Do you cross your fingers every time you flush? Toilets are one of the most essential and indispensable fixtures in every Mississauga home. It's incredibly frustrating when they don't work, but there are several solutions that you can use to deal with a clogged toilet in Mississauga.
Clogged toilets are usually handled relatively quickly, even by someone with no plumbing experience. However, there are some situations in which anything you do is just going to be a temporary fix because of an underlying issue you have yet to investigate. In those cases, you can count on your local Mississauga plumber from Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Mississauga. You can even request a job estimate online!
The pros are here to make sure you flush with confidence. Whether your clogged toilet is out of order for the first time or is highly prone to clogging each time you flush, we're here to help! This guide for Mississauga homeowners explains how to find out what caused your clog and get it fixed for good, so you can stop wishing for the best when you hit the flush lever.
How Do I Stop My Toilet Bowl from Overflowing?
When dealing with a clogged toilet, Mississauga homeowners' first steps should be to stop it from overflowing and dumping wastewater all over your bathroom floor. It may be possible to wait for that water to slowly go down naturally, but if that doesn't work, we recommend following these steps before you do anything else:
- Close the water supply valve near the bottom left side of your fixture.
- If you tried flushing once, but it didn't flush, DO NOT press the flush lever again.
- Take off the tank cover.
- Put on some rubber or nitrile gloves and reach into the tank to find the flapper at the bottom (it looks like a drain stopper attached to a chain).
- Push it closed.
- If the water isn't draining, you'll need to remove a considerable portion to lower the level.
- Carefully remove the excess water with a bucket.
How Do I Fix My Clogged Toilet in Mississauga?
Now that you don’t have to worry about swamping your bathroom with wastewater. The next step is clearing that blockage. If it’s a one-time problem, it’s probably a simple clog that you can fix without too much trouble.
However, if you’re frequently dealing with clogs in Mississauga and you find yourself using your plunger more than once a week, clearing that issue will need more elbow grease—and possibly even attention from a licensed plumber.
Step 1: Prepare the Bathroom (and Yourself)
We’re going to level with you here—there might be some splashing. It only takes a few minutes to lay some sheets of old newspaper across your bathroom floor, and doing so will drastically reduce your cleaning time.
Keep your safety gloves on (hopefully, they reach up to your elbows to keep your hands safe from sewage!). If that blockage looks pretty bad, you should also change into some clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.
Step 2: Try Removing Blockage with Your Hand
If you can see an obstruction or it's not visible, but you suspect it is within reach, reach into the bowl and try to pull it out. If you know a hard object such as a small toy is causing your clog, but you can't get it out, skip ahead to the fifth step. Plunging and drain cleaners won't help in that scenario.
Step 3: Use the Correct Type of Plunger
Not all plungers are created equal for Mississauga clogged toilets. A lot of people don’t even realize there are multiple types of plungers for different fixtures. Using an improper plunger will increase your frustration as it fails to have any impact.
A plunger with a cup-shaped rubber end that looks like a suction cup is meant for sinks because it can fit flat over a sink drain to create the suction for plunging. It's not going to work on toilets because it can't create an effective seal over an uneven drain opening.
Clogged toilets need a heavy-duty rubber plunger that’s either ball-shaped with an opening in the bottom or is more bell-shaped but has a flange sticking out on the bottom. These two shapes of plungers are designed to seal onto your toilet's drain opening and create suction.
Step 4: Plunge, Plunge, Plunge
With the correct type of plunger in hand, it’s time for the fun part—plunging! Most people in Mississauga have given their old plunger a try at least a couple of times in their lives, but there is actually a specific technique for effective plunging:
- Plungers actually need to be submerged in water to work properly, so if there isn’t enough water, get some from your sink and pour it in.
- Place your plunger completely over the drain opening.
- Don't just start plunging as hard as you can, go slow and gentle at first, so any trapped air can get out, and you won't splash your own face.
- Push down, then pull up sharply to help dislodge any stuck debris—but not so sharply that you pull the plunger away.
- Keep plunging until all water begins to drain out.
- Be patient, as this process can take a lot longer—and require a lot more plunging—than expected. If the clog is a soft material like sanitary paper, enough continuous plunging almost always works.
- Once water is draining, flush to check that everything is working properly
- If water is draining slowly instead of flowing freely, repeat the plunging process from step one.
Step 5: Use a Specialized Plumbing Snake
If you're dealing with a particularly stubborn clog in Mississauga, you may need to resort to a toilet auger—a type of specialized plumbing snake you can purchase at most hardware stores. An auger is basically a coil of wire that extends down your drain, with a crank handle at one end and a special coating to protect porcelain.
Once you’ve got that special plumbing snake down and you can feel the obstruction, keep pushing and start turning the handle in a clockwise motion. Your goal is to use that auger to break obstructions into smaller pieces that can be flushed away.
When you feel the plumbing snake move past an obstruction, pull it out. It may take a couple of rounds before you're able to either pull an obstruction out of a clogged toilet or weaken it enough to be flushed away.
Step 6: Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Mississauga
Clogged toilets aren't just a matter of how much you plunge, snake, or stick your hand down a nasty toilet bowl—some clogs need intervention from a local plumber. If you did manage to clear out your clogged toilet in Mississauga, but the next time you press the flush lever, it just clogs right back up again, you'll know that you have serious problems further down the drain line, if not sewer line. Returning clogs are, in fact, a sign of serious sewer blockage.
If you get to the point that you've tried everything and nothing has worked, you can count on us for fast results and effective solutions to eliminate your plumbing concerns for years to come. Our friendly team of plumbers has the know-how to figure out what is causing a Mississauga clogged toilet and get it running perfectly again. Your licensed plumbers provide guaranteed service, 24 hours per day, with upfront, flat-rate pricing and no overtime fees.
Why Do I Have a Clogged Toilet in Mississauga?
Mississauga homeowners often already have a pretty good idea of what causes a clog, but there are also less obvious causes that you may not know about. Knowing a problem's source will help you avoid it in the future, and it'll help you find out if it's caused by a serious issue with your wastewater system. You'll want to get that taken care of as soon as possible.
Here are a few of the most common causes of a Mississauga clogged toilet:
Non-Flushable Items
If you have a small child in your home, you might not need to look too far to find your culprit. Once children learn how to flush, it’s usually not long before they decide to experiment with flushing various items like small toys. Needless to say, this could quickly result in a clog.
But, before you place blame, though, remember that adults are also guilty of flushing items that really shouldn't ever enter a toilet. The only things that should be flushed are waste and toilet paper. Unfortunately, other items still make it down the drain, triggering a clogged toilet. Mississauga homes often deal with these unwanted items in their drain lines:
- Feminine hygiene products
- Hair
- Grease
- Shampoo and other liquid or gel grooming products
- Q-tips and cotton balls
- Baby wipes
- Paper towels and other non-dissolvable paper products
- Plastic bottle caps, razor casings, or other small, hard objects
Excessive Toilet Paper
Although sewage pipes and systems in Mississauga are designed to handle sanitary paper, excessive amounts do get caught in pipes and stop wastewater flow. Try to use only what you need, and teach children how to limit their use. If there’s already a substantial amount in the bowl, flush before you continue to throw more in.
Not Enough Water in the Tank
If your tank doesn’t fill with enough water, the amount of water that comes out when you flush will not be able to provide enough pressure to push waste out of and into the drain pipe. Chances are you have a damaged fill tube.
Hard Water Deposits
The water in Mississauga is considered moderately hard, meaning that it contains dissolved calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. Even if moderately hard water is not that bad on the hard water scale, it's still enough to create deposits in your toilet.
Hard water deposits are hard calcified lumps of minerals that build up on the inside of the toilet, causing chokepoints that prevent waste and water from draining properly. Large mineral deposits could lead to a clogged toilet. Mississauga homeowners can use some distilled vinegar and lemon juice to loosen any calcium deposits. Let the acid work its wonders overnight and scrub away any remains the next day.
Main Sewer Drain Backups
If you’re experiencing a toilet clog or other clogging issues, such as the shower or bathtub—a sewer system backup could be the culprit. You may be able to see additional backup symptoms if you turn on the sink faucet nearest to your toilet and the toilet gurgles or the water level in the toilet rises. Another sign of a clogged main drain is when your toilet clogs or overflows whenever your washing machine runs.
Mississauga Preventative Maintenance Services
Plumbing repairs and maintenance around Mississauga are our specialties, but did you know that they can also provide you with preventative plumbing solutions to help you maintain a healthy plumbing system? We'll help you steer clear of any telltale signs with our thorough inspection services and routine maintenance. This way, you can say goodbye to clogged toilets.
Mississauga Drain Cleaning
Our preventative solutions include drain cleaning and drain repair services designed to give you peace of mind and help you stay on track with your plumbing maintenance. While your main drain and secondary drain pipes are responsible for removing wastewater from your home, debris and other dirt still create blockages that can result in a clogged drain or toilet. Before starting any kind of drain cleaning or toilet repair, we can perform a plumbing inspection to ensure your pipes are in a decent condition to handle our equipment and solutions. A yearly routine maintenance appointment with a local plumber will also help eliminate any worry about blockages in your mainline or drain lines in Mississauga.
Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Mississauga to Unclog Your Toilet Today!
Whether you're dealing with a clogged toilet for the first time or you're sick of handling a toilet that clogs almost every time you flush, Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Mississauga can end the madness and restore your bathroom back to normal working order. We're ready for everything from common repairs to unusual plumbing emergencies.
Contact our team at 905-817-0210 to schedule an appointment for plumbing service, and we’ll show you why your neighbors trust us to take care of all their plumbing needs! We proudly serve many Mississauga communities, including Fairview, Cooksville, and Dixie.