Any good suggestions? One toilet in the house, can usually clear it out if it stops, but on rare occasions, no.
The 3′ snake usually does it. A few days ago though, the clog was just beyond it’s reach. Went to the big box to check on some of the more professional/mechanical grades, finally decided against it, called Roto Rooter, and parted with $159 for 2 minutes work (know a great plumber who would’ve charged half that, but was in a rush at the time).
Most of the longer snakes say they’re for sinks, lavs, etc., but not toilets. Will the smaller mechanical models go through the additional twists and turns of a toilet?
Replies
you want the one that looks like a hockey stick with an ice auger handle at the top .. the bend in the bottom keeps the glaze in the bowl from being scratched by the cable, and yes it works very well through the trap to the main line .. personally I think every teenager should come with one ...
That's the kind i've been using. Usually it works. Unfortunately, it sometimes comes a little short of the prize.
Ironically, the last guy who cleared it out said the same thing about his teenage son. My two boys are 5 and 7. Something to look forward to down the road.
I ran on an alternative to a snake when mine wouldn't reach a plug in a sink drain.
If you can open a trap and block the sink drains and the roof vent; then you may be able to suck the blockage out with a shop vac. Mine cleared a plug of grease & potato peel very fast.
Edited 1/16/2009 1:09 pm ET by jimcco
you're a braver man than i to try that ;)
I gather that what you have now is a "closet auger" -- a roughly 3-foot snake inside a J tube.
I can tell you from experience that it's VERY DIFFICULT to get a unconstrained snake down a toilet and around the gooseneck. (Damn hard enough with the closet auger's J tube.)
You can (in theory) buy a self-storing auger (sometimes called a "drum auger") and a J-tube accessory for it. (Cobra "Lil Pete" is a good brand.) I've never seen the J-tube in person but they do show it in the instructions for my auger. I suppose it can be purchased on the net somewhere, if you can figure out how to find it.
A suggestion - flush twice. Whether it's you or the teenage son, flush when you get through voiding waste, then use the paper, and flush again.
We had an intermittant problem with a toilet several years ago, vacation house. Whether it was solids or liquids, sometimes it just wouldn't clear itself. Auger did no good - it would show up again, maybe two weeks later, sometimes two months later. My Mom called a plumber, he charged her and left, and it did it again.
The next time I was there, I bit the bullet (and not my fingernails) and pulled the toilet from the floor. Waste pipe looked great, smooth PVC, nothing apparant. I doused it w/ a 5 gallon bucket of water, no obstruction. Then I peeked up into the base of the toilet, Aha ! A small plastic ladies compact, the hinged kind with the mirror, lodged in the bend. Just the right size to turn every now and then and act as a flapper - but too big to pass through. I put it in a zip-lock bag for the culprit to claim it on their next visit !
Greg
My computer can't spell today.
Edited 1/16/2009 3:27 pm ET by GregGibson
Edited 1/16/2009 3:28 pm ET by GregGibson
Edited 1/16/2009 3:28 pm ET by GregGibson
I have used a homemade J-tube made from a 1x3 and a piece of conduit. Take a 1x3 or similar piece of dimensional lumber cut to a length that will span the bowl. Cut a short piece of conduit of the appropriate size to allow the auger to pass through and bend the conduit to about 90 degrees (mine was made from metal conduit but plastic may be a better way to go). Then drill a hole in piece of dimensional lumber and slide the conduit in. Believe it or not it worked pretty good. Never scratched a bowl.
Steve