A clogged toilet is no joke! It feels like a catastrophe looming when you go to flush the toilet and instead of receding, the water rises to horrifying levels as you scramble to locate your plunger! You frantically plunge away as the water is now menacingly close to the toilet brim. It is a contortionist feat to keep commode water from splashing on you or slopping onto your bathroom floor as you jab away. Beaded sweat on your forehead glistens as you deeply exhale and relax your shoulders as you realize the water and shredded particles of toilet paper remnants are ebbing and gurgling on the way down the bowl instead of spilling over! Another clog-tastrophe avoided.
There are many reasons why the embarrassing issue of a clogged toilet may occur, but let’s take a look at some of the more common causes:
Things that Cause Toilet Clogs
- Trouble with the drain line itself, rather than the toilet.
- Low flow toilets resulting in too little pressure to clear waste. Excellent on water- reduction, low flow can lead to frequent clogging especially if they are first generation models.
- Hard water buildup can accumulate creating limescale deposits resulting in frequent back-ups by restricting water flow.
- The burden of flushing too much waste or paper products can cause a stopped-up lavatory.
- Flushing away un-flushables such as hair, wipes, paper towels, cotton balls, cotton swabs, feminine hygiene products. These items can become stuck in your toilet trap and cause a blockage.
- “Balling” up toilet paper instead of folding to desired thickness can result in clogs. Tightly wound balls of toilet paper are often too large to fit through the narrow diameter trap. To be proactive, you could perform a courtesy flush to remove waste and a second flush for the paper.
- Sometimes a “hard clog” is the result of a toilet bowl freshener. The hooks holding fresheners often deteriorate over time releasing the freshener.
- Accidents do happen! A child flushes a toy. A toothbrush inadvertently flips off the counter into the toilet. A large enough item will clog the commode instantly. Other items may flush but create a clogging trap later. In such cases, the drain will need to be snaked.
It is inevitable that your toilet will be clogged at some point in time, but there are some preventative measures you can take to reduce the likelihood. Avoid super-absorbent toilet paper, don’t flush excessive amounts of paper, place a trashcan next to your toilet to encourage use, install a water softener if the water is hard in your area, address slow drains, monitor children in the bathroom, and keep items off the back of the toilet which might fall in increasing clog risk. If you are unfortunate enough to run into a clog that can’t be fixed by a mere plunging, Sun Plumbing expert plumbing technicians can help you with your clog-tastrophe in the Melbourne and Viera areas of Brevard County, Florida!
