What do baby wipes and a blocked toilet have in common? When potty training a toddler, many parents use diaper wipes or marketed toddler toilet wipes to clean the bottom of their little one. Unfortunately, while some of these products may be advertised as being flushable, over time they can cause an ugly block to occur in your sewer pipes. Unlike toilet paper, these wipes do not break down, and a big mess can result either at your home or down the line at your city's sewer station. So what do you do when your toilet is blocked?
Inside Unblocking
When your toilet contents won't flush away, water is bubbling from the base of the toilet or water is coming back up the drain into your bath, these are all signs that your drain has a blockage somewhere. From inside the house you have three unblocking methods that you can try.
Plunger: When it comes to choosing the right plunger for your toilet, you need to use the one that is shaped like a bell. The lower portion of this plunger creates the seal around the hole at the bottom of the toilet while the top portion creates the pressure vacuum once it is pumped several times. Be aggressive when using a plunger, and vigorously pump up and down using the handle once it is suctioned onto the hole. You need to create great pressure to dislodge the clog.
Plumber's Snake: A plumber's snake, which is also known as an auger, is a device which combines a long, metal flexible tube with a rotating handle. As the handle is turned, it extends the tube further into the depths of the toilet drain in the hope that it will push any clog that it comes into contact with out of the way.
Hot Water And Dish Soap: A third method that many home repair technicians swear by for toilet unclogging is dish soap and hot water. This method involves pouring half a cup of dish soap into the bowl of the toilet followed by a saucepan of boiling water. Allow this to sit for 10 minutes before attempting to dislodge the clog using the plunger. The theory behind this is that the dish soap and hot water will break up the clog into smaller pieces, allowing it to be plunged free.
Both the bell shaped plunger and the plumber's snake can be purchased at your local home hardware depot. If you have tried these three methods without success, it is time to head to your roof.
Outside Unblocking
If you take a walk around the outside of your home, look up to locate a thin pipe that comes out through the roof and extends approximately 7 cm into the air. The purpose of this vent pipe is to allow any noxious smells coming from your plumbing pipes to escape out into the open air rather than being trapped in your home.
The good news is that this pipe can be used to unblock a drain with just a hose or pressure washer machine. The force created by water running back down this pipe can put pressure on the clog and cause it to pop free.
If you wish to use the outside unblocking method, there are several points you must consider before you do so:
Getting on the roof can be dangerous. If you are not steady on your feet, call in a plumber to take care of this job for you. They have the equipment needed to make this clean out a safe one.
You need two people when you unblock a drain from the roof. One does the unblock task, while the other acts as a spotter within the house. Their job is to watch while the vent is being flushed and call a halt to the work if any debris or gunk begins to bubble up through the bath or sink drains.
Too much pressure of water being forced down the vent could permanently damage your drains. Only do this task if you are 100% sure of what you are doing. If you are not, leave it to a professional plumbing service.
If the inside unblocking of your toilet does not work, the outside unblocking method will. Then all you need to do is teach your little one to wipe their bottom using toilet paper because toilet wipes are now banned in your home. Unless, of course, you wish to unclog your drains on a regular basis.
Share6 January 2015
Welcome to my blog, my name is Blake and from now on, I will be writing a series of blogs which will deal with the process of finding and working with contractors when constructing a new building. I am not a construction specialist but last summer I gained a lot of experience in this area when I hired a team of 32 contractors to build a holiday home. When hiring contractors, it is important that you understand how to communicate with them and their ways of working. Below are a series of blogs which will help you to find the best contractors.