Clogged Toilet Repair Guide - How to Diagnose & Repair Stopped Up Toilets
InspectAPedia^®  -      

• Toilet overflow - repair and prevention
• ow to diagnose & fix a slow-flushing toilet
• How to diagnose and fix a clogged toilet drain
• How to fix a toilet that is overflowing when flushed - in an emergency
• How to diagnose and correct drain noises occurring when the toilet flushes
• Slow toilet tank fill problems
• Toilets that keep running - fill valve does not shut off the toilet tank fill valve?
• Toilet flush valve or flapper valve problems
• Toilet tank fill valves and water sanitation
• Sewer gas odors in buildings traced to loose or leaky toilet drains
• How to repair problems causing plumbing drain sounds

All modern toilets receive human waste, urine, feces, and are intended to dispose of that matter in a sanitary fashion.

Before launching into our series of articles on diagnosing and repairing toilet problems such as clogged toilets, toilets that don't flush properly, running or leaky or noisy toilets, toilet odors, and loose toilets, take a look at the simple connection between a typical reservoir-tank toilet and the soil stack (waste piping) in the Carson Dunlop Associates sketch (above left), and review our description of basic types of toilets at TOILET TYPES.

If your toilet is backing up, here we give some advice on how to proceed. For added details on alternative methods to un-clog a blocked drain, also see BLOCKED DRAIN REPAIR METHODS for details of methods used to un-block a clogged drain line.

Is the sewer line or soil stack clogged?

If flushing the toilet leads to a backup, or worse, a toilet overflow, it's possible that the toilet drain pipe has clogged, or there may be a clog right at the base of the toilet itself.

Before going to work with a toilet plunger - which is normally the first thing to try, ask some questions about just when and how the clog occurred. Because if a child or pet has dropped something into the toilet, you do not want to push that blockage further into the piping system where removing it will be more trouble and more expensive.

Our grandson, learning toilet training, flushed his peed-in underpants down the toilet. We have also found child's toys, and once, a dog's bone clogging the waste line just below the toilet. It might have been possible to fish this obstruction out of the toilet drain with a wire, but ultimately the owners simply removed the toilet to retrieve the blocking underwear.

If other building drains are working fine, but one toilet is flushing poorly, it is possible that there is a local blockage close to the toilet itself.

Brian found this drain clog by asking Chase what happened to the missing underpants. He then removed the toilet from the floor, and by luck, the underpants were able to be easily retrieved - unblocking the clogged toilet drain before a backup and toilet overflow catastrophe had occurred.

How to Use a Toilet Plunger to Clear a Blocked Toilet

If no one has thrown any toys, clothes, or objects into the toilet, try using a toilet plunger. If there is sewage in the toilet you might want to wait a bit to see if the water and sewage level lowers before plunging - just to reduce unsanitary splashing.

At BLOCKED DRAIN REPAIR METHODS we discuss alternative methods used to clear a blocked drain. But the toilet plunger, an old stand-by, is often effective if

• The blockage is near the fixture where you are plunging
• The drain line is full or nearly full of water and waste (if the drain is not full - you have a slow drain not one that is totally blocked) try flushing the toilet and as the water begins to flow down the drain, immediately start using the toilet plunger.
  
• You plug any sink traps, overflow openings, or vents that are close to the drain line you are plunging. This step might not be needed to clear a toilet, but it certainly is if clearing a blocked sink or tub.
• Persist: don't give up too soon. We have successfully un-blocked recalcitrant clogged toilets that did not respond at first, but that began to work just fine after five minutes of plunging. Plunge! Plunge! Plunge!

Watch out: don't flush a toilet if the bowl is already at a high level of water or waste - you're asking for a toilet overflow if you do.

Watch out: if you get toilet water on your skin, wash with soap and water. Same with clothes. Do not put a dirty finger in your eye, mouth, or in a cut - you are risking an infection.

For advice on using other methods to clear a blocked drain, including mechanical removal of an obstruction, use of drain clearing chemicals, more on using a toilet plunger, using a plumbing snake, using a kinetic water ram - see BLOCKED DRAIN REPAIR METHODS.

Here is our list of toilet trouble diagnosis and repair articles. You will see that some toilet problems are fixed easily and right at the toilet by a simple adjustment, while others may not be the toilet's fault at all, and may need more thoughtful diagnosis and repair.

Taking off the toilet tank top: Some of these simple toilet diagnosis steps require that you look into the toilet flush tank on the back of the toilet.

Just lift the top off of the toilet tank and set it carefully aside on the floor where you won't break it or trip over it.

If you leave the tank top on the toilet seat (as we did for this photo) you're asking for trouble, and also, it's a bit in the way.

  TOILET REPAIR GUIDE
    Toilet Won't Flush at All
    Toilet Drain Clogged
    Toilet Flushes Poorly
    Toilet Leak Catastrophes
    Toilet Runs Continuously
    Toilet Tank Sweats
    Leaky Toilet Seals - Odors
    Loose Toilet Repairs
  TOILETS, INSPECT, INSTALL, REPAIR
TOILET ALTERNATIVES
  TOILET INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
  TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY
  TOILET TISSUE CHOICES
  TOILET TYPES

Our sketch below shows the parts you'll see inside the toilet tank. You may want to refer back to this drawing while reading the details of each class if individual toilet problems listed above and how they are detected, diagnosed, and repaired.

• The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ^® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.