Toilet Won't Flush

you may have a problem at the main. Say some tree trunks or something like that. depending on where you live my son did plumbing and is looking for side jobs. email me private and I can give you his number.

There is this product called RID. You can get it at Wal-Mart. If that does not work, then I suggest that you get a plumber. I have heard that people that use RID all the time have no problems with their plumbing. L. F.

You can get this thing called Kleer Drain at Home Depot that's a power plunger and you can use it on toilets, sinks, shower drains. It has CO2 cartridges (mini bombs!) that shoot a powerful burst of air into the drain and blow out the clog. I have used it on our upstairs toilet several times and it always clears it. (Though I do have to call a plumber because the clog keeps coming back - so it's more serious.)

I also used it in the very, very slow draining master bathroom sink. I followed the instructions and covered the overflow hole with duct tape, filled the sink, and unleashed the power. Now, it says you should wear goggles to do this, but I didn't have any so I closed my eyes. POW! Something hit me on my forehead. I open my eyes and there are my husband's whiskers all over the mirror, wall, ceiling and my face! A ball of DRY whiskers, the size of a golf ball had hit me in the forehead! The duct tape had blown off. The sink works fine now and I have a funny and gross story to tell!

It is possible that your toilet has it's own issues, but is compounded by the collective drainage issue.

My husband is pretty handy and has an auger (power snake). It worked when the problem was detergent build up from the washing machine and when potatoe peelings got through the garbage disposal and gummed up the pipes about 3 feet down the pipes at a bend. It even worked well when dirt got into the drain about 10 feet out from the house. But, if there are trees anywhere near your sewer pipeline before it joins with the main drain, you will likely need a plummer to clear roots out. Even the power snake we bought ($280) could not reach far enough, because our sewer pipe joins the main drain accross the street where our neighbors tree roots were the problem. Still, it was our pipes and our problem to fix.

You can shop around for a reasonable plummer and check out the coupons at the back of the phone book, but it cost us about $275. It will probably need done again in about 10 or 20 years.

The good news is that, if you have this done, your drains will likely run much more efficiently over all and life will be less frustrating.

Another note, our home was plagued with toilets that had narrow drains and would usually take two or more flushes just to get a small amount of toilet paper to go down. We got so frustrated, we finally got a super flusher with a 4" drain. It uses little water, but flushes with a fast 'gulp', and we have not had any problems since. It was worth every penny! It also refills very quickly. I used to get so frustrated when I was hurrying to get dressed and out the door and had to stop to unclog the toilet. I was amazed while shopping for toilets. The variety is remakable. There are even extremely expensive models that clean themselve, flush automatically, slightly warm the water so nothing cold touches the tushy, and automatically lowers the seat and cover. We are pretty simple folk, here. We just want it to flush.

We often spend money on home repairs that are generally cosmetic. I try to put a priority on fixing those things that cost me time when they do not work properly. Don't waste to much frustration on plumming. You have teenagers that need you patience!

It sounds like you have tree roots in the sewer pipes. If your husband is handy, rent a large electric "snake" and have him clean out the sewer pipe. There should be a clean-out place in the pipe somewhere in your yard between the house and the sewer.
Once you get the pipe cleaned out, then the last thing every night before bed, put a handful of rock salt in the toilet and flush. This discourages the tree roots from growing back so quickly.
We have this problem, and until we can afford to replace the pipes, we have to clean them out about twice a year.
If your husband can't do this, find someone who can (just ask around). It will still be cheaper to pay someone else, than to hire a plummer to do it.
Good luck !

Hey T.. My husband is a plumber and I have to say with experience(I have three boys), that anything is possible. You could anything down your toilet i.e. toys or simply fuzz from the carpet, I doubt the toy thing but you never know. However the fact that your house is 23 years old and I'm sure you have established trees, the tree roots could have caused the sewer drain from your house to the main sewer to crack. I would call a reputable plumber that is licensed to check this out. If you do call a plumber ask them if they have a camera they can send down to see for sure. By the time you go buy a snake and the drain care you already bought, it might be easier and cheaper in the long run to call someone.

You can get a "toilet snake" at a hardware store, Home Depot or Lowe's. It will work down in to free up whatever is clogged. Good Luck!!!

I would use what is called a Snake you can buy one at Lowes or Home Depot for around 20 bucks or more they attach to an eletric drill and go down the drain hole it will pull whatever is clogging it.It may be built up with hair and fuzz from the carpet.I would try this first before calling the plumber since it is weekend you'll be paying double maybe triple the amount than on a weekday.By the way this usually works for us.If he has no idea how to do it then take him with you to the hardware store it is fairly simple.

Our house isn't as old, but every time there is a freeze our master bath toilet does the same thing. Two years ago I bought an auger for the toilet. It works wonderful. You can get a manual one or one that hooks up to your drill. If you get the one that hooks to the drill make sure the line is straight or it will break. We didn't and ours did. Try that first. It could be hair or carpet fibers and gook stuck. If that doesn't work THEN call a plumber. The Augers aren't really expensive. The one I use for the toilet was only $6 or $7 at Lowe's. Good Luck and God Bless.

call the plumber - it could be any thing from tree roots growing through the lines to a collapsed line (this could be leading to major problems elswhere)

I saw that only 1 person had replied to your request and I had to LOL when I read her response because she blew yucky hair all over. That's so bad! But what a funny story.

It's likely that the stuff your husband poured down the toilet contained more than just dirty water. It probably also had balls of fuzz from the carpet, etc. If all your drains are slow than it might be time to call a plumber to look at the main drain. We used to live in a 50 yr. old house and we had similiar issues so we had a plumber come out to find that we had tree roots which had infiltrated our main drain pipe which we had to then use Roto-Rooter to fix it. Wish I had better, cheaper advice for ya. It's frustrating to live with slow drains or worse...low water pressure.

Good Luck!

Call a plummer there might be a tree rot in your main pipe running the the city sewer. They can snake the drain from the toilet where the problem started. It might be about 50 to 60 dollars, but better than having a gross back up soon because of the drains backing up.

Hi T..

WE HAD SLOW DRAINS IN A 50 YEAR OLD HOUSE WE BOUGHT. THE BATHTUB WOULD SOMETIMES TAKE 2 DAYS TO DRAIN. WE TRIED TO SNAKE IT OURSELVES TO NO AVAIL. THEN WE HIRED A PLUMBER TO SNAKE IT. IT STILL DIDN'T CLEAR AND HE TOLD US TO CALL ONE OF THE COMPANIES THAT DOES THE PRESSURE JET OF WATER THROUGH THE DRAINS.

THAT DID IT! THE SNAKING DOESN'T GET THE BUILT UP BLACK SLUDGY GOOK OUT, AND THERE WAS NOTHING CLOGGING THE DRAINS EXCEPT FOR THAT SLUDGE THAT HAD BUILT UP OVER MANY YEARS.

WHEN THE NEXT PLUMBER WAS FINISHED WITH THE "PRESSURE JETTING WASH" HE SAID THE PIPES WERE SO CLEAN WE COULD DRINK FROM THEM. WE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM AFTER THAT.

IT WASN'T CHEAP (OVER $200). HOWEVER, WE HAD PAID ABOUT $85 TO THE FIRST PLUMBER WHO COULD ONLY SNAKE IT AND DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

HOPE YOU GET IT FIXED ONCE AND FOR ALL.

It sounds like tree roots to me. You'll have to have the lines snaked to clear it. There is a product that you can use twice a year to kill roots that grow into the line, but it would only be useful to you after it is snaked because it only works on new roots that are trying to grow in. Good luck. I hope you have working drains again soon.

Nothing in the carpet cleaning water should have bothered your toilet. It sounds as if it was just the wrong timing and something else was waiting to happen. I would have it snaked, it cost me about $80 each time which is yearly in this house which is 35 years old. Our problem is tree roots outside which have slowed the flow from the toilet line.

Good luck,
D.

T.,

Seems that many of the responders are quite mechanical. My husband is a plumber and I can't tell you the number of jobs he gets from do-it-yourselfers who get in over their heads. Unless you or your husband are very confident in working with machinery and plumbing, I wouldn't recommend buying an auger. If it breaks off in your pipes, you will have a much larger bill to pay.

Our house is about 50+ years old & we have to put root killer crystals down the toilet when the drains get slow b/c of tree roots. It seems to help. When we clean our carpets we get a lot of carpet fuzz & gunk, it probably made your slow toilet worse (expecially if you have tree roots in your pipes). I wouldn't suggest 'snakeing' the pipes. We have tried that a few times & when it gets stuck we had to call a plumber, plus the nasty black stuff that comes out is messy & seriously gross! I would suggest calling a plumber to save you the headache & mess you will get with a snake!

God Bless!

You can go buy one of those snake things at home depot and stick it down the toilet. That should loosen anything that is clogging the pipes. You can pay a plumber to do that too but if all your drains have trouble it might be a helpful tool to have around. There are also products you can buy to maintain good flow. Any pipes can have buildup over time. Good luck!

Hi..As for your drains, sounds like you need someone with a "Snake" to run through your pipes...it will dislodge whatever is in there...or the other option before you have the snake run through, is to go to your local hardware store and purchase a "bladder". It connects to your garden hose. They have a couple different sizes, but you connect it to your hose and place it down into the drain beneath your toilet(remove toilet, place hose with bladder into drain, making sure it is in there enough so it wont pop back out,) then turn the water on...it builds up pressure and shoves whatever is clogging it-through...You can also run the snake through here...You can also start at your sewer pipe in the basement if you think its there first and then if it dosent work go to the toilet end...So you dont have to tear out the toilet..(if you do though, dont forget to replace that seal ring!!!)

Dont call on a Sunday, they charge big $$$...You may be able to rent the snake at the hardware store...Best of luck...if this doesnt work, call the plummer (tomorrow Monday) Hopefully its nothing major...See ya

not sure if this has been suggested yet, but pour some baking soda in then add vinegar. this works really well in sink drains that are slow too. it causes a reaction and bubbles all the gunk free. be warned though... its amazing the dirt and gunk that actually comes out of your sinks when you have kids, lol.

if all your drains are slow and house is that old, sounds like you need a plummer to come out and auger all the drains.

Hi T., Sorry I am late..lol call a plumber, will save you stress in the long run, Redi-rooters won't change travel or off hours time.

We called plumbers several times cause hubby is just not a Mr. Fix it. Last time in TX we called he was trying to fix a drip in a shower down stairs. It's a snap he says, Imfamous last words. I called Flynn and he showed up 30 minutes later walked in and said " I see Keith got tools for Christmas again"!! Had to cut a hole in the wall to find the old turn off valve and replace that.
So call a friendly plumber, might get a chuckle or two.
K.

Hi T.- I am not sure if you fixed your problem yet but I would suggest calling a plumber...I know a great guy that has been doing it for a while and is really cheap. Let me know if you are interested and I can give you his number.

Sounds like you need your pipes snaked...we live in an older home with clay pipes that get tree roots in them then the nasty stuff backs up into our basement. We have snaked our own...but we also are responsible for under the street and don't have the equipment to go that far...so once a year we have a plumber come out and do it for us....beats the clean up from a backup. If you just have to go though your own drain system in the yard though I would invest in my own equipment. Our other house we would just clean out ourselves every spring.
Barb

I would turn the water off at the main source, drain all of the drains and then pour drain stuff down the drains and let it sit overnight....then use the plunger, and pour more drain stuff down the drains.........but I don't know....just what I would try GOOD LUCK

T., my question is...are you on 'city sewer' or a septic tank? We live in the country and we are on a septic tank and when all of the drains in the house start to slow down, it is time to have the tank pumped out. If your husband dumped the carpet water down one toilet, it shouldn't have affected the other drains unless it clogged the main line that leaves your house. Just a thought.

You need a toilet snake to break up a clog somewhere. If that doesn't work, call a plumber before a toilet overflows or a drain backs up somewhere and you have a major mess and expense. And shame on your hubby, even tho' he thought he was trying to help, the toilet is not meant to handle whatever the carpet cleaner "sucked" up out of the carpet! I'm sure the plumber you'll need to "fix" the situation has seen and heard of everything! Call him!

Love the story Renee K

Are you on a septic system? You may need to clear roots from the drain pipes. Otherwise, you may need to have a plumber come out and snake your drains.