Home > Plumbing Blog > How to Fix a Clogged Toilet

How to Fix a Clogged Toilet

One of the most common plumbing issues that our team at Top Notch Plumbing Services Inc. gets called to deal with is clogged toilets. While a clogged toilet can certainly be a severe enough problem that it requires a plumber to fix, in a lot of cases, it’s possible to deal with this issue on your own.

In this article, we’ll go through a few methods you can use to un-clog a clogged toilet at home—if none of them work for you, then you can go ahead and call our team.

  • Plunger – The first thing to try when dealing with a clogged toilet is the plunger. Place the plunger in the toilet bowl over the drain and gently push to expel the air and create a firm seal. Then, pump up and down forcefully to loosen the clog, while being careful not to break the seal. If your efforts were successful, the water will rush down the drain once you break the seal—if that doesn’t happen, call our team or try one of the following two methods.
  • Snake – Another tool you can use to fix a clogged toilet is a plumber’s snake. This tool costs around $25 and is an excellent way to deal with clogged pipes—simply thread the snake down through the drain until you reach the clog, then hook it in and wind it back to dislodge the blockage.
  • Dish Soap and Hot Water – If you don’t have a plunger or snake handy, you can try to un-clog your toilet with dish soap and hot water. Pour some dish soap into the toilet to start loosening the blockage, and then let the soap go to work as you heat up about a gallon of water. When the water is very hot, but not boiling, carefully pour it into the toilet to further loosen the blockage.