How to Unclog a Toilet with Poop Still in It?

Honestly, learning how to unclog a toilet with poop still in it is not a bucket-list-worthy item, but, short of calling a plumber (which you are not interested in if you are here), there is nothing much you could do if you find yourself in such a situation. It would help if you prepared for the possibility that you’re going to be getting dirty.

However, despite the disgusting nature of the task and its well-publicized difficulty, there are methods that you can implement yourself without needing to pay a plumber. Some are labor (and splatter) intensive, while others only require you to perform a more straightforward task, but all can be effective.

Before we get started, though, you should consider a change of clothes capable of covering your whole body, a nose covering, rubber gloves, a plunger, and lots of soap to wash up after you’re done.

Reasons why a toilet might get clogged with poop

There are multiple reasons why a toilet could get clogged with poop, and though knowing them doesn’t make the already clogged toilet any easier to flush down, it helps avoid future clogs. Take the following into consideration if you don’t want to be sticking a plunger halfway through a toilet bowl of poop now and then.

• Using your toilet as an alternative garbage bin. We don’t mean this literally but flushing down items such as wipes and paper down the toilet can cause a clog in your drain and causes problems in the sewers Trusted Source Water companies in England and Wales say they’re getting hundreds of call-outs a day to deal with wet wipes blocking up drains. They say the public needs to be educated into throwing away things like baby and make-up remover wipes rather than trying to flush them away. www.bbc.com .
• A big clog. Due to the consumption of a healthy meal or constipation, your poop might be so large in quantity, and it resists being flushed. This can be countered in the future by increasing water and fiber intake and increasing body activity.
• The flushing pressure of your toilet. Some toilets, especially the older models, might have a low-pressure flush to conserve water, and this might be insufficient in clearing minor clogs in the toilet. This flush pressure would also depend on the size of your toilet rough-in. For instance, the pressure for a 12-inch rough-in toilet would be lesser than that required for a 10-inch rough-in toilet.
• A blocked toilet trap. The toilet trap is the curved segment of the porcelain fixture that makes up your toilet’s lower unit. If this segment becomes blocked by a non-flushable material such as a ball, it might lead to a blocked and backed-up toilet. Kids are usually the culprit in this sort of case, and a plunger should be able to solve the problem. A little education should prevent future occurrences.

How to unclog a toilet using a plunger

This is the first method that comes to mind when the problem of a clogged toilet comes up, and it is widely considered to be the best. The plunger uses suction to loosen the poop.

The reason for a clog is the packing of the poop in a way that prevents easy passage through the drain. As such, if you can dislodge the poop in a way that leads to a more favorable adjustment or repacking, it should flush easily after.

How to unclog a toilet without a plunger

If you are dealing with a clogged toilet, you should know that fixing a toilet with a pressure-assisted flush mechanism toilet might help clear out future clogs with little or no fuss, and investing in one is a good idea.

There is every possibility that you don’t have a plunger lying around the house, and it is equally possible that your plunger didn’t do the trick. In that case, the following methods may be worth a try.

1. Using a toilet auger: This is a very valid alternative to a plunger, and it works exceptionally well. The auger can snake into the toilet drain and disturb the tight packing of the poop that makes it hard to get flushed. Once this is disturbed, the poop is more likely to go down easily. It might, however, require a few tries to succeed. An auger recommended by experts for this purpose is the RIDGID K-6P Toilet Auger, which utilizes an adjustable shaft and a heavy-duty cable.
2. Using a mop: This is one of the best alternatives to a plunger and could even be a better option though it would result in more splatter. To use this method, cover or wrap a foot of the mop handle with a protective plastic material, then plunge it into the toilet with force and use the same up and down motion you would employ if a plunger were being utilized.
3. Using a toilet brush: If you don’t have a plunger, it is unlikely that you don’t have a toilet brush. Provided you do, it could serve the purpose of helping unclog your toilet. All you have to do is press the poop in the toilet downwards towards the drain and immediately flush the toilet. Delaying before flushing increases the chances of splattering the toilet seat. This method is most suitable if your drainage is not also clogged with poop, but if it is, then your toilet is probably going to remain clogged.
4. Using Coca-Cola and plastic wrap: Yes, you read right. Coca-Cola. If you have the time to spare and are willing to sacrifice half a liter of Coca-Cola to help your toilet, you could do this otherwise dirty work with little physical effort and barely a stain. To achieve this, pour a fresh half-liter of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl full of poop and cover the toilet bowl with plastic wrap or foil. Leave the toilet for an hour and come back to flush.

5. Using baking soda, boiling water, and the plastic wrap: This method is just as easy as the Coca-Cola method and is just as unlikely to cause a splatter. To use, add some baking powder to the poop in the toilet and add boiling water. Once done, cover the toilet bowl with plastic wrap, leave for at least, 15 minutes and then flush the toilet.
6. Using detergent and boiling water: Rather than using Coca-Cola or baking soda, you could also make use of regular detergents. To do this, you should firstly pour a gallon or two of water into the clogged toilet to raise the water level. Follow this up with one or two gallons of hot water to help soften the poop and add a few spoons of the detergent to complete the formula. Leave for a few minutes and check on the water level. A reduction shows that the toilet is becoming unclogged bit by bit. If, after flushing, the toilet still doesn’t unclog, it might be time to consider using an industrial clog remover or drain opener.
7. Using an industrial drain opener: This is relatively easy to use, and after a few tries, success is all but guaranteed. All you have to do is pour one to two cups of the cleaner into the clogged toilet and leave for 15 minutes before flushing. As implied, if this doesn’t work, try a few times again. A healthy choice that helps unclog the toilet while reducing environmental damage is the Green Gobbler Ultimate Main Line Opener & Toilet Clog Remover.
8. Other methods: There are still various homemade cleaning agents that could be tried out in the unclogging of a toilet. Some of these are the use of bleach and acids, the use of shampoo and boiling water and, the use of a baking soda-vinegar-boiling water mixture. The latter involves using a gallon of boiling water and a cup each of vinegar and baking soda. This should create a fizzing mixture in the toilet that should dissolve and soften the poop that needs clearing.

Final Thoughts

The purpose of listing all these methods is to ensure that you have a more than sufficient list of homemade solutions to consider. Some might offend your environmental stances, and you might not have the tools or materials necessary to do some work, but there is something for you to try out.

Figuring out how to unclog a toilet with poop still in it doesn’t always have to be very difficult, and if you are ready to consider using a dual flush toilet, the problem might not even come up as often. Such a toilet would allow you to use the low flush mechanism to conserve water while reserving the option to use more pressure when the toilet seems to be clogged.

Regardless of whether or not you get the new toilet, the above methods would serve you right.

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