Clogged toilets are a common occurrence in homes. Anyone who has lived in a house with modern toilet facilities is bound to encounter the problem at some point. But a clogged toilet is not that big of a problem if you have the right tool to remove the blockage and know how to use it. A cheap toilet plunger is often all you need to quickly resolve this problem.
But what do you do if your toilet gets clogged and you don’t have a plunger at hand? Toilet clogs are one of those things you need to deal with immediately. Someone may need to use the toilet and they can’t do that unless you have a second toilet in the home. This may be a big problem in vacation rental properties, warns Bighorn Rentals. Guests don’t like to deal with such issues when they’re paying for a place to relax from work. Finding a way to remove the clog is your best option. Here are ways to unclog a toilet when you don’t have a plunger.
THINGS YOU WILL NEED:
Except for maybe the last two items on the list, most of what you need can be found in your home:
- Disposable gloves
- Face mask and goggles
- At least one pack of paper towels
- A garbage bag
- Dishwashing or bar soap
- A medium-sized disposable cup
- One plastic bucket
- A wire coat hanger (straightened out)
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- An empty 2-liter plastic bottle
- Some hot water
- Epsom salt
- Non-corrosive drain cleaner
PRELIMINARY STEPS
- Shut down the water supply from the tank to the toilet bowl.
- To do this, lift and remove the tank lid and unhook the chain attached to the flapper to close it.
- Once the flapper is closed, you will see that water stops entering the bowl.
- Once this is done, do not attempt to flush the toilet until you have gotten rid of the clog.
STEP ONE: SCOOP WATER OUT OF THE TOILET BOWL
If there is a lot of water in the bowl, you can get rid of it by scooping it out with a disposable cup. Before you do this, make sure you put on your rubber gloves. Scoop the water from the toilet bowl into a bucket and place the bucket where it won’t get knocked over.
STEP TWO: APPLY HOT WATER
When the water in the toilet bowl is sufficiently low, pour a gallon of hot water into the bowl directly into the drain opening. The heat from the water will soften the clog and help it slide down the drainpipe. Let the hot water sit in the bowl for some time.
STEP THREE: USE DISH SOAP OR BAR SOAP
If the previous step did not help, pour a generous measure of dish soap into the toilet. For the best results, pour more hot water into the bowl as well. The soap will break up any grease in the toilet and make the pipes slippery enough to let the sludge pass through. If you don’t have dish soap, cut some bar soap into tiny pieces, pour the pieces into the bowl and wait ten minutes.
STEP FOUR: USE A STRAIGHTENED COAT HANGER
If there is still no movement and you can see what is causing the clog, try poking it with the wire hanger. Fetch a wire hanger from your closet and straighten it out to make an improvised drain snake. Then try to dislodge the clog by poking it with the hanger. Be careful not to damage the drain. Do not apply force unless you can clearly see what you are poking.
STEP FIVE: FORCE WATER INTO THE DRAIN
To do this step, you may have to scoop water out of the bowl; that is if the water is not draining and the bowl is filled with water. Fill a 2-liter bottle with very warm water, cover the opening of the bottle with a gloved finger, stick it into the opening at the bottom of the bowl and squeeze the bottle to force the water into the drain.
STEP SIX: USE BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR OR EPSOM SALTS
Again, to do this step, the toilet bowl must have very little water in it. First, pour a cup of baking soda into the bowl and then add vinegar to the solution. The mixture will cause a fizzy reaction which should be strong enough to dislodge whatever is blocking the drain. Allow the mixture to sit in the bowl for thirty minutes and then pour hot water into the bowl as before. In the absence of vinegar and baking soda, placing Epsom salt or bath bombs inside the bowl will also result in a fizzy reaction.
STEP SEVEN: USE A NON-CORROSIVE DRAIN-CLEANER
As your final option, after other methods have failed, you can use a store-bought drain cleaner. Make sure the chemical you use is not corrosive in order to avoid damage to your drainpipes and the home’s septic system. If you can find an eco-friendly drain cleaner, use that.
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