Don’t Flush Again
If the toilet doesn’t flush the first time, don’t try to flush it again. This will dump more water from the tank into the bowl, causing the water level to increase and overflow. The toilet bowl will usually start to drain on its own, even though it will be very slow.
Cover Your Hands and the Floor
You want to make sure you are wearing a pair of gloves. Rubber cleaning gloves will work the best, but plain latex gloves these are better than nothing. You’ll also want to cover the floor to minimize the mess. Newspaper will work best for this, as you can just throw it away. Laying down towels that you plan on using again is not advisable.
Plunging
Plunging can be messy as water may splash up from the bowl. This isn’t the most sanitary method, but it’s better than leaving waste material sit in a bowl for any length of time.
Make sure you are using the right kind of plunger. The small suction-cup style plungers that you can buy cheaply are usually not as effective for plunging a toilet. The larger the plunger, the better chance you have of getting the clog with less time and effort. Another thing to remeber about plungers/force cups is they work both ways, they both push the and pull the clog. Push down hard and also pull back hard to get the full function of this useful device.
Snakes
A pipe snake, or auger, can be used if the plunger doesn’t work. Less messy than a plunger, snakes work by feeding the long tube down the drain in the toilet into the plumbing itself, pushing through the clog and somtimes grabbing hold of what ever is down there. You can purchase a small pipe snake inexpensively, or for larger jobs you can rent them.
So that’s it, and if you are unable to get it cleared you can always call us. We’ll show up to save the day. Give us a call 530-272-9120