Plumbing fixtures tend to get clogged over time. This is facilitated by deposits of salts of too hard water, urea and other sediment that enters the pipes and narrows the inner hole. But it happens that the owners themselves create this problem. Especially often this trouble overtakes the toilet, because they do not disdain to drain the remnants of food into it, fermented homemade preparations, like pickled tomatoes. And sometimes, after cleaning the apartment, along with the drained dirty water, a rag accidentally “runs away”. After such a “feeding”, the toilet refuses to work, blocking the passage of water into the pipes. And the owners have to choose: either call a professional plumber, or look for ways to clean the toilet on their own. We will analyze the best ways to clean plumbing.
How to determine the causes and degree of blockage
To prevent sewer pipes from becoming overgrown with salt sediment, prophylaxis should be carried out at least once every three months. For this, any chemical products that are designed for cleaning pipes are suitable. Pour the liquid according to the instructions at night when plumbing fixtures are not in use. And then no sediment will have time to settle on the walls of the pipes and turn into a stone, which is very difficult to deal with.
Without preventive filling with chemicals, your pipes will gradually overgrow with salt sediment and stop letting water through even without additional blockages.
When choosing products for cleaning the toilet, first find out the degree of blockage and, if possible, its cause. Water may flow in a slow trickle or not pass at all. It's easy to find out: you need to pour about a liter of water into the toilet and see if it's gone in half an hour. You should not use a tank to check, because when you press the button, all the available liquid will flow into the toilet (and it is at least three liters!). If the channel is clogged tightly, then the water will begin to overflow out onto the floor of the toilet.
Next, check how local your blockage is. Turn on the faucet in the bathroom and in the kitchen and see how the drain is. If the water leaves both points in the usual way, then the pipe at the outlet of the toilet is clogged. It drains the liquid into a common sewer pipe. If the flow is weak in all places, then the problem is in the common pipes, and more serious measures will have to be taken.
What to do if the toilet is clogged
If the problem concerns only the toilet bowl, then most often they use the mechanical method, chemistry and punching with a plunger.
Mechanical cleaning method
If some object (a rag, an apple, etc.) got into the toilet bowl, and the owners guess the cause of the plug, then the first thing to do is to examine the place of release and the siphon. To do this, you will have to scoop out all the water standing in the bowl, pull a rubber glove over your hand and, if possible, cover your nose with a gauze bandage, because the smell will not be pleasant. The hand is thrust as deep as possible into the drain hole and by touch they find out if there are any objects in the pipe. A rag or sponge can be easily pulled out with your fingers, and if some vegetable or fruit has got in, you can pry it off with a wire with a hook bent at the end.
If an object or a rag gets into the toilet, you should not blow it with air, otherwise you will drive the cork even further, from where you can’t remove it yourself
Vantuz to help
If the cause of the blockage is not exactly known, but the water continues to drain slowly, then you can use a plunger. Almost everyone has this device, so it will not be difficult to find. The main thing is that the diameter of the rubber suction cup should be larger than the diameter of the drain hole. Traditional models have a wooden handle, but more modern designs are also available. In this way, it is possible to eliminate the blockage that has formed in the siphon or a local pipe that discharges wastewater into the general sewer. Under the pressure of air and water, the garbage plug will move deeper and exit into a pipe of a larger diameter, after which it will float away from the house without hindrance.
In order for the punching to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to close the hole for the lower and upper drains in the bathroom, kitchen and pump water in the toilet bowl with sharp jerks. With a slow drain, not only in the toilet, but in all sinks, this procedure should be repeated in each plumbing fixture, closing the holes of the rest. (The toilet is closed with a lid and one of the relatives is asked to sit on top).
The size of the rubber suction cup in the plunger should be larger than the toilet drain hole in order to tightly seal the area that you will punch
chemical fight
If you still couldn’t find the plunger, try to corrode the blockage by flooding it with “chemistry”. The simplest tools that are in every kitchen are baking soda and vinegar. They operate like this:
- Scoop out excess water, leaving a little at the drain.
- Pour half a pack of soda and push it as deep as possible.
- Pour in a glass of vinegar.
- Wait for the end of the reaction (about 15-20 minutes).
- Pour boiling water into the toilet bowl.
Soda ash, diluted in water, instantly gives out a chemical reaction if vinegar is splashed on it. As a result, many hard deposits on pipes are destroyed
A more expensive option for chemical washing is store-bought special products, such as "Mole". They corrode everything that has accumulated inside the pipes (hair, lime scale, salts, grease, etc.). But the maximum effect should be expected if the pipes are not too “overgrown”, and the deposits are in their initial stages. If the sediment has time to petrify, then no chemistry is capable of penetrating it. That is why it is recommended to regularly flush the sewer with special means.
How to eliminate the complete coking of the system
Now let's figure out what to do if the toilet is completely clogged, blocking the flow of water. In this case, they buy or look for special devices from their neighbors. Of all the things that can be used to clean the toilet, a special sewer cable is considered the most effective and convenient. It is quite flexible, has a metal braid and a handle at the end.
The flexible sewer cable is able to pass through the bends of the drain hole and pipes, but it needs to be assisted by the rotational movements of the handle
It is better to clean the pipes together, as the cable is advanced gradually and at the same time the handle is rotated. It is necessary to rotate so that the cable can pass the bend in the pipe, which is made to block unpleasant odors. Having advanced the device to the maximum depth, it is necessary to move it back and forth several times in order to stir up deposits on the walls of the pipes.
When you take out the cable after the end of the procedure, put an old rag on the floor and immediately wipe the removed part with a rag soaked in dishwashing detergent. Otherwise, you yourself will be smeared, and the floor will suffer. And the smell on the hands will be felt for a very long time.
Video: flexible sewer cleaning hose
If you tried, as best you could, to clean the clogged toilet, but there was no improvement, then the problem may be with the common riser, through which sewage is removed from all apartments on the floors above. In this case, urgently call the organization servicing the house, and let the specialists deal with the problem.
