What do you do if your toilet gets clogged and you don’t have a plunger or a snake in your home? Or even worse, what if you are at someone else’s home when this happens?
You need to know how to unclog a toilet without a plunger or snake!
This article will discuss some of the options you may have to help unclog a toilet without having a plunger or a toilet snake to help out. Keep reading to find out more.
What are the causes of clogs?
The first thing you will need to do is not flush the toilet again. Our reaction is to try and flush the toilet again to see if the clog goes down, but it usually will not, and you will be left with a wet floor as the toilet overflows.
Clogs are generally made of waste, toilet paper, or an unintended object stuck in the toilet. If you have ever seen the underneath of your sink, you will have seen a p-trap. The drain goes down and then curves back up higher than its lowest point, creating a trap. If you look at the back of your toilet at the bottom, you will see a similar shape. This is most likely where your clog is located.
Another reason that your toilet may have a tendency to clog is because it has a weak flush. If your toilet isn’t flushing enough water it can struggle to get rid of the waste. You can find out more about weak flushing toilets here.
Soap and Water
Suppose the clog seems like it isn’t going anywhere, then try and put a ½ cup of dish soap into the toilet water. This idea is that it will loosen up the clog and help it flow down the drain easier. You will want to let the soap sit in the water for about ten minutes. Once that is done, flush the toilet again; if the water wasn’t too high, see if the clog flushes down.
If the clog remains stuck, you need to add boiling water to the toilet bowl. This may also help the soap and water work into the drain pipe and help the clog find its way out of the toilet drain (and eventually into the sewer drains). This is an excellent solution to the question — “how to unclog a toilet without a plunger or snake fast”.
Dropping water
This will work best if you have a larger container like a five-gallon bucket. You will want to fill the bucket with about a ⅓ to ½ way full and then stand in front of your toilet. The higher that you pour the water into the toilet bowl, the more force it will create, but you will also need to consider how much water is in the toilet already. If you lift the bucket too high, the water may splash out, and it will not have enough force to flow.
Here’s how the concept works:
When you allow a significant amount of water to come crashing into the toilet bowl, it will create a large amount of force. You will also need to make sure that you pay close attention to how full you are filling the toilet when you pour the water into the bowl.
You do not want to overflow the toilet with this water either. This force doesn’t have many places to go down the drain, so in most cases, this is an effective answer for how to unclog a toilet without a snake or a plunger.
Water bottle
An alternative to dropping the water into the toilet bowl is to use a large water bottle and fill it with water. Get as much of the water out of the toilet as possible (you can use a small bowl or cup for this part). Additionally, you should use rubber gloves while handling the toilet water. You do not want to risk dealing with germs if you happen to get wastewater on your skin.
Once all the water is out of the toilet bowl that you can get out of the toilet, you will want to take your plastic bottle of water, put your thumb over the hole, and flip it upside down. Put the end of the bottle into the drain hole of the toilet, push it down firmly to try and get a decent seal, and then squeeze the bottle as hard as possible to try and shoot the water down the drain and dislodge the clog.
Baking soda and vinegar
Ensure that your toilet is not too full of water because this solution will cause the water to fizz up. You will start by adding or removing water as needed to ensure there is water in the bowl without too much water.
Then you will add a cup of baking soda to the toilet bowl water. Once the baking soda is in the toilet bowl, you will slowly add one cup of either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to the toilet bowl. The solution will start to fizz, which will tell you that it is working.
Let the solution sit for 20 minutes before attempting to flush the toilet once again. If the bathroom toilet does not flush, you can try this solution twice on the same clog. You can also let the solution sit overnight to see if, given enough time, it can be your answer to how to unclog a toilet without a plunger or a snake.
When to call a professional
You may also just consider getting a new toilet at this point. While the plumber is there he can go ahead and install it for you. Click the following link to read about the lifespan of toilets.
But if you want to try and save your toilet and you have tried one or more of these and feel like the clog will not come out, it may be a good time to call a professional for plumbing services. It may be time to call a professional if you know that the clog is from a foreign object such as a toy, food items, or something that someone tried to flush.
A professional will be able to use professional-grade equipment to try and unclog your toilet, and if that does not work, they will be able to pull your toilet off of the floor and get your clog out from there. If you have any troubles that you feel are above your capabilities or if the problems continue or worsen, don’t hesitate to call a professional to help alleviate your clogs.
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