3 Tips to Dealing with an Overflowing Toilet

It happens to almost everybody at one point or another. You use your bathroom, flush the toilet, and watch in horror as the toilet bowl fills to the rim instead of going down. As it begins to overflow, you need to react fast. You either need to unclog the toilet or stop the water flowing in to mitigate the mess. Here are three tips to dealing with an overflowing toilet to avoid a big mess.

  1. Shut off the water. The water from the tank is already going into the toilet bowl by the time you realize you may have an overflow issue, but most toilets have a water shut-off valve. Turn off the water to avoid more water coming into the tank and bowl.
  2. Use your plunger. Most toilet clogs are in the curved pipes of the toilet. Too much toilet paper or other waste can make a clog. Your plunger can release most clogs and clear the pipes. When it clears, the water in the bowl will disappear and you can turn the water valve back on again to fill the tank and flush again to ensure your toilet is completely clear.
  3. Disinfect your bathroom. If you’re able to unclog your toilet, but you had an overflow, make sure to thoroughly clean your bathroom before letting kids or pets near the room. Use disinfectant to kill the bacteria and remove any health risk.

If using a plunger does not stop your overflowing toilet problem, you should call your local plumber. You may have a larger clog in your plumbing that needs professional removal with a snake or possible hydro-jetting.

Posted on behalf of:
Metro Septic LLC
1210 N Tennessee St
Cartersville, GA 30120
(404) 973-2471

Tips on What to Do if Your Toilet Overflows

An overflowed toilet can create a mess. The curvy pipes that flush down waste can get clogged, and as more water comes in to whisk away the waste, it fills up the bowl. Before you know it, it can overflow onto the floor. Usually it is a local clog, often in the toilet itself, that can be removed with a plunger. To deal with a clogged toilet, follow these steps.

  • First, use a plunger to try and release the clog. Create a seal with the plunger around the exit hole in the toilet bowl and push down, then release and push down again without breaking the seal. Keep doing this until the water is sucked down.
  • Try flushing the toilet again. If it flushes with no problems, the clog is gone. Make sure to disinfected the plunger and the floor after cleanup; overflowed toilet water can release many harmful bacteria. Use bleach or another anti-bacterial cleaner.
  • If the clog will not budge or the toilet continues to fill the bowl, you may have other sewer line issues. It could be a clog in one of your pipes or a more serious issue. You can try to “snake” out the drain to find the clog. However, it may be more beneficial to call a plumber. They can determine where the clog is and make sure it is completely removed to remedy the problem.

Most overflowed toilets are a quick, albeit messy, fix. However, if plunging does not work, you may need to call in a plumber. It could be a toilet or plumbing problem that need professional repair.

Posted on behalf of:
Seagraves Plumbing Sewer & Septic
4980 Plant Atkinson Rd SE
Smyrna, GA 30080
(494) 792-2221

Unclogging a Toilet

Clearing clogged toilets is an unpleasant task at best.   If you are uncomfortable trying to clear the clog yourself, calling your plumber is a smart move.  Also, if your toilet seems to be constantly clogging, it could be a sign of more serious plumbing or sewer/septic issues and you should have it checked out by a reputable plumber or sewer/septic professional.

But calling a plumber for every toilet clog can get expensive and often you don’t have time to wait for the plumber to arrive.  Fortunately, most toilet clogs can be cleared without having to call a plumber.

The first thing to remember is “do no harm.”  Don’t make the situation worse by pouring caustic chemicals or forcing a plumber’s snake down the commode.  These will only cause further damage and make it even harder to clear the clog.  Stick to using a trusty rubber plunger and you will avoid causing any damage to your toilet or pipes.

If the toilet is filling rapidly with water, the first thing you need to do is shut off the water supply to the toilet.  Next, after placing some towels around the toilet to catch any spills, put the rubber plunger in the toilet bowl and try to place the lip of the plunger so that it forms a good seal around the drain.  Push the plunger straight down, forcing water down the drain.  Carefully pull the plunger up to refill the rubber plunger cup and repeat as many times as it takes to clear the clog.

If you cannot clear the clog with the plunger, it’s probably a good idea to let a plumbing professional handle it.

Choosing a Reputable Plumber

When you need plumbing work, you want a reputable plumber that you can depend on to get the job done right.  Whether it’s a clogged toilet, a leaky faucet, or any other type of plumbing work, you want a plumber who arrives on time, does a professional job, and who you know will be around to handle any warranty work.

You can randomly pick a plumber out of the phone book or from the internet, but you will probably have better results if you follow a few simple steps.  First, make sure the plumber is a real business.  See if they have a business office with a permanent address and business telephone number.

Second, check to see if the plumber has liability insurance.  You don’t want to be on the hook for medical bills if the plumber gets hurt while working on your property.  Also, if they have insurance, they have probably been in business for awhile.  You should also see if they are licensed and bonded.

Third, ask for references.  A reputable plumber will be happy to provide references because their satisfied customers are their best source of business.  Call a couple of the references and ask if they were satisfied with the plumbers work and if they would use that plumber again.

Finally, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed against the plumber.  If so, see if the company responded and how the complaints were resolved.  A lot of complaints with no response from the plumber means you should try a different plumber, but if there are only one or two complaints that were settled after a response from the plumber then it’s probably not much to be concerned about.