How to unclog a toilet at home - quickly and effectively. How to clear a clogged toilet - instructions and practical tips

All troubles are a nuisance - the toilet in the house is clogged. Where to run, what to do, who to call - these questions arise, as a rule, among the female part of the population. A man should assess the situation without panic and immediately ask his household - who threw what into the toilet?

Causes of blockages

The toilet is clogged - how to clean it?

Anything can get stuck in the toilet - rags, potato peelings and pickles, apples, newspapers, tufts of hair, grease. If you know a plumber, you can ask him around. We guarantee he will tell you a lot of interesting things.

You are guaranteed to be 100% clogged if hygiene products (pads, diapers), condoms and cat litter end up in the toilet. In the latter case, we are talking about practically cementing the conclusions, and if your suspicions are truly justified, call a plumber or emergency service.

Another worthy contender for the title of winner is plastic bags. If with its help the toilet becomes clogged, how to clean it is up to you. You can try it yourself, using a cable, or call a plumber. Be prepared that along with the package you will be able to get a lot of all sorts of “goodies”.

Interesting. There is a known fact when a man who dropped his dentures into the toilet in public toilet, tried to reach it with his hand. We had to call the Rescue Service and get rid of his hand along with his jaw - he still caught it.

If we are not talking about clogging the entire riser, you can try to solve the problem yourself. We are talking about three ways in which it is possible to unclog a clogged toilet:

  • simple mechanical - using a plunger;
  • chemical - using ready-made or improvised means;
  • plumbing - using a cable.

The first method is mechanical. The simplest, suitable for minor blockages. Take a plunger (the desired diameter is 10 centimeters), insert it with the rubber part down and make 10-15 movements up and down. If necessary, scoop out excess water. We repeat this procedure three times. As a rule, if the plug is small, the water begins to drain quickly. Along with it, parts of the blockage fall into the riser.

If you don't have a plunger, you can use a plastic bottle. To do this, you need to cut off the bottom, close the bottle tightly with a lid, insert it into the toilet and also pump it. Watch the video below for more details:

The toilet is clogged - what to do? Method two

The second method is chemical. So, the toilet is clogged - what to do to remove it as quickly as possible, without having a plunger at hand (or you just don’t want to bother with it).

You can try the following. You can try to break through clogged fat or something similar hot water(not boiling water), which is poured at a right angle to create pressure. In such cases, you will need a bucket; it is more convenient to work with it than with basins or pans. You will need to pour out at least three buckets. Hot water will dissolve fat deposits and the water will begin to decrease. But be careful not to overdo it - if the plug is tight, the water will begin to overflow. This is not recommended.

A more effective way to unclog a toilet is to use regular baking soda. Suitable for all types of plumbing fixtures, including built-in toilets. For one use, it is enough to fill half a pack and let it stand for about 30-40 minutes. Then pour hot water on it. When soda is dissolved in water, an alkaline environment is formed, which corrodes fat and other food residues. You can repeat it twice, it won’t hurt.

Important. In some sources, “craftsmen” recommend a method such as sharing soda and acetic acid. Can you imagine this process? First of all, it stands out instantly large number gas, which may well rupture the system. Secondly, acid residues will act destructively on metal parts or pipes. This method is not used at home. But, if you are planning to install a toilet soon, you can try it.

The commercially available active products Mole, Tiret and others are most likely to help clear blockages of almost any origin. Their validity period is from 40 minutes to 8 hours. This is perhaps the best option to use if the toilet is clogged. The composition of the finished preparations includes alkalis and other chemicals active substances, capable of dissolving even hair.

Interesting. IN lately They began to talk a lot about the wonderful properties of Coca-Cola, including its use for resolving blockages. They say this assumption is not without foundation, since the drink contains orthophosphoric acid. If you are pressed for time and the disaster has not yet reached the scale of a catastrophe, you can fill the toilet with Coca-Cola.

How to unclog a toilet with a cable - video

The third method is the most reliable. Using a plumbing cable, which is a flexible metal wire with a spiral at the end. For home use A three-meter one is best.

It's better to clean it together. One person turns the handle, the second directs the cable. You need to act carefully so as not to damage the pipes or corrugation. Use a rotating motion to push the cable through the pipe until it hits the blockage. Then you should try to push it into the drain or hook it.

The operation may have to be repeated several times. You should have a bucket and a rag or rags on hand to immediately wipe the cable from organic residues.

Important. If there is a plug in the toilet, discharge often occurs. unpleasant odor, which is the first sign of a blockage. Therefore, if we suspect something is wrong, we clean it immediately with what is at hand - soda, water or ready-made products. It definitely won't get any worse.

What to do if the toilet is completely clogged

As soon as you discover that there is something wrong with your toilet, we proceed according to the following algorithm:

  • we check how the water drains in the bathroom or kitchen sink, and draw conclusions - if it drains well, it means that the blockage formed before it went into the sewer;
  • we will find out from our household members whether they have thrown anything into the toilet;
  • We quickly figure out what exactly could have caused the traffic jam and take appropriate measures.

At the first suspicion that the riser is clogged, call the emergency service - in such cases you can wait indefinitely for a locksmith. Notify your neighbors about the trouble, prepare old rags, buckets of water, and rubber gloves just in case. It may be necessary to take emergency measures to prevent sewer contents from entering the apartment.

If you are very squeamish, make some kind of mask so as not to breathe in the fumes.

Now you know what to do if the toilet is clogged. The main thing is not to panic.

For our part, we wish you that your biggest problem is how to clean the toilet from limescale.

A clogged toilet is a fairly common problem. You can encounter it both in a city apartment and in country house and at the dacha equipped with a sewage drainage system. This problem usually requires quick solution. If you wait for a leisurely plumber, the scale of the spill will fecal water can lead to another repair and large budget expenses. Meanwhile, the solution to the problem of how to remove a blockage in the toilet is accessible even to ordinary person. This does not require special technological skills, but rather minimal knowledge and the availability of available tools that are sold in every hardware store.

What clogs our toilets?

In order to master the technology of cleaning a toilet and adjacent sewer pipes, you first need to become familiar with its design.

A toilet is a sanitary device that has a receptacle inside. waste water, turning into a curved pipe, the outlet of which is connected to the sewer system. The purpose of bending the pipes in the toilet is to create a water seal, which is designed to prevent unpleasant sewer odors from entering the apartment.

As a rule, various large water-insoluble objects get caught in this bend and get stuck. These can be scraps of thick paper, rags and other rags, bags and plastic, and so on. Mostly, such things end up in your toilet due to the actions of your own household members, but in a separate case, in apartment buildings, such items can end up in your section of the sewer system due to the activities of your upstairs neighbors.

Methods for cleaning toilets

In general, methods for cleaning toilets coincide with similar actions for removing blockages in other sanitary devices. Conventionally, they can be divided into two large groups:

  • Mechanical methods involve destroying or removing the clogged object using mechanical solid devices.
  • Chemical methods involve destroying and dissolving clogged objects with aggressive chemical liquids.

Chemical method for clearing clogged toilets

This is the easiest way to clear blockages. In order to carry it out, you need to purchase a special liquid or powder from hardware stores, which is poured or poured directly into the toilet drain. The powder or liquid creates an aggressive solution, alkaline or acid based, which dissolves all obstacles that get in its way.

But such methods must be treated with some caution. When using such aggressive solutions, there is always a possibility of damage to both the plumbing equipment itself and the adjacent sewer pipelines. So, before using such substances, carefully read their composition and instructions for use and compare the knowledge gained with the composition of the materials used in your sewer system.

Cleaning the toilet with soda - an easy way

A significant disadvantage of using chemically aggressive fluids is their inability to combat certain types of blockages, such as stuck solid objects.

Mechanical methods of cleaning toilets - plunger

The plunger is a very popular plumbing tool that should be present in every home. Its design is extremely simple - a rubber hemisphere placed on a mounting handle.

Working with such a tool is extremely simple: place a rubber hemisphere over the drain and, with sharp pressure, push the water deep into the drain. Water pressure is transmitted to the site of the blockage, destroying it or pushing it deep into the sewer system right up to the main sewer riser.

We use available tools for emergency cleaning

In emergency situations, if you don’t have a plunger, you can use improvised devices. To do this, take a plastic bottle of a suitable size, cut off the bottom from it and lower this structure into the drain hole. Just like with a plunger - make sharp pushes that should destroy the blockage in the sewer or in the bend of the inner pipe of the toilet.

You can also clog a toilet or an adjacent pipe by simply pouring a bucket of heated water into it. hot temperature. Be careful. Firstly, you can burn yourself with such boiling water, and secondly, from excessive hot water The toilet faience may crack. Therefore, it is better to first pour a small amount of hot water into the toilet to warm up the surface. In general, heating the toilet bowl at the bend of the pipe with a hairdryer can also help push the blockage towards the main riser.

You can also make your own chemical cleaning liquid. To do this, find half a pack of regular household soda. Dissolve it in water and pour it into the toilet. This alkaline solution is great for removing some types of blockages.

We use a plumbing cable

An excellent device for removing blockages in the toilet and sewer system is a plumbing cable. It allows you not only to destroy the blockage or push its source towards the main jamb, but also to remove large objects (for example, rags) that accidentally got into the sewer system.

Plumbing cable for cleaning the toilet - photo

The plumbing cable is equipped with an L-shaped handle on one side and a sharp nozzle or spiral on the other side. The spiral nozzle can be used as a kind of hook to remove an object that has clogged the sewer.

The procedure for working with a plumbing cable is very simple:

Place the end of the cable into the toilet drain hole or into the sink or bathtub drain hole. To make it easier to work in the sink, you can remove the drain grate; it is held on by just one bolt. Also, the end of the cable can be inserted directly into the sewer pipe by disconnecting the siphon from the sink, which is cleaned and washed under running water.

Holding the cable with one hand, tuck its tip as deep as possible. Then, by rotating the L-shaped handle, push the tip of the cable closer to the blockage. The stuck object can either be pushed into the main riser or removed by hooking it with a spiral nozzle.

A homemade tool called a pump can also help effectively deal with blockages in the toilet and sewer pipes.

It is made in the following way:

  • Find a steel rod and cut a thread on one end,
  • Cut two plates out of steel and rubber and make a hole in their center.
  • Screw a nut onto the end of the rod, then secure the plates and secure them with another nut.
  • Make a handle on the opposite end of the rod for ease of use. It can be formed by simply wrapping the end with electrical tape.

The manufactured tool can effectively remove blockages. Place the plates in the toilet drain hole and use sharp pushes, similar to using a plunger, to push a mass of water into the sewer pipes.

Blocked toilet in an apartment building

If clearing a clogged toilet in an apartment building is quite simple, since you have access to the entire sewer system, from the toilet to the septic tank, then clearing blockages in apartment buildings can cause certain problems.

Due to the chaotic movement of sewer drains, a clogged object, be it a rag or a plastic bag, can enter your system from the upper floors. In order to avoid such problems, you need to place a check valve at the junction of your apartment’s sewer system and the main riser.

We eliminate the blockage by removing the corrugations

If the toilet is clogged, a situation may arise when you have to disconnect the waste pipe of the sewer system from the toilet. When using this method, you can not only effectively clear the blockage that may form in the bend of the toilet, but also gain direct access to the sewer pipes. In this case, the plumbing cable can be directed directly into the pipe, which will make troubleshooting easier. However, such work must be carried out with caution and with warning to neighbors to ensure that no new portion of wastewater enters.

We carry out preventive work

In order to avoid emergency troubles, when operating toilets, you should follow certain rules. Remember that the toilet is not intended for dumping large and water-insoluble objects into it. Even a small rag that gets into the toilet drain can become an anchor for smaller objects and form a serious clog.

Be careful with liquids poured into the toilet. Some of them may, upon contact with cold sewage, form insoluble compounds and clog pipelines.

To prevent clogging, toilet bowls should be cleaned regularly using special cleaning products.

To learn more about the process of cleaning a clogged toilet, watch the video tutorial.

How to clear a clogged toilet: video tutorial

A clogged toilet problem is quite common. It can be quite difficult to correct the situation on your own. However, if you know how the sewer system works and what means can help effective assistance when cleaning pipes, it is quite possible to save money and quickly restore normal operation required in every modern home sewer system.

So, if there is a blockage in the toilet, you will learn what to do from our article.

Quick help for a clogged toilet - hot water and soda

Two simple ways have proven their effectiveness in clearing pipes from simple blockages:

  1. Before clearing a clog in the toilet, you need to heat a bucket of water to a boil and pour this water into the toilet, creating strong pressure - the bucket must be raised so that the water flows into the toilet at a right angle and quickly. Performing these simple steps allows you to effectively deal with simple blockages. If the water begins to gradually drain after cleaning in this way, you should pour a bucket of hot water into the toilet again. If the blockage was small, then this method will quickly and effectively help deal with the problem.

Pro tip:

Despite the simplicity of the actions, unclogging the toilet in this case will require compliance with safety measures.

  1. Ordinary soda, familiar to every housewife, helps well when flushing drains. If, when a blockage occurs, you dissolve ½ part of a pack of soda in the toilet, the resulting active alkali can quickly correct the situation. As a rule, soda provides quick help if the blockage was not complicated.

Household chemicals for blockages

All educated modern people understand that an effective remedy for a clogged toilet should be found on store shelves household chemicals. Special products in the form of liquids, powders, granules and sprays allow you to quickly deal with an unpleasant problem. Besides, chemical industry issues various means and for the prevention of blockages, the use of which allows you to control the condition of the pipes and ensure a long period of their normal operation.

Tools to solve the problem of a clogged toilet mechanically

Plunger and its analogues

If boiling water, soda and chemicals do not have a noticeable effect on the blockage, then before clearing the blockage in the toilet with the help of specialist plumbers, you can try using a plunger with a 10-centimeter diameter rubber bowl. To ensure efficient work Using a plunger, excess water from the toilet must be removed so that the water covers only the rubber part of the tool.

Pro tip:

To prevent this part of the tool from getting stuck in the toilet bowl, use breakout nails to nail the bowl to the plunger handle.

If there is no plunger, but a blockage still occurs, in this case, you can use homemade tools, which, despite their primitive appearance, often turn out to be very effective means solutions to the problem:

  • a plastic bottle cut off from the bottom, which is lowered with the cut end into the toilet and sharp pressure is applied to it;
  • “pusher doll” made from a stick and rags.

Plumbing cable

A flexible special cable, which is a rigid hollow axis equipped with a rotating handle, is a professional tool that every plumber can find. A pointed nozzle or a spiral-shaped extension made of thick wire is attached to the end of such a tool - such equipment allows you to destroy the blockage.

How to break through a blockage with its help:

  1. The spiral end is lowered into the toilet until it stops and the handle is rotated clockwise - thanks to such actions, the cable is pushed into the water seal.

  1. The cable may hit an obstacle. The options may be different:
  • If he runs into reverse side disc bowl (if the cable is not completely immersed in water), then before removing the blockage, continue pushing movements until the cable slips along inside this area of ​​the toilet.
  • If a vertical wall of the riser appears in the path of the cable, in this case a cable is required, the length of which must be more than 1.5 m.
  • If the toilet has a direct outlet, then the cable is pushed along a horizontal sewer pipe to inner surface riser - difficulties in moving the cable may arise if the tip of the cable encounters a blockage. How to remove the blockage in this case? Using back and forth movements, you need to push it into the riser.

As a rule, blockages in sewer pipes do not occur at the beginning of operation.

Pro tip:

During long-term operation of the system, it is necessary to protect the pipes from debris. In addition, preventive cleansers, such as Mole, are effective.

To decide how to unclog a toilet, you need to have a good understanding of its structure and have simple tools, helping to independently flush the pipes. However, if it turns out to be impossible to restore the patency of the system on your own, you will have to turn to the help of specialists.

Late in the evening, when I was calmly sitting on the women's website “Beautiful and Successful,” a neighbor came running to me and best friend Lenka:
- I have an emergency! I poured some borscht into the toilet and that’s it: the toilet is clogged - you don’t know how to unclog it?

- Well, I got boiling water once. You take a pan of boiling water and pour it straight into the toilet. Have you tried it?
“No,” Lenka quickly left.

Hope 1: Clean the toilet with boiling water

I ran after her. A friend put the pan on and electric kettle simultaneously.

- You just need water - real boiling water! – I encouraged her. – And your borscht will definitely be crowded.

Armed with gloves and a ladle, Lenka scooped up most of the water from the toilet and reduced its volume. With faith and hope to overcome the blockage, we quickly poured boiling water. The water gurgled and gurgled - and... nothing broke through. The second and third attempts were also unsuccessful.

Hope 2: Clean the toilet with a plunger

- Don’t you have a plunger? This is a little thing for clearing blockages in sinks and toilets. Wooden stick, and she is wearing a rubber cap. When you press, you get a vacuum shock that pushes the air. Under the influence of the impact, the blockage moves further along the pipe, breaking through the toilet, I advised.

How to use a plunger?

Information for those who have a plunger (an inexpensive and necessary thing) is available in the house. How to use a plunger to break through a toilet?

  1. There should be some water in the toilet. Typically, if you are looking for ways to unclog a clogged toilet, the water in the toilet is stagnant.
  2. The plunger must be placed so that it adheres as tightly as possible to the drain hole. This is necessary in order to get a strong push.
  3. Press down on the handle of the plunger and pull it out as quickly as possible. This way you create water hammer.
  4. Repeat the movements until the water begins to flow freely. As a rule, 3 to 5 pushes are done in one approach.

Professional plumbers have pneumatic plungers that resemble a bicycle pump. They quickly and effectively remove clogs by pushing them through the sewer system. For organic clogs caused by food, breaking through the toilet with a plunger is not difficult.

- I don’t have a plunger - I could try it. ABOUT! Come on Sashka (our best friend and classmate) we’ll call. Still a man!

Lenka immediately grabbed the phone:

- Hello, Sanya, hello! Don't know how to unclog a toilet without a plunger?

Hope 3: toilet cleaner bottle

- What would you do without me? I know, of course. Instead of a plunger, you can use a plastic bottle. It is better to take a 1.5-2 liter. Listen carefully and remember, if the toilet is clogged, how to unclog it with a bottle:

  1. Cut off the bottom of the bottle.
  2. We lower the bottle into the toilet and give a sharp push. The action is similar to a plunger - it creates a shock that pushes the clog further down the pipes.
  3. We repeat until the blockage passes through the sewer pipes.

Lenka quickly pulled out the bottle, cut off the bottom and got to work. Push, another push. Water from the toilet splashed all over the toilet, but the clog did not go away.
“Okay, at least I changed my clothes,” Lenka summarized, looking at her work clothes.

Therefore, to the instructions on how to break through a toilet with a bottle, you need to add the first point - change into work clothes.

This method did not work for us.

“Are you sure it’s just borscht stuck there?” – I asked. “It seems to me that he must have pushed through from the boiling water.”
- Vovka! Come on, come here! Tell your mother what you threw in the toilet? — my friend interrogated my son.
“Mom, aren’t you going to scream?” This morning I cleaned the hamster's cage and flushed the sawdust down the toilet. I thought they would pass,” Vovka prudently hid behind me.

I won’t tell you what Lenka wanted to do and how quickly Vovka ran away. The toilet is clogged - how to clean it quickly - that’s our task. What else can you try? Maybe fill it with something?

Hope 4: chemistry!

Found at Lenka's house citric acid, white and soda.

  1. You need to add 5 sachets of citric acid - this is what reviews from those who managed to break through a clog in the toilet with citric acid say.
  2. Those who wanted to clean the toilet with soda write only negative reviews - soda does not help in this matter. It is very weak.

- All that's left is white. The whole apartment will stink,” Lenka was upset.
- I have a “Mole” at home! – I remembered.

We decided to switch to using special means from blockages in the sewer.

General characteristics of chemicals

Special toilet cleaners contain an acid or alkali that dissolves the clog. These include Mr. Muscle, Tiret, Pothan, Floop, Mole and the like. All chemicals for cleaning sewer pipes can be divided into two groups:

  • Bulk. Most often they are packaged in foil bags. They can be in the form of powder or granules.
  • Liquid. In the form of a gel or liquid.

Most often, all chemicals are produced in two types - preventive, which must be used periodically to prevent blockages from occurring, and special ones - anti-clogging. They are used in emergency cases when the toilet is clogged, but you don’t know how to clean it.

Lenka and I put Krot in the toilet and went to bed, hoping that in the morning a miracle would happen and the blockage would break through. But in the morning Lenka called the plumber, Uncle Misha.

Hope 5: plumber Uncle Misha and... rag

The plumber, Uncle Misha, came quickly. In his hands is a suitcase with tools, on his shoulders is a plumbing cable.

- So, what do we have here? – looking around the place of work, he asked. - Give me an unnecessary rag, or better yet several. Close the drain holes in the bathroom and kitchen, otherwise nothing will work. Let's get started. Just don’t peep, girls, otherwise you’ll deprive me of my job.

Yeah, now. How many times have you suffered and still don’t know how to unclog a toilet? We began to carefully watch Uncle Misha to figure out how to clean the toilet with a rag.

Uncle Misha moistened a rag with plain water, wrapped it around his fist and reached into the toilet with his hand. With a sharp, but not strong movement, he drove his fist with a rag deep into the toilet and pressed the flush. He waited a second and abruptly pulled his hand back.

God, how simple it is! The water gurgled and passed instantly. That's the whole secret. Either the rag helped, or all our attempts previously used to deal with the blockage in the toilet gave a complex result.

- This is all? – Lenka was surprised. – Why don’t many people know about this method?
“So that we don’t end up without work,” Uncle Misha joked.

Satisfied that everything was over and the water in the toilet was draining, Lenka generously thanked the toilet cleaner, Uncle Misha.

- In general, girls, buy a plunger. The simplest device that helps solve many problems.

As I later learned from the Internet, the plunger was invented back in 1615 by the plumber Plunger De La Marcier Farte, who worked at the count's court. He noticed that the compressed air was pushing waste in the toilet further down the drain. A smart toilet cleaner came up with an invention that was later named after him - the plunger.

A short educational program from the plumber Uncle Misha

Before leaving, Uncle Misha shared some of the wisdom of his work, which we will tell readers of the site about. Before you choose a method for unclogging a clogged toilet, you need to figure out why the blockage occurred.

  1. If the toilet is clogged due to an object getting into the drain, for example, a floor rag or a bag, then it is better to use a special plumbing cable (the one that Uncle Misha came with on his shoulder). The tip of the cable is inserted into the toilet and pushed forward, rotating in a circle strictly in one direction. If compaction is felt, a push is made. Most likely that's where it got stuck foreign object. When the blockage is cleared, you need to pour boiling water into the toilet. We didn't have to use this method.
  2. To remove organic waste from the toilet, it is enough to use chemicals that will dissolve the resulting blockage. This method will be effective if the toilet is clogged with food debris.
  3. Well, the most popular and in an effective way, which helps in most cases to break through a clogged toilet, using a plunger or plastic bottle with a cut bottom.

This is how Lenka and I learned some of the tricks of working as a plumber.

It's hard to imagine a modern apartment building without properly working plumbing fixtures, especially the toilet. However, even the best quality plumbing fixtures can clog sooner or later. And this happens at the most inopportune moment. So, your toilet is clogged, what should you do? This article will tell you how to clear clogs at home.

How are sewer systems arranged in apartment buildings?

Sewerage in apartments is necessary to eliminate liquid waste and sewage. Therefore, the places where this waste is collected - the kitchen sink, toilet, bathtub - are equipped with an outlet line through which they enter the sewer riser. All apartments located above each other are connected to it.

Typically the diameter of the riser does not exceed 100 mm. The pipe for it is usually made of plastic. Plastic pipes less susceptible to blockage accumulation. The surface of their walls is smooth and, unlike cast iron pipes free from burrs and various kinds defects. Thanks to this, “overgrowing” of the riser section is practically eliminated.

Sewage system design

To make it easier to clean pipes in the risers of high-rise buildings, each floor is equipped with additional holes, and the standard configuration of all plumbing is as follows:

  • drain hole;
  • pipe with inlet to the riser;
  • riser.

Any of these areas can become clogged. There are several reasons for this.

Causes and location of blockage

Attention! Before choosing a method for cleaning the toilet, you first need to determine the cause, extent and location of the blockage.

Among the main causes of blockages, the following can be noted: improper operation, “growth” of plaque on cast iron or metal pipes, incorrectly installed toilet.

In most cases, a clogged toilet can be caused by household items that do not fall under the category of liquid waste. For example, garbage after renovation, cat litter, floor rags. A diaper thrown into the toilet causes great harm to the sewer system. The sorbent from which it consists gets wet and swells in water, completely clogging the pipe.

Often the cause of clogged drains is household waste, not intended for disposal through sewerage

TO possible reasons frequent drain clogging can be attributed to wrong choice toilet. Modern models that fit well into the bathroom design are not always suitable for sewer systems old apartment buildings. Therefore, when purchasing a modernized toilet you like, take an interest in its technical characteristics.

Important! It is not always your fault that the water does not drain from the toilet or drain in your apartment. A clogged drain can be caused by your neighbors above or below.

In case of minor blockage, water flows out in a slow stream. But it happens that the pipe is completely clogged and prevents even the slightest exit. You can determine the degree of blockage by pouring 1 liter of water into the toilet. After 30 minutes, see if it comes out. If the water comes out, you can remove the blockage yourself. Under no circumstances use a tank to check, since if it is completely clogged, all the water flowing from it can pour onto the floor without going into the sewer.

To avoid flooding the bathroom, do not drain the water from the tank if it is clogged.

This is followed by checking the locality of the blockage. Turn on the water in the kitchen and bathroom. See if it goes well. If water comes out as usual, then most likely the toilet pipe is clogged. The weak outflow of water in the bathroom and kitchen characterizes the problem with common pipes. As a rule, such blockages require more serious measures.

Ways to clear a clogged toilet

Three proven methods will help in the fight against simple blockages: mechanical, chemical or cleaning with a plunger.


    • scoop out all excess water from the toilet;
    • add ½ pack of soda, pour in 200 ml of technical (9%) vinegar;
    • wait 20 minutes;
    • pour 2 liters of hot water into the toilet (do not use boiling water).

If all of the above methods did not help, then you are dealing with a complex, most likely coked blockage. To fix it you will need special device- plumbing cable. Its design is quite simple - it is a long piece steel wire, equipped with a handle at one end and a tip at the other. The principle of operation of the cable is as follows: the tip penetrates into the clogged area in the pipe and, having broken through it, clears the way for drain water.

You can use regular baking soda as a cleaning agent.

It is preferable to work with the cable together: one person rotates the handle, while the other pushes the tip into the line, making rotational and translational movements with it. For greater maneuverability in the sewer pipe, make circular movements with the cable. As a result, the cause of the blockage can be removed or pushed into the riser. You can check the result by draining all the water from the barrel. Before working with the cable, be sure to cover the floor near the toilet with an unnecessary rag so as not to smear it with sewage dirt.

When you need to urgently call a plumber

In most cases, a blockage that occurs before the riser is relatively harmless. You can deal with it on your own using the above methods. An urgent call to a plumber is necessary in a situation where the water level in the toilet gradually rises on its own. This can only mean one thing - the blockage occurred in the common riser pipe in the apartments below or above your floor. With this blockage, working on the principle of communicating vessels, sewage quickly reaches and overflows over the edges of the toilet. This problem cannot be solved by improvised methods. A plumber was called, inserting a long cable into inspection hatches, will clear the riser from accumulated dirt.

If the blockage cannot be cleared on your own, call a specialist immediately

Preventing toilet blockages

Regular cleaning will help you avoid problems with the toilet in the future. preventive measures and compliance simple rules use of toilet and sewerage:

  • do not use the toilet as a garbage disposal (do not throw food or household waste into it);
  • once every two to three months, prevent salt deposits using chemicals;
  • even the slightest blockage must be completely eliminated to prevent more global blockages;

Don't throw trash in the toilet

  • do not throw diapers into the toilet;
  • keep foreign small objects away from the toilet;
  • Explain clearly and often to children general rules using the toilet;
  • Drain using plenty of running water.

It is a pity that few people adhere to these rules. After all, other residents of the house can clog the riser, but you can get hurt.

How to unclog a toilet: video

Removing a clogged toilet: photo