Toilet Clogged - need some advice please

liamtech

Hi All - need some help

Our main toilet clogged on new years eve - it was just me and my wife and daughter in the house, so we are fairly certain nothing 'un-toilet-related' was flushed- however the next day the toilet began refusing to drain - it did drain eventually, but only after well over an hour - and solid materials tended to remain.

-My first attempt to fix this was with the use of a plunger - this did slowly, but surely, empty the bowl. and after a few reflushes over the course of a few hours, and repeated plunging, the solid materials did go down - but the problem has escalated now, and the toilet is unuseable

-I obtained a larger plunger, and this had the same effect as above. It is possible, if you keep at it, to drain the bowl, but it takes forever. several hours at present

-I tried dish washing liquid and hot water. This was a suggestion i found in many places on Youtube - initially i thought it worked but again. it resulted in the bowl draining slightly faster - but on the next flush, with nothing material in the bowl, the toilet wouldnt drain

-I tried using some bleach, a few cup fulls - this produced a reaction in the bowl, which seemingly destroyed most solid materials - but again, the bowl will not drain -

-I opened a manhole cover and found what i assume to be the toilets connection outlet - there are two, and as we have a second en-suite, by a process of elimination, i can safely say i located the correct one. It is not showing any signs of being clogged though, and im at a loss with how to proceed

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I would obvioulsy prefer to avoid a plumber, considering its January, and money is tight - are there any other chemicals i can add to the bowl? Caustic soda, or perhaps Mr Muscle? Something i could leave in over night? Are there dangers involved with this method

If anyone could give me a rough estimate of what i should expect to pay for a plumber -

Thanks in advance

lucalux

Sorry OP, not a nice issue to have

Just a quick note to say be careful with hot water down the loo in this weather, it usually is OK, but there is a risk that the porcelain could crack, depending on the location/temp of your bathroom/toilet

You've a solid block between the toilet and the manhole somewhere.

I'd recommend a toilet auger like this one or a long heavy duty snake, you're gone past the plunger stage probably

What i've had success with in the past: rinse aid, or washing up liquid - put down every half hour, or hour. It'll work it's way down gradually through any gaps in the solids

Bleach, go wild tbh - yeah not great for a septic tank, but that can be fixed later

You can snake from the manhole up towards the house in case the blockage is near it

Other than that, top up with the bleach/washing up liquid and warm/hot water - and use the snake in the hope that it's just behind the loo

Failing that, I've had to rod the sewer pipe from the manhole side with hydrodare pipe, and try to break it up (couldn't use sewer rods as there was a few junctions/bends)

But if you have no luck you can get the sewer rods which come with several hooks/brushes to fit on, and then rod with those from the manhole towards the house, going in till you feel any resistance, and then hoofing it back out in the hope that you've freed it a bit

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/bailey-19mm-black-drain-rod-set-9-14m/78472?tc=BI2&gStoreCode=BI2&gQT=1

Be very careful to only turn in the direction of the tread or else you'll lose a pole in the pipe and have a nightmare scenario!!!

Not a nice job, worse in the cold, but doable hopefully for ya

riddles

if you get a bucket of water and pour it in vigorously from a height it usually works that or use one of those woolly headed mops as a plunger

10-10-20

You may have dislodged some of the stuck solids but there's a chance that you have a backlog which has built-up in a poorly falling section of piping. See if you can work out how the pipe runs from the en-suite to the downpipe, mine only had a fall of a few inches over 4 meters, so it got clogged up when we started using quad-ply tissue paper at one point. I had to have a plumber come in and plunge it from an access junction as there was no way it was shifting from the opposite side.

You can snake from the manhole up towards the house in case the blockage is near it

Yep, this is best along with a supply of water to break it up from the back.

elperello

You'll not want to hear this but it might solve your problem.

Roll up your sleeve and reach as far as you can down the bowl. You may be able to clear the blockage.

It's a messy job so wear old clothes and have kitchen roll and newspapers ready so you can clean up after.

Hot water and liquid soap to have a good wash after.

shane b

I had a the same scenario in an upstairs toilet recently. I have 2 small people who use lots of toilet paper when going to the toilet paper!

Option 1: As another poster mentioned, throw 10 litres of water at force down the toilet, the swift flow may clear it.

Option 2: Connect a garden hose to the bath or sink and put the end of hose down the toilet as far as possible. The hose may have the flexibility to get around the bends or blockage. The kitchen sink maybe as its off the mains and would have a better flow and pressure.

lucalux

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030110#Comment_123030110

If you're going down that route (!) put your arm into 4 layers of heavy duty refuse sacks first for the love of god!

MarkR

Garden hose idea is a good one actually. I'd wrap it in bin bags for an easier cleanup.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030169#Comment_123030169

It's disgusting and not for the squeamish but all that plastic will reduce your dexterity.

If you really can't do it "au naturel" use one of those long orange plastic gloves that vets use when tending to the rear end of a cow.

SuperBowserWorld

You can try the garden house from the manhole direction too to try poke and flush out stuff. Maybe even before sewer rods and no risk of undoing it in the pipe.

Also avoid luxury toilet paper, thick, 3 ply stuff.

It's only a luxury if you can afford someone to unblock the sewer after it.

Also, it's a huge waste of toilet paper. 2 ply light cheap stuff is good enough.

dunworth1

have you tried the cling film method?

wrap a decent few layers over the toilet bowl until it’s airtight. When you’re sure the entire bowl is covered in cling film and won’t move, flush the toilet.

the cling film with start to bubble up, firmly press the air out of the bubble and back down into the toilet. it might dislodge the blocked matter. i have used this in the past found it more effective than a plunger

liamtech

Im gonna try some of these methods and perhaps buy the toilet auger

Its a real problem but im anxious not to have to shell out 150+ euro on something which IN THEORY, i should be able to handle myself

Ben Bailey

Try this

ottolwinner

Is it just one of your toilets blocked? Might be no harm to flush the whole system and have a look into the manhole see that it is all flushing through or not. Sewer rods as mentioned above might be the best fix for it. Good luck with it.

the_pen_turner

do not put any of those chemicals in the toilet or down the sink ever. they can melt the pipes and make them leak. i have seen it several times.

fill a barrel or several buckets with water and pour then quickly into the AJ outside. that can push a blockage or pull it as well. the hose is the best method if you havnt any rods. have buckets filled before you start to keep everything moving . pouring a bucket into the toilet can get it moving aswell.

how close is the toilet to the AJ outside .

Jim Herring

Put your hand / arm into a full length refuse sack and stick your hand in the toilet.

Then turn the refuse sack inside out when done and put in the green bin.

Technically you don’t even need to wash your hands, but I usually do. 😂

FintanMcluskey

Cup of vinegar, cup of baking soda and a few kettles of boiling water. Leave for a few hours. Plunger it then

deandean

The toilet is only held down with 2 screws into the floor. Remove these, undo the tank downpipe, and lift the toilet away with a towel or two on the floor. That'll give you full access to the soil pipe. A pressure washer is a great yoke to clear a blockage.

whelan2

Lidl toilet paper is really bad for clogging toilets.

CrazyEric

When the toilet is clogged is the manhole clear outside?? If you are rural and on a septic tank it may be the tank is clogged.

If it is just the toilet the bucket of water from a height is my preferred method.

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123030998#Comment_123030998

boiling water and plastic pipes are often not a great mix, especially if the pipes are blocked and the water is just going to sit in them, the pipes will sag.

steamdave

I had a similar experience a few years ago. Tried the usual plunger, Sanisnake and then the power washer with the drain cleaner attachment. All came to nothing, so got the local drain man out and he put a camera down the drain from an access hatch. Found out the drain had collapsed due to incorrect initial installation.

If you should unfortunately have to have the drain reworked, make sure the new drain is laid on sand and not just a bit of old rubble that was what was in our trench.

Dave

The Mulk

Have a look at your soil pipe on the outside of the house if visible. They're might be a "rodding eye" that's accessibe, that might give you access to the blockage

Havenowt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123031041#Comment_123031041

I 2nd that…..

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123031041#Comment_123031041

LOL, no it's not.

I've used nothing but LIDL jacks roll for 13 years and not once have I ever had a blockage, not one caused by the paper at least. This is just a wild statement to throw out there, are you a store manager for Tesco or something?

Yeah Right

Another wild statement………which LIDL paper are we talking about here? They do about 6 or 7 different types in the range, what ones specifically or are we talking about all of them (which is just patently untrue).

whelan2

WE just dont use any lidl toilet paper anymore and our toilets dont block anymore. Any other make is fine

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037212#Comment_123037212

any of the triple ply jacks roll is bound to clog up the sh1tter

especially with a baileys crunchynut selection box toorkey ham and the trimmins sprout power poor gets blasted in with it

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037265#Comment_123037265

I've never bought triple ply anything in my life, maybe that's what they're on about. That's not specific to LIDL though.