Toilet trouble

March 22, 2010 1:01 PM

This clogged toilet is giving me hell....help!

My friend is infamous for clogging toilets, and recently did some of his best work on mine. The problem is, before I realized it was clogged, I used the toilet after a particularly unhealthy weekend. So now the situation is disgusting.

I've tried plunging, dish detergent, boiling water, and one of those pressurized can CLR plumber things (which basically just splashed shit all over the place). Nothing is working and I'm wondering if there's anything else to try before a plumber.

The other issue I'm having is it takes so long for the water to drain after trying to flush once again, that I'm having to wait ~8 hours between attempts.

How much am I looking at if I call in a plumber?

This is a brand new toilet so that's not the problem....the pipes are old but I've never had any problems with clogs in the past.

Thanks for any help

posted by pilibeen to home & garden (11 answers total)

Have you tried rodding it?
posted by Solomon at 1:04 PM on March 22, 2010

So you haven't snaked it yet? You can find a plumber's snake for pretty cheap at any hardware store. They're sometimes called "Plumber's Friend"

A slowly-draining toilet is a pretty good sign that it's not fully cleared yet, so I don't see any need to wait 8 hours between attempts. Just keep working at it until it drains completely, then flush. If it overflows, keep going.

Are you in a house or apartment? Do you rent or own? FWIW, a constantly-overflowing toilet can be a sign that you have more serious problems, like a tree root growing into a pipe.
posted by muddgirl at 1:06 PM on March 22, 2010

Probably a "low flow" toilet, which are the worst for clogging.

I might invest in a closet auger, which you can get a Home Depot or any store like that (if there is a locally owned store like that near you, go to that one.

You'll likely have more situations like this, and getting over it and learning to use this tool will save many plumbing calls.
posted by Danf at 1:06 PM on March 22, 2010

Have you tried using a toilet snake? Try that before calling a plumber.
posted by Jemstar at 1:06 PM on March 22, 2010

Also, Toiletology has been a friend in need, a number of times for me.
posted by Danf at 1:07 PM on March 22, 2010

I came across this post a couple years ago; it was written in 2001 and hundreds of people have commented on it in the ensuing years to tell gruesomely hilarious stories and give excellent unclogging advice.
posted by sallybrown at 1:27 PM on March 22, 2010

Nthing buy a snake from Home Depot or the like. We used to live in a house with very old pipes and the toilets clogged constantly. The snake was the best investment we ever made. It’s very easy to use and it works.
posted by yawper at 1:33 PM on March 22, 2010

I had a horribly annoying toilet a couple of years ago (which I may have made horribly annoying by flushing something that I shouldn't have down it) that would clog if I looked at it funny.

In addition to snaking it, I found that steadily pouring a couple buckets of warm water down it from waist height helped to force out what was in the trap. This is also much more pleasant than having to snake it, but you might want to do that too.
posted by urbanlenny at 1:41 PM on March 22, 2010

Had this problem once and the only thing that worked was this accordion-style rubber plunger that worked in about 10 seconds when a regular plunger would not. I had never heard of this type of plunger until a friend brought it over.
posted by thorny at 2:03 PM on March 22, 2010

EXCELLENT! Just bought a closet auger from the hardware store...worked first try! No more pissing in the sink!

Thanks for the tips everyone
posted by pilibeen at 2:34 PM on March 22, 2010

Danf has the right solution...a Closet Auger. Basically, it's a drain snake with a special fitting that allows it to work in a toilet without scratching/damaging the porcelain. A standard drain snake would almost certainly scratch the hell out of the prcelain,
posted by Thorzdad at 2:36 PM on March 22, 2010