How To Unclog A Toilet

How to unclog a toilet the simple & easy way is to boil water. After you have boiled a pot of water dump it into the the bowl of the toilet & let it set for about 30 minutes. Then try plunging the toilet to fully dislodge the obstruction from the trap of the toilet.

It is best to wait for the water level to go down a bit before adding the boiling water. If the water doesn’t slowly go down you may need to scoop out the water or use a shop vac.

You don’t want the water that was originally in the toilet to cool down the boiling water. Its ok if theirs just a little bit of water at the bottom the you toilet, you just don’t want it almost to the rim of the toilet.

If this didn’t seem to work you may need to repeat this process two or three times.

Usually the boiling water will soften up the clog enough so it will pass through the trap of the toilet.

The things you will need to unclog your toilet.

water
Pot
Plunger
Stove or microwave

Do at your own risk, Drain Monkeys is not responsible for any burns or damage to property.

Drain Monkeys unclogs toilets in Kalamazoo, Portage, Plainwell, Delton, Otsego, Oshtemo, Mattawan, Vicksburg, Schoolcraft, Three Rivers, Scotts, Fulton, Athens, Union City, MI. If you just cant get it to flush. We also have other ways to unclog your toilet. Follow our step by step directions on how to fix your backed up toilet, this is how we clean clogged toilets. The first thing that you should do is use a shop vac to remove the water out of the bowl. once you have removed the water the you should put the shop vac hose in the opening of the trap of the toilet & suck out the trap. This may suck out the obstruction that is logged in the trap of your commode (stool) by doing this it will prevent the obstruction from entering into the sewer pipe. The next step is to use a drain snake auger (toilet auger) to clear any other obstruction that maybe still in the trap of the toilet. It is best to use a drain snake auger that is commercial grade as a small one can get tangled up inside the trap of the toilet. The General toilet auger is one of the best tools to clear out a clog in the trap your toilet. After the toilet auger has been used it is time to check & see if the toilet will flush. The best way to test the toilet is to flush the commode with two hand fulls of toilet paper & see if it goes down with the toilet paper. If the toilet flushes good with the toilet paper then you have successfully cleared the clog from your toilet. You should flush it several times with the toilet paper just to be 100% sure the obstruction is cleared 100%.

If your toilet backs up when you tested it while flushing it with toilet paper then you know the obstruction is still in the trap of the toilet. The next step will be to remove the toilet from the toilet flange after sucking the water out of the bowl & tank & shutting off the water supply to the toilet & remove the water supply line from under the tank. You will need the remove the nuts from the bolts that are anchored down the the stool flange & remove the water supply line that goes to the tank of your stool. The next step is to straddle the toilet & lift it over the stool bolts & set it a side from the toilet flange. It is best to have a tarp to set the toilet on to keep wax off from the floor because there may be wax stuck to the bottom of the toilet. The next step will be to gently set the toilet on its side. After the toilet is on its side you will want to use the shop vac to suck out the bottom of the toilet to see if you can suck out the obstruction & if this doesn’t work try the same process from the top of the toilet at the opening of the trap. It will work best if you use a rag and wrap it around the shop vac hose to completely close of the opening so its on sucking out the trap you don’t want any air gap between the hose & the opening as this will allow the shop vac to have more sucking power to suck out the clog.

If your shop vac didn’t suck anything out of the trap then you will have to use the drain snake auger at the bottom of the toilet. You will need to have the toilet on its side & use the toilet auger at the bottom opening, this should force the clog back up through the toilet at the opening at the top where the obstruction originally came from. You can also try the same process from the top if that doesn’t work. It is best to start at the bottom when your auger it because the opening at the bottom is a little smaller than the top opening. The obstruction will usually come out much easier this way in most cases.

The next step is to reset the toilet onto the toilet flange after removing the clog from the toilet. You will need to remove the old wax ring from the stool flange. After the old wax ring is removed you will need to put a new wax ring on the bottom of the toilet or to toilet flange. I personally like to just put the wax ring directly on the toilet flange so you wont have to worry about the wax ring falling off from the toilet when you are lifting it back onto the flange. Make sure to check your stool bolts as some times these need to be replaced look at the threads if there not damaged then you can probably get by with using them again but it is a good idea to replace them any way. Once you have reset the toilet with a new wax ring then you can tight up the toilet bolts to the flange & be careful not to over tighten as this can crack the toilet you just need to tighten the firm but not to tight because if you crack the toilet will have to purchase a new commode. After tightening the stool bolts then remember to hook up the water supply line & turn the water back on.

Once the toilet has been completely reinstalled you will want to flush it several time with toilet paper to ensure the clog has been removed from the trap of the toilet. If your toilet is flushing good with the toilet paper you are good to go.

How to fix the internal parts of your toilet. Inside the tank of your commode is a fill valve & a flush valve (flapper). You will need to check the water level in your tank most tanks will have a line where the water level should be set at. If you can’t see the line then your tank is probably dirty from hard water that will need to be cleaned so you can see the water level line in the tank. Once you have located the line & if the water level is low then you can make the adjustment to the proper water level. Your fill valve should have a rod that has a slit in it for a screw driver turn the adjustment screw to allow the fill valve to fill the tank to the mark in the tank. All toilets now a days are water saver toilets & if your water level is even an inch off it can cause the toilet to clog up because there just isn’t simply enough water to push out the waste & toilet paper. If you have a lot of build up on your fill valve from hard water it maybe best to just replace it because this will cause the fill valve to shit off prematurely & affect the performance of your toilet. Sometimes it may be necessary to replace the fill valve as hard water can get into the internal parts causing it to not work properly.

The flush valve (flapper) in the tank of your toilet can deteriorate over time cause the water in the tank to leak water out into the bowl which will make the fill valve to keep turning on & off that will result in poor flushes & a high water bill. The flapper can be replace for about $16.00 or less which is a lot cheaper than paying a high water bill. Once all of these things have been check & the internal parts a working properly then you should have a great flushing toilet.

Common cause of a clogged toilet is scale, foreign material, internal parts not working properly, jet holes clogged, flapper not performing correctly, fill valve shutting off to soon.

If you can’t seem to get your toilet unclogged then call Drain Monkeys 24/7 at (269) 366-8087

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