We’ve all been there before: you’re in the bathroom, finishing your business, when the toilet clogs—and there’s not a plunger in sight. This is a universally frustrating situation, whether you’re at home or – God forbid – in someone else’s house. Fortunately, there are alternatives to getting rid of toilet clogs, should you ever look around your bathroom and find there’s nary a plunger in sight. Keep reading for our top seven ways to unclog a toilet without a plunger, and remember that you can always count on All Pro Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical for your essential plumbing needs.
If You Do Not Have a Plunger But Need to Unclog a Toilet, Follow These 7 Steps:
- Squeeze in Some Dish Soap: Simple as it may sound, regular old dish soap can be a great drain cleaner when it comes to toilet clogs (and it’s far less toxic and corrosive for your pipes than regular drain cleaner.) Just empty about half a cup into your toilet, and wait for the soap to lubricate your backed-up toilet pipe. If you do not have any dish soap on hand, you can also chop up chunks of hand soap.
- Pour in Hot Water: If you have already tried dish soap and it hasn’t done the trick, move on to step two of DIY toilet clog removal: adding hot water. About a bucket should be enough to help dislodge the clog and encourage the slippery soap to do its job. Remember, always use hot water, but never boiling, as this could crack the porcelain in your toilet bowl.
- Add Baking Soda & Vinegar: Much like with other drain clogs, an excellent way to get rid of a toilet clog is to create a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. You should let this mixture fizzle for about half an hour, at which point you should be able to flush your toilet and get rid of the clog completely. The baking soda and vinegar trick is an alternative to using soap and water, so if you decide to go with this method, skip steps one and two, mentioned above.
- Create a Drain Snake Using a Hanger: An old plumbing hack, creating a drain snake out of a hanger is an easy and more often than not extremely easy way to break up a clog. Be careful though, as you may end up scratching your toilet drain in the process. This should only be necessary for more severe blockages (or if you are in a hurry,) so wait until you have tried the two methods above before you move on to this one.
- Grab a Toilet Brush: Okay, so this method definitely isn’t ideal. But if you are in someone else’s home, or would rather not ruin one of your hangers to get rid of a clog, you can look for a toilet brush and essentially break it up the obstruction in the same way we outlined above. Make sure to do this delicately, so water doesn’t suddenly come shooting out of your toilet. Also, be prepared to replace or at least clean off the toilet brush when you have finished with this step.
- Drain Your Toilet Completely: Okay, we admit we are starting to get into the weeds a little on this one. Nevertheless, if you have tried all the above steps to clear the obstruction in your toilet and still have not succeeded, you may want to remove the water from your toilet bowl completely. Start by shutting off the water supply to your toilet (you can do this by turning the shutoff valve on the back of your toilet bowl.) Next, get a sponge, a hand pump, a shop vacuum, or even a water gun to suck all the water out. Once you have done this, you should be able to access the extent of the blockage in your toilet, and hopefully you can then pinpoint it and break it up. Of course, if that all sounds like too much work, you can always…
- Call a Plumber: At the end of the day, one surefire way to get rid of toilet clogs, even if you do not have a plunger on hand, is to call a professional. At All City, our plumbers provide a full range of services, including emergency plumbing, offered 24/7. Call today for all your bathroom plumbing needs, and get ready to say goodbye to pesky clogs for good!
If you can’t unclog your toilet without a plunger, call All Pro Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical at (909) 500-8193, or you can send us a message online. We offer virtual visits as well. Plus, we have a cool toilet car!