How to Fix a Clogged toilet? 7 Popular Ways to Do That!

After relieving yourself, you try to flush the toilet, but nothing goes down the drain. You panic as you don’t know what to do next. Luckily, most toilet clogs are easily fixed without the need for a professional plumber. Things that might clog the toilet are:

-Hard objects
-Food & cooking grease
-Baby Diapers & Wipes
-Feminine products & makeup wipes
-Hard poop
-Tissues or paper towels
-Baby toys
-Cotton balls
-Hair

In this “How to fix a clogged toilet” post, we’re going to show you how to unclog your toilet with things you have in your home. You can unclog your toilet using an auger, plunger, dish soap, baking soda & vinegar, wire coat hanger, plumbing toilet snake, and much more.

7 DIY Ways: How to Fix a Clogged Toilet?

If you want to unclog a toilet without hiring a professional, you have to follow our easy steps, where we have discussed some of the common causes and reasons for this issue.

Toilet Unclogging WaysApprox. Cost
Plumber$80-$200
Use dish soap$5-$10
Hot water$0
Auger$20-$90
Plunger$15-$50
Baking Soda & Vinegar$10-$20
Wet/dry vacuum$15-$30 (Rent)
Wire hanger$3-$5

Page Contents

Use dish soap

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

One of the readily available things in your home is dish soap. This is perfect, especially for those who don’t want to get messy with a toilet auger or plunger. Take about a ¼ cup of dish soap and pour it into the toilet bowl. Allow the dish soap to move down the drain and reach the clog. This should take a period of between 5 and 10 minutes. After this period, pour hot water into the bowl and also give it some time. The bowl’s dish soap will act as a lubricant and grease the clog in the drain to get everything moving.

Related article: Easy steps you should follow to fix your running toilet

When you see the raised water lowering, know that the dish soap is doing its job and the clogging is heading from the drain to the outflow pipe. If the clog is broken down, you can flush the toilet and see if everything is okay. If not, try our next method.

Hot water

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

Another easy and effortless way of cleaning your toilet clogs without a plunger is by using hot water. Boil water and pour it into your toilet bowl. Leave the hot water to sit in the bowl for some time to loosen and break down the clog. If the water level in the bowl lowers, know that your efforts are being rewarded. Wait for the clog to drain and flush the toilet to confirm a job well done. But if the challenge persists, you will have to try a more effective method, such as using a plunger.

Plunger

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

After trying to use hot water and dish soap without succeeding, you should try to apply force using a toilet plunger. Since almost every household has a plunger, this tool is readily available in the bathroom. It’s the best tool if a toilet clogs when you’re at a friend’s house or somewhere away from home.

Having the right plunger also counts. With so many types of plungers on the market, the flange plunger is the best option. Insert the toilet plunger into your toilet bowl and push it down gently until you attain a good seal. Continue pushing the plunger gently to get the air out. If you drive with excessive force, you may splash dirty water and waste.

Related article: How to solve the faulty toilet handle issue?

After attaining a good seal, push the plunger with some force and maintain a fantastic seal. At last, you should pull the plunger up to break the seal and see water run down the drain. If the clog is not yet cleared, repeat the same procedure until it unclogs the toilet. But still, you can try another method to clear your toilet. Use an auger or closet auger.

Auger

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

Usually, a toilet plunger should be enough to push down clogs in your toilet. But if this tool fails to clear clogs in the toilet, you should try out a closet auger to unclog a toilet. This tool has a cable that rotates by a handle. Insert it in the toilet bowl, and crank the handle to auger the cable into the stubborn clog. You will notice if the cable reaches the clog, as there will be some resistance. Force the cable through the clog until you don’t feel any resistance. Flush the toilet to see if the clog has cleared. Keenly observe if the clog has been pushed down the drain.

A toilet auger works better than a plunger for stubborn and solid clogs. Use a toilet auger where a plunger has failed, and you will be surprised at how effective it works.

Baking Soda & Vinegar

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

This is the best way to unclog your toilet. If you don’t have a plunger or an auger in your home, you can also apply what you learned in your science class. When you combine white vinegar and baking soda, they can create a reaction that unclogs your toilet. If your toilet is filled with water to the top, empty some of it. Afterward, pour two cups of vinegar and one cup of baking soda inside the toilet bowl. Using baking soda is an effective way to unclog the toilet, but it takes some time to react with vinegar in the toilet bowl.

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

When these two mixtures react, a natural chemical reaction will occur and break down the clog. Give it about 30 minutes, and pour some water into the bowl. If it drains, the issue is solved. But if it doesn’t, you still have work to do. You can use chemical drain cleaners, but they are harmful to the environment, and you need to take extra caution while using them.

Note that this procedure only works for waste and not solid clogs like toys.

Wire hanger

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

Toilet clog is a common toilet problem most owners face. Another simple but effective method you can apply to fix your clogged toilet is using a wire hanger. Get to your closet and remove one of your hangers. Straighten the wire coat hanger and wrap a cloth on the end that you will push into the drain. This is important because leaving the wire open may damage your porcelain.

Push the end with a wrapped cloth to the drain hole. Turn and twist the wire until you push the clog further and into the outflow tube. When waste or the clog has been cleared, remove the wire hanger and flush the toilet. Your toilet should be okay by now. 

Wet/dry vacuum

How to Fix a Clogged toilet?

The wet and dry vacuum may not be the best tool to use to unclog a toilet, but it’s also beneficial. Rent a wet/dry vacuum from your local store. It would help if you never used the regular vacuum cleaner to get messy and out of hand. Besides, it would help if you put on rubber gloves for your safety.

Start by using the vacuum to empty water from the bowl. When done, wrap the hose in an old rag to form a seal. Next, place the vacuum hose down the toilet drain. Turn the vacuum on so that it can suck the clog. Get rid of the clog and try flushing your toilet. Everything should work smoothly. But if the problem still exists, you should call a plumber to clean the whole draining line. A good no-clog toilet will give you the opportunity to get rid of the toilet clog permanently.

Conclusion

Fixing a clogged toilet shouldn’t be a problem ever again. As long as you’ve one of the items that we’ve mentioned, this procedure should be seamless and fast. Just exercise some patience and follow the instructions. Toilet clogging will be a thing of the past as your toilet will be back to running smoothly.

However, when things don’t work out, you should always contact a plumber to do the job. Some clogs may be severe and need professional handling. All the best as you fix your clogged toilet!

Hi, this is Robert Crossan, the owner of this website, has 17 years of experience in the installation, maintenance, and repair of toilets and plumbing systems. After completing the Level 2 Basic Plumbing course in 2005, I started working in both domestic and commercial buildings as a professional plumber. So I can figure out the core difference between different toilet models and brands. It also helped me monitor their work performance and setbacks.

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