clean up. An unprepared, uneducated homeowner
can literally be caught with their pants down if they have not taken
precautions to prepare for a clogged drain or running toilet.
Calling the plumber will get it working again, but may not
be necessary for a simple, fixable problem. Tackling the project yourself is
cheaper, but you can’t go into the situation blindly. These are some tips for
how to react when the toilet backs up, with regards to cost efficiency and
self-reliance.
First of all, do not panic. DO NOT FLUSH THE TOILET AGAIN
after you’ve realized there is a clogged drain. Many people instinctively do
this, but I hope the capitalized lettering will break the habit. Most toilet
bowls are built to accommodate enough water for one, maybe one and a half flushes.
One backup likely won’t overfill the bowl, but it will give you the tell-tale
signs of a clogged drain. It’s that second flush that usually overfills; keep
calm and hold back the trigger finger.
Next, spread some towels on the floor to protect against any
spillage and scoop some of the water out of the toilet bowl in case there is
danger of an overfill. Use a high quality plunger (with plungers you tend to
get what you pay for) to try and unclog the drain. It may take a few vigorous attempts,
but keep at it.
If plunging doesn’t work, it may be time to get a little
more invasive. If you don’t own a “snake” or closet auger, you’ll have to
improvise. Unravel a wire clothes hanger and snake it down the clogged drain.
Don’t go too deep if you’re just using a wire hanger, you may get it stuck and
have addition problems; this method is only effective if the blockage is close
to the mouth of the clogged drain.
Finally, if nothing above has worked, it may be time to call
the plumber in. Don’t look at this as a defeat, as you’ve done all you can.
Many times a clogged drain is blocked up because of unforeseen circumstances; perhaps
a child has attempted to see if random household objects can flush, or someone
tried to flush a latex glove or other object that shouldn’t be deposited in a
toilet. Either way, if you’ve done all you can, call a professional plumber to
make sure the clogged drain is fixed effectively.
And if you're near Tacoma, we would be happy to help you out! If you'd like more advice, we have more plumbing tips on our website.
