Why DIY Toilet Unblocking Isn’t The Way To Go

A long day in the office has ended, and you’re ready to go home and relax. You enter your house and soon realise something isn’t quite right. There’s a stream of water gushing out from under your bathroom door, and it’s coming from your toilet. You can’t find your plunger, which is a problem as something is stuck in there.

This may sound like a distant nightmare, but toilet unblocking woes are more common than you think. What do you do when you don’t have the tools (or know-how) to unblock your toilet? If you’re tempted to try a few DIY remedies, here’s why you should call the professionals instead.

1. Homemade Unclogging Recipes

Many people recommend making a gunk-busting recipe with a cup of baking soda, a cup of vinegar and four cups of boiling water. They advise that you pour each ingredient (in the listed order) into the toilet bowl, one after the other. They then suggest you wait a minute or two before flushing. This solution might work if your toilet isn’t actively overflowing. If it is overflowing, the active ingredients are just going to immediately spill onto the floor, wasting your time and effort.

2. Use A Coat Hanger

Another popular remedy for a blocked toilet is using a coat hanger to unclog it. You unwind a coat hanger until its straight, then bend a curve into it on one end. You then use mild force to push the curved end into the toilet bowl and yank it gently until the blockage moves out of the way. This is not a great idea as you’re going in blind. It’s far too easy to accidentally damage your pipes or make the blockage worse by compacting it.

3. Plug In the Vacuum Cleaner

Many people advise emptying a blocked toilet with a wet vacuum cleaner. They recommend that you stick the hose as close to the blockage as possible, before turning the machine on and using the suction power to unblock the toilet. This isn’t advisable as once you use your vacuum for this purpose, it will be contaminated and you won’t be able to use it again without cleaning and disinfecting it.

Leave It To The Pros

The truth is we can’t all be gold star DIY plumbers. It may be tempting to try, but it will most likely do more harm than good. Instead of risking it all with your toilet unblocking skills, call in an expert from Drain Ninjas to get the job done right the first time. We’ll save you time and money and get your toilet back to normal in no time.