Have you ever been in a situation that your toilet unexpectedly clogs and is overflowing and you don’t have a plunger? Maybe you never had one or you just can’t find the one you do have. Now what? If it’s a simple problem that you can deal with on your own, there really is no reason to call a plumber.
Here’s a quick “Do It Yourself” (DIY) tip for fixing your clogged toilet without a plunger that doesn’t need a plumber:
Tools Needed To Unclog A Toilet Without a Plunger
Gather the following items before starting:
- One box of baking soda
- One gallon of vinegar
- Rubber gloves
- Garbage bag
- A bucket
- Old towels
Steps To Unclog the Toilet Without A Plunger
Step 1: if the toilet is overflowing or about to…surround the toilet base with old towels to keep it from spreading the overflowing toilet water and having a bigger mess to clean up.
Step 2: If the toilet bowl has solids in it and is/ or about to overflow you’ll want to put rubber cloves on and reach in and empty any solids into the garbage bag and fasten or tie closed for disposal. Then dip out water with a bucket or other container and in another toilet (or this one after its unclogged) – This part is smelly and gross, but you want to avoid having any or more spill out on the floor.
Step 3: Pour one full regular sized boxes of baking soda into the toilet.
Step 4: SLOWLY pour vinegar into the toilet bowl. The baking soda and vinegar will create a foaming action when they come in contact with each other, so you want to manage the reaction and not create an eruption of frothy toilet water and create a bigger mess.
Step 5: Let the baking soda/ vinegar-mixture sit for about 30 or so minutes.
Step 6: After allowing the mixture to do its “thing”, flush the toilet. This should have fixed the problem and cleared the clog.
Step 7: To help prevent problems down the road, take hot (not boiling – this will crack your bowl) water and pour into the bowl to help flush through anything remaining from the clog after initially clearing the clog.
Step 8: Do a final clean up and disinfect the area contaminated with the toilet water. Now you’re good to go.
It didn’t fix the clog… NOW WHAT?
Try using a straightened out wire clothing hanger and probe at the clog to see if you can loosen the object that is clogging the toilet– to allow the water to freely flow.
What if I don’t have vinegar and baking soda?
Try dipping most of the water and solids out of the bowl and pour a few cups of hot (again not boiling) tap water into the bowl and wait 10 minutes. This may be enough to loosen the clog without having to run to the store and buying vinegar and baking soda.
If the hot water alone doesn’t work, try pouring generous amounts of any type of liquid soap into the bowl. This can be laundry detergent, hand soap, dishwasher liquid soap or even shampoo. Again pour several cups of hot (not boiling water into the bowl and wait 20 minutes and see if it’s cleared the clog.
If none of these “Do It Yourself” (DIY) tricks work, it is time to call the plumbing professionals at Central Heating, Cooling, Plumbing and Electrical. We’ll help you get your toilet back to flushing in know time at all!
Your Comfort is ALWAYS our Central concern! Call 406-756-6656 for all your heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical and drain cleaning needs.
***We service Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, Polson, Lakeside, Somers or anywhere in the surrounding Flathead.