toilet just started clogging

[Anonymous]

Hi

My toilet partially blocked on the weekend and we tried a few things and on Sunday finally my husband gave in and used a toilet auger (snake) and it appeared to be fine. That evening it was partly clogged again and we put pails of hot water down it until it flushed. It was flushing on its own – better that ever!

Then today (Thursday) same thing as Sunday. You could tell that the water was slowly going down the pipe and with each pail that I put down it it got better. I phoned my uncle and he said to plunge it until I heard noise in the pipe and that should do it. At first plunging didn’t seem to be working until I realized that I needed more water in the bowl and so I put another pailful in and I plunged it for all I was worth and I said a few choice words and it flushed completely down. I tested it once more with another pail of water and then flushed it as well and it seems clear once again.

Should I be VERY concerned about this or just keep an eye on it? All of my other drains are running fine and not backing up so thet off/on blockage if there is still one is somewhere between the toilet pipe and where it joins up with the rest of the system.

My husband thinks we should take the toilet off the seal and use the drop down auger (snake) to try to clear the pipe. We have another one with a big weight on the end of it that would never fit into a toilet.

Should I just wait until it is impossible to plunge the obstruction free and then we take the toilet off?

I honestly cannot afford a costly plumbing bill at this time (unemployed for 8 months) and this is a very small town so many of the guys just “do plumbing” they are not all certified.

Sorry for the lengthy post. I am considering going back to school to become a plumber! I know more about toilets than the guys at the hardware store now but only because of this bulletin board!

Thanks in advance for any help available out there!

Rhonda

P.S. The toilet is only one year old. I don’t have any small children but it is my 11 year old who always ends up plugging the toilet. Do I just need a recipe for bran muffins???

[GuestParticipant]

As for the clogged toilet.
Take it off the floor. From what you describe it sound like the problem lies in the toilet not the drain. You state the toilet is only about one (1) year old. This tell me it is probibly a one point six gal.per flush ( 1.6 gal.)
This is now the standard the you can buy. That means that you have a lot less water too push out the paper and/or other object which may find it’s way down the toilet.
Such as hair picks, small brushes,
toys, pencils ect. These things will become lodged in the commode and not make it into the drain.
I just recently removed a toilet
that had a small metal hair pick
wedged at the flange (bottom opening) of the toilet. The paper would get to the pick and then clogg the toilet. They would pour water down the toilet until it seemed to work fine. Then again it would clogg and not flush properly. After awhile the homeowner could not fix the problem, they called me a LMP.
I pulled the toilet and found the hair pick. SO, Pull the toilet
and look into the hole in the bottom. Also, if you have an auger
for a toilet I would run it through while you have it off the floor and the snake down the drain also. Good Luck!! Plumbrite

[RhondaMParticipant]

Thank you Plumbrite7!

We finally got to the point where we were tired of putting pails of water down and plunging and we got up the courage to take up the toilet.

Today was the big day and I read up on replacing the wax ring and we were getting ready to start. My husband went to the hardware store to get the supplies and my son FINALLY admitted that he dropped a pen down the toilet about 4 weeks ago.

I asked him why he didn’t get it out and he said that he wasn’t going to put his hand in “there”! I told him that he could have told me and I would have – anything to have avoided this aggravation!

So we lifted it off the seal and saw nothing until we shone a flashlight up from the bottom and sure enough – there was the pen! It was very flexible and had wedged itself right across the opening just beyond my reach. So I put the snake in the hole and pushed it back out.

I have been researching all over the net because of this and I had read a lot. Peter got excited when he saw “smoke” coming from the hole in the floor…I said ,”oh that is just sewer gas – we can plug it up with an old towel for now.”

Getting the toilet back on was much more difficult but we did it and we are still married. I think it was the first time in 15 years that we worked together without an “incident”.

I want to say that this board is invaluable for those of us who can’t all afford professionals and that you guys do a great job! Also, just because your child is 11 years old and 5’6″ tall – don’t assume that he won’t do something stupid like flush an object down the toilet!!!

Thanks,
Rhonda

[Author]

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