Request: Clogged Toilet
Archived on 05/21/2009
My 3 year old flushed a banana down the toilet. Now when I flush it, it drains down slow and it will back up. If any one has any ideas on how to unclog it please let me know. I have tried for two days to plunge it but no luck.
Sheena from Chatt. TN
Feedback:
RE: Clogged Toilet - Banana
I think you are going to need a plumbers snake to break it up and possibly pull out the peel so the toilet can properly flush. Otherwise, it will just keep blocking all the way down and may affect other drains. When I was young my little sister flushed an apple down the toilet and it blocked the whole house until the plumber came. (08/21/2006)
By ThriftyFun
RE: Clogged Toilet
Have you tried using a lot of the crystal toilet cleaners? Most of them are a lye product and will eat away the banana. It may take a while. I'd flush a lot of it and wait a few hours before trying it again.
You can rent those plumbers snakes too. they aren't that expensive to buy and with a 3 year old in the house that likes to flush things it might be worth it.
One of my girls flushed a pair of training pants down the toilet years ago. Dad was not pleased when he had to snake them out. We had ancient plumbing and you couldn't use two ply paper and especially no tampons flushed! Ever so often I'd flush down some lime away (or its generic) that seemed to help too. (08/21/2006)
By carla b.
RE: Clogged Toilet
I was skeptical about using the dish detergent in my clogged toilet, but it worked on the first plunge. I had been plunging for two days and could never get the water to empty completely out, and after putting the detergent and then plunging, it emptied. I'm sure this is not a permanent fix, but for tonight, I'll take it! (03/11/2007)
By Lori H
RE: Clogged Toilet
I tried the dish washing detergent with plunger - no go. I tried the baking soda and vinegar with plunger - no go. Went to home depot and bought a $30 snake - there was one for $10 that would have worked and had it fixed in 10 minutes for toilet paper clog. (03/19/2007)
By Tom Z.
RE: Clogged Toilet
Removing the toilet was not an option and the plunger was not doing the trick on it's own. So I tried the squirt of Dawn dish detergent suggestion and it worked like magic. Only a couple of firm plunges and away the clog went. The bathroom smelled better while I worked. Thank you. (09/14/2007)
By Steff
RE: Clogged Toilet
I accidentally dropped a new bar of soap into the toilet, and didn't want to reach to get it out. I flushed it, and it didn't give problems until 2 days later, so I googled and found this wonderful site! I poured in a squirt of Dawn dish soap and added hot water, kept adding hot water because the water kept draining but the toilet paper wouldn't get washed down. After puring in 4 bucketfuls of hot tap water, the water in the toilet rose to the top, full of suds, and stayed for a few seconds, then suddenly everything flushed away in a flash and the toilet was clean. So once you add dish soap dont add any more, keep pouring in hot water a little at a time, eventually it will flush.
Good luck! I am so relieved, thanks to the genius(es) who devised this plan in the first place.
(09/24/2007)
By relieved!
RE: Clogged Toilet
Ok. I must admit that I thought this was a very odd solution but the Soap and Hot Water worked for me too. Tried everything else; vinegar/baking soda, auger, Drano Gel. Nothing. Did this once and it got 50% better. Did it a second time and I am up to about 90%. What cost me about $20.00 could have cost me $1 but I am glad I found this before I called the plumber. Great tip! (01/03/2008)
By Greg
RE: Clogged Toilet
I'd say use an auger on the banana. Plunging might only jam it in worse.
My toilet was clogged badly with "human waste." It was so bad, I couldn't even get the filthy water to move. After two hours of plunging, pacing, flushing, and a flooded bathroom, I decided it couldn't hurt to try the Dawn and hot water. So I shot about half a cup in, waited five minutes, added one gallon of very hot water, waited a few more minutes, flushed, and nothing. Discouraged, I went back to plunging, which was the key. After about 10 pumps I heard a beautiful "swoosh" and the toilet was clean. The only problem now is that it's filled with soap bubbles.
Still, I didn't believe it would break up such a terrible clog, but it did. Thanks so much to whoever invented it. (01/22/2008)
By Neil
RE: Clogged Toilet
Yes, the boiling water and soap worked. However the boiling water cracked the porcelain commode.Regardless I still must replace the commode. Cheap isn't always better.
Thanks for the "free tip" that will now cost me $150.00. (02/02/2008)
By debi
RE: Clogged Toilet
Wow, it works like a charm~ Thank you very much! Instead of dish soap, I use body shampoo and boil the water using water heater in the bathroom. yes, very convenient indeed~ The flush works fine now. Great~ (02/29/2008)
By Grateful
RE: Clogged Toilet
Whoever gave this idea of soap and hot water...May God Bless You. I used hot water from the tap and pamolive dish soap. I poured the dish soap in first and followed it with the hot water and it worked like magic!
My toilet was clogged for a week and its now flowing freely again. Thanks for saving me so much $$ I would have paid a plumber! I canceled my plumber appointment immediately! (03/16/2008)
By Esther
RE: Clogged Toilet
I don't ever write on the internet but I have to say I'm amazed by the hot water and soap fix. It worked like a charm, I couldn't believe my eyes. I had literally been plunging all day long. Used 1/4 cup dish soap, and a gallon of hot water, plunged 10 times, and the clog disappeared!
Thank you! (06/03/2008)
By aa
RE: Clogged Toilet
The dishwashing detergent and hot water did work. I repeated the process about 4-5 times. Initially, it didn't seem to do anything and the water was still draining very very slowly. So we gave up after 30 min and went for dinner. After 2 hours, we decided to try again. At our last attempt, we poured in the detergent, waited 5 min, added about half toilet bowl full of hot water, waited 10 min and flushed. It was just pure magic. It unclogged. Can't say how relieved I am. Plumbing service is extremely expensive in Australia. I didn't even have to plunge once. Thanks so much! ^^ (06/09/2008)
By Keren
RE: Clogged Toilet
Hot water worked! (07/28/2008)
By Laura
RE: Clogged Toilet
This really works! My husband spent 2 days trying to unclog our toilet. He bought 2 different snakes (which scratched the heck out of our throne) and Drano but made no progress. As a last ditch effort before calling a plumber, I did an internet search and found this site. My husband laughed at me and said it would never work, but after 2 rounds of dish soap and boiling water, everything is back to normal. Guess who's laughing now! =) Too bad we didn't try this before he scratched the bowl. (10/29/2008)
By Jill
RE: Clogged Toilet
My toilet was clogged for a week (slow draining, not completely clogged). I drained the water from the toilet, squirted in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dish soap, let it sit for 15 minutes, poured in a pot of boiling water, let it sit for another 15 minutes, and then just flushed. After all the plunging I had been doing over the past week to no avail, I didn't even have to plunge with the soap and boiling water! (01/22/2009)
By Chris
RE: Clogged Toilet
This Dawn is a miracle. I had a toilet clogged for more than a day. My son and I were tired and wet from trying to unclog it. We actually put the Dawn in and had to go to a church function. When we returned and flushed. It went down with no problems! Thank you! No plumber, saved me money! (02/13/2009)
By The Cheap One
RE: Clogged Toilet
After 2 days of plunging and using the toilet snake, I decided to Google "unclogging toilets". There's a lot of advice out there and most of it is more of the same. I tried the liquid soap and hot water (from my bathtub, not boiling) and pouring the water from waist height directly into the opening in the toilet then plunging and it worked! It took 3 tries but after each try the toilet was getting better and #3 was the charm. I have no idea what was clogging the toilet but in the future, if a simple 1-2-3 plunge doesn't do the trick, this soap and water "cure" will be my next step right away! I plan to keep a small bottle of dish detergent in the bathroom "just in case". (04/15/2009)
By akpt
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Request: Clogged Toilet
Archived on 07/05/2005
My toilet gets clogged all the time. I plunge it and get it to empty slowly. Could really use some suggestions of what I could do to correct this problem. I live alone and on limited budget and plummer fees are depleting my resources.
vhighfill
Answers:
RE: Clogged Toilet
Try draining the toilet first. Turn off water valve and flush. You may have to do this twice. Then dump some baking soda, followed by vinegar. As the foaming stops, add more vinegar until no more foaming occurs. Wait about 10 min, then open the water valve, allow the tank to fill and flush several times. If this doesn't do it you can buy an easy to use auger at any home imp. store. If these things don't work, you may have tree roots that have invaded the sewer pipes and will need professional attention. (07/25/2005)
By
RE: Clogged Toilet
I read somewhere that running full bore all of the cold water faucets in the bathroom when you flush is supposed to help the vacuum in the cold water line. (07/25/2005)
By cookwie
RE: Clogged Toilet
We bought a Orange canister snake tool at Walmart that worked like a charm.
It goes on the end of the drill. I think it was about $20. (07/25/2005)
By kelly
RE: Clogged Toilet
We had a toilet like that. One: only use single-ply toilet paper. Two: After a particularly heavy "use", flush twice. It worked for us! (07/26/2005)
By Mary Ellen
RE: Clogged Toilet
We used to have this problem a lot. I stopped using the expensive toilet paper and use the Costco brand. It feels nice but I have noticed that it breaks apart when left in the toilet for a while (my preschooler doesn't always flush!). If 'something' could be stuck in it, you may need to get a friend or neighbor to help. The snake didn't work for us. My husband turned the water off at the toilet, flushed to empty and removed the toilet from the floor. He took it outside (or put it in the tub for upstairs) and cleaned it out manually. He found a toothbrush in one and a video game in another. The snake didn't remove them. You may want to buy a new wax seal (they are fairly cheap). It's the wax piece on the floor around the pipe in the floor. Good luck. (07/27/2005)
By Ann
RE: Clogged Toilet
Inside under the lip at the front of the toilet is a small hole. If you take a coat hanger (metal) and put the tip in the hole and move it around it will clear it out. My husband did this and it works like a charm. (07/29/2005)
By Susan from Hamilton
RE: Clogged Toilet
Wow. I can't believe the dish detergent actually worked! After a whole day of plunging to no avail, I was ready to go to home depot to get a snake. But I read about so many success stories with the dish detergent, I thought why not. After a few plunges and lots of bubbles, it all went down! I was really skeptical at first but you people have made a believer out of me. (07/29/2006)
By Ana Conda
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