Highest overflow risk
Clogged toilets
A toilet blocks in one of two places, and telling them apart is the whole game. Get it wrong and you flood a bathroom finding out.
If the obstruction is in the toilet's own trapway, it is a fixture problem and an auger sorts it out in minutes. If the obstruction is in the line behind it, the toilet is simply where you happened to notice a much bigger problem, and augering it will achieve nothing.
What clogs them has changed. Wipes labeled flushable do not break down the way paper does, and they are now the single most common thing we pull out of residential toilet lines. Add cotton products, dental floss and paper towel and you get a mass that catches on every rough spot in the pipe.
Fixture or main line?
- Other fixtures drain fine: it is the toilet
- The tub or a floor drain also holds water: it is the main
- The bowl bubbles when the washer drains: it is the main
- Water level drops on its own between uses: main line
- Only this toilet, every time: fixture or the branch behind it
If it is full right now
- Take the tank lid off and push the flapper closed
- Turn the supply valve behind the toilet clockwise
- Bail some water out before attempting anything else
- Do not flush again to test it
The single most common cause of an overflow
Flushing again to see whether it has cleared. The bowl is already full, the trapway is already blocked, and the tank is about to add another gallon and a half to it. Shut the supply valve first, always.
Straight answers
Questions about clogged toilets
Is a plunger safe to use?
Yes, and it often works. What causes the damage is repeated flushing, not plunging. Close the flapper or shut the supply valve first so a failed attempt cannot overflow, then plunge with a proper flange plunger.
Are flushable wipes really a problem?
Yes. They pass the toilet fine, which is all the label promises, then fail to break down in the line and catch on anything rough. They are the most common single item we remove from residential toilet lines.
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