*seriously* clogged toilet..advice?

[Some Dude]

Ok-

I've had my share of clogged toilets before but..this is the worst.

I've used a plunger, a plumbers snake (2-3 times, even), and probably three bottles of various foamers, anti-cloggers, gels, whatever (drano, liquid plumr, etc)....None of this stuff is working! (following directions to a T).

I'm pretty much at wits end with this. I cannot get this toilet unclogged.

Am I at a point where a plumber is going to have to go in and run some super long snake into the pipes..or even turn off the water and open up the pipes or something?

Its not like i've been flushing steel wool down the toilet. Just the usual stuff :)

Thoughts, ideas, etc?

flames? unwanted. But thanks!

Cheers,

-sd

[BinaryBillThesailor]

Any chance someone dropped a toy or something in the toilet that is wedged in the sharp bends within the toilet itself? I had an instance where a child drooped the roller from the TP dispenser in the toilet, and it did exactly that. The snake was able to go right past it as if it wasn't there, but toilet paper couldn't.

BB

[Rileyesi]

Did you use a toilet snake? That is one that is much beefier than an ordinary snake and has a bend in the handle to get it at the proper angle for insertion.

The handle is a straight tube and is about 4 feet long. The wire of the snake is maybe 4 times the thickness of a regular drain snake. My problem was that my 3 year old flushed a half roll of toilet paper!

I got one at Home Depot for about $12, if memory serves.

[Some Dude]

No toys, no toilet paper rolls. In fact, this toilet is seldomly used and if I recall (its been weeks now), one day the toilet (used by myself only) mysteriously chose to overflow. So it appears that nothing worked its way in there (appears)....

I will say that the toilet *can* drain...albeit extremely slowly..About all the detective work I can do.

I'm thinking of doing another 30 minute snake effort. I'm thinking that the clog is probably beyond the snakes reach (6' or so?).

Cheers,

-sd

[BinaryBillThesailor]

Sounds like it. It could even be that the soilpipe leading out of the house has been infiltrated by roots. That could also cause a similar problem.

BB

[Rob-J]

Is this toilet in the basement or possibly the only toilet in the lower level?

[John W]

I'd still bet on someone flushing something that's now stuck in the toilet bowl itself.

When I was a kid, I accidentally dropped my toothbrush in the bowl and didn't want to touch it so flushed it. After 6 months of problems with the toilet (and my denying any knowledge of why), my dad finally replaced the bowl. He took the old one out into the driveway and smashed it with a sledge hammer to see what the problem was - did I ever get SHI_!

Just a few months ago, I fished a tape measure out of one of our toilets that didn't flush properly. It was all rusty so had obviously been there a while but of course nobody knows how it got there!

Try reaching as far in as you can with your hand. If that doesn't work, you'll likely need to remove the bowl (and possibly replace it if the obstruction can't be located or removed).

John W

[Some Dude]

This is one of those home depot snakes with an encasing and a sort of rounded tip. It seems pretty heavy duty. You turn the handle on the top to swirl it around.

Its on the third floor of a house.

I am over 90% confident that there was nothing put in the toilet other than the usual suspects.

Not sure about the root thing a previous poster mentioned. That sounds hardcore! I hope its not that...

Reaching in with my hand...Jeez thats gross (what with all those chems). But i'll throw a glove in and go for it :)

Thanks..

Keep the ideas coming! :)

On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 14:52:55 -0500, "John W" toilet (and my denying any knowledge of why), my dad finally replaced the

Cheers,

-sd

[CAStinneford]

We pulled a toilet and snaked it from the underside once to dislodge a toy truck. If you end up pulling the toilet anyway, you might as well reverse snake it.

[coldasice]

Some Dude wrote on Fri, 13 Feb 2004 20:22:19 GMT :

If there is a sink close by that drains slowly, it's most likely not the bowl. Then there is something clogged in the sewer line or the roof vent has an obstruction. Iced over or a bird nest?

[Suzie-Q]

I believe, if that were the case, you would have a problem throughout the house. Not just one toilet.

8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail) ~~~~~~

"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

*************************************************

[Frogleg]

My brother relates what is probably a classic and oft-told story about med school. A professor describes a series of symptoms and asks "what do you do?" The class choruses "call a doctor!" If the obvious and mild remedies haven't worked, it's time to call in a professional.

[tnom]

As others have suggested a solid object may be stuck in the S curve of the toilet. Find a way to force a home made three prong fish hook type device past the S curve. Pull it back out. See if you can snag something.

Another method is to remove the toilet. Then guide a small rope thru the S curve and out. attach a towel or mop to the rope and pull it through.

[Lame Brain]

well, i just dunno. i dont thunk the mop handle would fit through the s curve.

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

Not always.

BB

[Specter]

Maybe other fans of the Simpson's will remember this one:

Groundskeeper Willie is clearing a clogged toilet (by hand!!). He's in up to his elbow, and says something like "Come here you slippery little devil... Ach... What's this!?? You've got yourself a partner!!"

I'm sorry, but something about this thread made me think of that.

Rob

[Yawnkin Bhuorpnwiz]

Roof vent was my guess.

Drano ruins the pipes if not used correctly. Eat spaghetti more, the boiling water loosens up grease.

Death to christian warriors.

[Stormin Mormon]

What the hardware guys call a "closet auger" is a good idea. I had a clog, and a $23 Ridgid #3 Closet Auger from Home Cheepo did the job for me.

Closet auger is a much larger snake than a typical drain snake.

[Stormin Mormon]

But does the other toilet in the house work? If the other toilet works, it's not the soilpipe.

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

Not always true. Sometimes an upstairs toilet will work fine because of the capacity of the verticle soilpipe inside the house before the clog, but a toilet at ground level will be closer to the clog, and that portion of the soil pipe may not have enough capacity left to accept the rush of water.

BB