How to Clear a Blocked Toilet

Blocked toilets are one of our most common emergency calls. Even though toilets are designed and installed not to block, it’s important to know how to figure out why have a blocked toilet and if you can unblock it yourself.

It might be something that you need to call a blocked toilet plumber to do.

How do I clear a blocked toilet?

The first step is to assess whether the blockage is isolated to just the toilet, or are there other fixtures or drains also blocked?

This is important as it will help you to find the possible cause and location of the blockage which will help you clear the blockage successfully.

What causes a blocked toilet?

Blocked toilets are usually caused by one of these 4 reasons:

It was mislaid
It is misused
It was incorrectly installed
Tree roots are obstructing it

1. If the toilet was mislaid

Toilets will block if the drain to the toilet has been mislaid.

If the drainage to the toilet is not correctly sand bedded or if there isn’t the right amount of fall on the drainage, this can cause a toilet to block.

If the sewer drainage has been incorrectly laid, then this may result in the drainage breaking which then leaks sewage into the soil, allowing plants and tree roots to locate and grow inside the toilet sewer pipe. We have found roots in drains, even when there are no plants or trees it the near vicinity.

This is #4 on our list of why toilets block, but some tree roots are aggressive and can invade and intentionally break a sewer pipe to get to the contents which is why it is given its own classification.

If there is not enough fall or even back fall on the sewer line then the sewage will not flow down the sewer pipe, but rather will come back up and cause the toilet to block.

There is literally a tongue and cheek saying that ‘shit rolls downhill’. If this is not happening then the result will be a blocked toilet.

To find out if either of the above problems are the cause of your blocked toilet, we need to run the CCTV drain camera down sewer line AFTER the toilet has been unblocked. It is important that the toilet sewer line be free of any blockages as to get good vision to locate the problem.

If the toilet sewer line is holding water then we know that the problem is back fall.

2. If the toilet is misused

This cause is probably self-explanatory.

If you flush anything down a toilet that is not passed through your body or is not a specified ply toilet paper or tissue, then this may result in a blocked toilet.

If your using the toilet wipes, baby wipes, facial wipes or alike then it is our experience that these do NOT flush well and do not dissolve well in water. Your local sewage treatment plant has an incredible amount of problems with these sanitary products.

Which brings me to sanitary products. Do not flush these down the toilet. There is a reason commercial premises provide bins for these.

Sanitary items do not break down quick enough, they catch on a broken sewer or flat / back falling sewer lines.

Put a small bin beside the toilet with a notice asking that these items be put in the bin.

Unblocking a toilet by removing the sanitary items can be an unpleasant experience and one that you may wish to call your plumber to do.

Toilet sanitisers like blue loos etc also cause toilets to block. If you use a deodoriser that hangs off the side of the toilet or sticks to the inside wall of the toilet, be sure not to flush the toilet if the deodoriser is not in its correct place.

If you accidently flush the toilet deodoriser, it can get stuck in the toilet bend & its not until a few flushes later that you find the toilet blocking. If you notice your deodoriser is missing, then you will need to lift the toilet off the floor to retrieve the lost toilet deodoriser. This can be a delicate operation & the deodoriser will be covered in used toilet paper & sewage.

Depending on the type of toilet, it may be best to call your local plumber.

If you’re attempting to unblock the toilet yourself, be careful when removing the screws at the base of the toilet pan that secure it to the floor, as not to over tighten & crack the toilet pan.

Other items we have found stuck in the bend of the toilet bowl are pieces of clothing, toys, tooth brushes, food, rocks, fish tank stones & cat litter.

3. If the toilet was incorrectly installed

It is not uncommon for us to see un-tradesman like influences with the installation of a toilet. There are many brands & types of toilets on the market and not all of them are suitable for all installations.

If your toilet was installed by a person other than a licensed plumber, it may be installed incorrectly - causing your toilet to block.

We are also now finding toilets installed incorrectly on newer homes getting blocked. Most but not all of these blocked toilets have been the modern style toilets called, ‘concealed toilet pans’. These toilet pans cover the outlet pipe, they are a modern looking toilet & easy to clean.

We have done an entire blog just on this type of blockage and how to fix it, read more about concealed toilet pans.

There are many videos over the internet on how to clear a blocked toilet, some of which may work & others that won’t. It will depend on the type of block you have.

An example of this would be trying to plunge a blocked toilet full of raw sewage when the toilet is blocked due to tree roots.

Why Choose Moyle Plumbing & Gasfitting to clear your blocked toilet?

As your professional licensed plumber, we recommend you contact your licensed plumber who will not only unblock the toilet, but find out the actual cause of the blocked toilet.

Unblocking a toilet can be a messy, unpleasant experience and most people are happy to call an experienced plumber to do this dirty job.

It can cost as little as $150 to have your toilet unblocked by Moyle Plumbing if you live in our area & a drain cleaning machine is not required.

If your blocked toilet is diagnosed with broken sewer pipes, it can cost a few thousand to have the drainage repaired.

Moyle Plumbing & Gas Fitting has all the correct equipment to clear a blocked toilet:

Hydraulic plunger
Drain snake
Electric Eel
High Pressure 5000 PSI Jet Rod
CCTV

Here is how we clear a blocked toilet using a high pressure 5000 PSI Jet Drain Rod, just one of many ways we tackle these nasty blockages.

For peace of mind, Moyle Plumbing take progressive photos of the drain & drain repairs if we’re required to use the CCTV drain camera.

Moyle Plumbing has been clearing blocked toilets & repairing drains for our local community since 1983. If you’re looking for an honest, reliable local family owned & operated plumber who gets the job done with little fuss at the right price, “Get Moyles to do it”.

Call our emergency number 0447 671 095