If you want to know how to unclog a toilet when nothing else works, you’re in the right place. Sometimes, our toilets clog due to more than just too much toilet paper. This article discusses five different ways to unclog your toilet, and six ways toilets clog that you may not know about. Follow along and learn more.
How To Unclog Toilet When Nothing Works
Below are five different ways you can unclog your toilet, starting with home remedies.
Home Remedies
Chances are you have some of these common ingredients already at home. By combining them, you can create your own clogged toilet cleaning solution. Below are five different ways you can unclog your toilet, starting with home remedies.
- Baking soda and vinegar – Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down your toilet, followed by 1/2 cup of vinegar. Let the mixture sit for an hour, followed by pouring hot water down your toilet. That should clear the clog. If not, move on to the following remedy.
- Baking soda and salt – Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda with 1/2 cup of salt and pour them down your toilet, followed by hot water. Depending on how tough the clog is, you should let the mixture sit anywhere from half an hour to overnight.
- Baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar – Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of salt, and two tablespoons of cream of tartar. Pour half the ingredients down your toilet, followed by hot water. If that doesn’t clear the clog, pour the next half.
- Baking soda and lemon juice – Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of lemon juice down your toilet. Let the mixture sit for at least one hour, followed by a pot of hot water.
An enzyme waste removal product will liquefy any waste that’s stuck in your drain pipes. You can buy an enzyme product from your local home improvement store or online. The enzyme product won’t harm your pipes or affect your water supply, making it an excellent solution for clearing clogs. Make sure you read the instructions on the product to determine how much you need to pour down your toilet.
Also known as a “closet auger,” a sewer snake is a flexible cleaning tool used by most plumbers to clear clogs. You can even purchase one yourself online at your local plumbing/home improvement store. There are a few different types of sewer snakes available out there. Manual cable drain snakes are twisted into your toilet like a corkscrew. If the clog is tougher than usual, you can use a power snake that’s hooked up to a motor.
Hydro-jetting & Robotic Cutting
If a sewer snake can’t clear out the clog, the problem may be deeper into your sewer pipes.
- Hydro-jetting – Hydro-jetting is a pipe cleaning solution that uses up to 4,000 PSI of water to break apart debris trapped in your sewer pipes. The hydro-jetting hose is connected to a water tank and a machine that creates the pressure. Hydro-jetting can clear tree roots, hard-to-reach clogs, long-term grease issues, and other types of build-up.
- Robotic cutting – If your sewer pipes are filled with stronger tree roots or tougher than usual clogs, professionals recommend robotic cutting. Using a remote-controlled robotic arm, experts can cut through any debris inside your stormwater or sewer pipes.
Replacing Your Sewer Line
If you’ve tried all of the above solutions and your toilet is still clogged, the problem may be a collapsed sewer line. In that case, experts have three solutions.
- Pipe lining – Pipe lining involves inserting an epoxy-impregnated liner into your damaged pipe and inflating the liner until the epoxy cures directly inside your old line. Once the epoxy cures, the tube is deflated and removed, leaving you with a brand new strong sewer line. Pipe lining can be used to fix a small section of pipe or your entire sewer line, depending on the damage.
- Pipe bursting – Sewer specialists can feed a cone-shaped bursting head into your damaged pipe that will break apart the old line, immediately replacing it with a new HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipe.
- Traditional sewer line replacement – In some cases, your old sewer line sustained too much damage and is not viable for pipe lining or pipe bursting. In this case, a sewer specialist will have to dig out and replace your sewer line manually.
Below are six different ways toilets clog that you may not know about.
- Flushable wipes – In case you didn’t know this, do not flush “flushable wipes” down your toilet. The real reason they are labeled “flushable” is because they can flush down your toilet. But, that does not mean they can travel down your sewer pipes. Toilet paper is made to disintegrate inside your sewer line, while wipes were designed to stay intact. If the wipes begin to build up, they can create a clog.
- Grease – Don’t pour any cooking oil, fats, or grease down your toilet. It may seem like an easy way to get rid of liquids, but the grease will actually harden inside your pipes, causing clogs.
- Foreign objects – If your toilet is clogged, check if one of your children’s toys is missing. It could have ended up accidentally flushed.
- Tree roots – Tree roots and sewer pipes do not mix. If you have an existing crack in your sewer line, tree roots can detect the leaking wastewater and attempt to break inside, clogging your pipes.
- Shifting soil – If your soil shifts suddenly, possibly from an earthquake, the sudden pressure can cause your sewer pipes to crack, leak, or collapse. If dirt caves into your sewer pipes, you might notice all of your toilets are clogged.
- Failing sewer pipes – If your sewer pipes were made out of older outdated materials such as cast iron or terracotta, they could be at the end of their life-use. This could lead to cracks, leaks, and clogs.
If you live in Glendora, California, and have a clogged toilet, you should call SWE Sewer Solutions & Engineering. We are a bonded, city-approved, and licensed contractor offering sewer line repair, replacement, hydro-jetting, robotic cutting, and more. Call today for your free inspection and estimate.