The Sunday Sanitation Incident

A toilet backup can be one of the most routine plumbing issues that your home may encounter. While it can be a routine issue, it will also pose significant problems for the home that can make life unpleasant until it is repaired.

Avoid Mistakes When Attempting To Use A Plunger On The Toilet

When you encounter a backed-up toilet, the first step that you may take to remedy the situation can be to use a plunger to try and free the clog. This is an easy way of loosening and breaking up clogs that could be preventing water from draining out. Unfortunately, individuals can make simple mistakes that will prevent the plunger from being able to effectively remove these clogs from the toilet. One example of this type of issue could be failing to properly secure the plunger over the opening in the toilet. If there are large gaps around the plunger, it will not push water through the drain with enough force to be effective.

Know That Using Chemical Clog Removers Is Unlikely To Be Effective With Toilets

The use of chemical clog removers should never be a part of your plan to free the clog from your toilet. Toilets will typically have a u-bend in them that is filled with water, and it prevents sewer gases from being able to escape into the bathroom. However, this design means that clog-removing chemicals will not be able to reach the clog. In fact, these chemicals can get trapped in this area, which can lead to a sizable risk of damage occurring to the toilet or these chemicals splashing out when the clog is being removed by a professional.

Root Intrusions Can Contribute To Toilet Backups

When a toilet starts to back up, a person may initially assume that this is due to there being too much toilet paper in the line. Unfortunately, a toilet backup can also be a warning sign of a much more serious problem for the plumbing. Root intrusions can be a common occurrence as they may detect the water that is flowing through the sewer line, and this can draw them to it. Eventually, the roots can break through the exterior of the pipe and start growing in the sewer line. As the roots grow in size, they will block an increasing amount of water from flowing through the line. If your home has this issue, it will be necessary to excavate near the source of the intrusion so that the root can be trimmed back and the sewer line patched.

Contact a professional for more information about toilet backups.