Badly Plugged Toilet

[Chala]

I live in an apartment I sublease a coop. I have lived in apartments all my life I never seen one I could not unplug either with a plunger or auger until yesterday. Eventually the water seeps down but something is clogging it badly solids will not flush. I called the super and he came with this industrial type of auger spent about 5 minutes on and told me I would probably have to pay for a new toilet which I can't afford.

The toilet is basically unusable for anything unless you want to use it as a urinal, nothing more. Can someone give me some advice, should I buy an industrial type of auger and go at it? Is there some chemical I can throw into the toilet to dissolve it? Nothing unusual as far as I know went into the toilet. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jadnashua]

There are two possibilities:
- there's a clog IN the toilet
- there's a clog in the main line

Until you can determine which, it's hard to guide you. Sometimes, if there's a clog IN the toilet, you may need to remove it and attack it from the bottom. While the toilet is off, you should be able to take a bucket and pour it down the drain line...it should take as much as you can dump, as fast as you can dump it. My guess (you'd have to check) is that if it is in the line, the COOP would likely have to fix it...if it's in the toilet, probably you'd have to deal with it. If the clog is IN the main line, having the toilet off will allow a full sized snake to try to clean it out. A toilet auger may only be a bit over an inch in diameter...the drain line is at least 3".

Pulling and reinstalling a toilet isn't really all that difficult, but it IS fairly heavy, and some may not be able to handle that. At a minimum, you'd need some caulk and a new wax ring when reinstalling it. When you move the toilet, sometimes, it's a good idea to replace the supply tubing or hose. In parts to remove and reinstall, you're only talking maybe $10 or so, but the labor would likely be a lot more.

 

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[Chala]

Jadnashua thanks for responding, I am not handy at all so I would only be able to check for a clog in the toilet. It sounds like your saying an auger would not work cause it is small in diameter. How bout these products CLEAN SHOT Instant Alkaline 32 fl oz Drain Cleaner or Green Gobbler POWDER PLUNGER Toilet Bowl Clog Remover. What do you think?

 

[Terry]

I sometimes pull the toilet, and auger from the outlet. I try to push out what dropped in to plug it.
Sometimes a find a shampoo bottle, or a small toy. I don't know of anything that will dissolve plastic bottles in a trapway.
Sometimes I wind up replacing the bowl. Chemicals aren't going to do anything that an auger can't do.

A toy that was stuck in a toilet trapway.

 

[Chala]

Ok thanks, but that's the thing, I live alone and I have no idea what it is, it just happened randomly. The only thing I am guilt of throwing down there on occasion by accident is bounty paper towels. I am going to buy a slightly better auger, and a good plunger along with the Green Gobbler and hope for the best. Do you or anyone know how much an inexpensive toilet goes for these days?

 

[Jadnashua]

Many of the builder grade (cheaper) toilets don't actually work all that well. Some have luck with some of the cheaper toilets, but their build quality isn't always consistent...some good, some bad, and it's hard to tell for sure until it's installed! If you can't do it yourself, you'd then pay the plumber twice. If he supplies a toilet, if it doesn't work, generally, he fixes it as part of the install. You buy it, you pay for his time, and if it needs to be replaced because it is defective, you pay for that, too.

I've had good luck with Toto toilets, and you'll spend probably in the order of $240 and up for one (they're often available for a lot less than the 'suggested' retail price), plus installation. Lots of threads here about choices.

TOTO Drake CST776CEG and CST776CEFG are two good choices.

Below, a toy lodged in the trapway of a bowl.

 

[Chala]

Thanks Jadnashua, I got this remedy from a you-tube video. I put some dish washing liquid in the bowl flushed the toilet then put more in the bowl, a generous amount then I filled a bucket with hot water poured it into the bowl. Then took a decent plunger in my case the Korky Beehive plunger gave it several pumps it cleared right up. Unbelievable, thank you Terry and Jadnashua you're both awesome.

 

[WJcandee]

That Korky Beehive is awesome! It makes a nice seal around the opening at the bottom of the bowl, and the T-shaped handle lets you vigorously push and PULL, which is often helpful in dislodging stuff. The bulb is also BIG, so you are pushing down a lot of water against the clog, and sucking back a lot when pulling.

Glad you got it working.

PS I never use any kind of chemical in the toilet, because the plunger and/or auger will do a much better job than any chemical at getting the clog out. And once you put the chemical in, no matter how "green" it purports to be, it can harm you (or the plumber you eventually call) during plunging or augering. (If it can dissolve stuff powerfully, it can dissolve skin.)

 

[Chala]

I didn't think the dish washing liquid would be that bad, it makes the stuck object slippery. That Korky Beehive is unbelievable I will have one aside my toilet till the end of my days!

 

[WJcandee]

Yeah, I didn't mean to appear to include dishwashing liquid as a "chemical" in my comments. It's chicken soup: might not make it better but can't hurt.

Long live the Beehive!

 

[hj]

Dishwasher liquid was probably just as effective as vinegar and baking soda, meaning NOT AT ALL. But, pouring hot water into a toilet CAN result in a two, or more, piece toilet bowl, just depends on how cold it is.

This squirrel was hiding in the bowl.

 

[WJcandee]

I missed the part about the water being "hot". Good catch, HJ.

 

[Terry]

Hot water can also melt the wax seals.

 

[Terry]

Do toilets get clogged at Halloween parties? Maybe so..........

 

[Weekend Handyman]

My wife got some cleaning thing stuck in the toilet the other night (some plastic and some material). I was afraid my closet auger would push it in deeper. I ran to Home Depot and picked up one of these ... https://www.homedepot.ca/product/hdx-2-piece-drain-cleaning-tool/1000818036. It works really well where there is material it can get it's hooks into ... would probably be useless on hard plastic toys, etc.