Initial Action for Blocked Toilets.

If a toilet that doesn't flush well, it’s either caused by an obstruction in the bowl or a problem with the guts within the toilet. So, what can we do to troubleshoot?

1.    Take off the lid of the bowl, flush the toilet and watch what happens. The best test is to get some toilet paper, put it in the bowl, flush and see what happens. Look to see if the full cistern contents empties during the flush. If it appears to function well, then it’s likely the problem is in the bowl.

2.    To troubleshoot the bowl, get a bucket of water, fill it right up and dump it in the toilet bowl. However, If the bowl is already full to the brim, ignore this process and jump straight to the plunger stage, or even the snake stage. By using the bucket, we are utilising hydrostatic pressure, which is simply the force of water pushing down into the bowl. It should work exactly like a regular toilet flush except the water is coming from the bucket.

Pour the entire contents of the bucket all at once and see how the toilet flushes. Test the toilet again by putting some paper in the toilet and causing a flush. If it’s still a problem, it’s time to move to the next step, the plunger.

3.    The next method to try is a plunger. A plunger has a very narrow opening which is what you want. The objective is to be able to move a large volume of water, very focused, very quickly. Don't get the plunger that looks like a cereal bowl connected to a stick. You want something that is and can carry volume and push everything, push the water down in a very narrow opening. A couple of real good pushes will either push the obstruction down or to bring it back into the bowl. Once you’re done with the plunger, be sure to put it in a bag or bucket to keep the area clean.

4.    If the plunger doesn’t fix your problem, then you need to move to a toilet snake or toilet auger. However, most residential homes don’t have a toilet snake laying around, therefore you probably should call Considerate Plumbing. However, if in the off chance you do have a toilet snake laying around, here is a snapshot on how you can use a snake to unblock your toilet.

A toilet snake is about six feet long, has a fixed handle and you should have a protective sleeve, so you don’t scratch the porcelain toilet. So, you slip the snake down inside the toilet. Once it’s in there, push the snake through and move it the best you can. Once you take it out, use the bag again and do the toilet paper flush again to test. Hopefully this should fix the problem, if not, call Considerate Plumbing and Roofing and we will get it sorted.