How To Plunge A Toilet, Part 3

Plunging a toilet isn’t difficult, but problems do arise. We’ll tackle some of the most common ones here.

If you haven’t read How To Plunge a Toilet, Part 1 or How to Plunge a Toilet, Part 2, you should. Following those tips will make your plunging experience that much better. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

PROBLEM: The water is about to overflow!

Solution: Push the flapper valve down. The flapper valve is located at the very bottom of the toilet tank, and stops the water flow when it is lying flat against the tank. When this valve is open, or standing up, it sends water into the bowl. 

You’re going to get your hands wet, so be prepared – but it’s better to deal with the relatively clean water in the tank than the filthy water in the bowl.

Your other option is to manually raise the float assembly. It’s easy to spot, it’s just a rod joining the float (which, as its name implies, floats along the surface of the tank water) to the rest of the toilet’s mechanical parts. This assembly usually runs long-wise across the tank. Just grab it and lift. Doing this makes the toilet think its tank is full, and stops filling with water. Be warned, though, that if the valve is still open, water will continue running into the bowl.

This is why it’s a good idea to follow all the preparation steps outlined in How To Plunge a Toilet, Part 1. Otherwise you’ll be scrambling to get a heavy porcelain tank lid off while dirty water spills over the toilet bowl rim.

PROBLEM: Water is sloshing everywhere!

Solution: Slow down. Sloshing water is often the result of plunging too fast. Think of plunging a toilet like playing golf, whereas technique is more important that speed. Solid, forceful plunges from a good plunger create a powerful clog-busting force, more so than rapid plunges.

Even so, you’re bound to get a little bit of slosh. But if you’ve slowed your pace and the water is still sloshing excessively, there’s a good chance you don’t have a good seal created between the plunger and the bowl. Instead of blasting the clog with a dynamic hydraulic force, the water is leaking past the plunger and creating tidal waves at the surface.

Make sure you’re using a good toilet plunger with an extended flange, and double check that you’ve created a good seal between the plunger and the mouth of the bowl. For more information, refer to How To Plunge a Toilet, Part 1.

STILL NOT WORKING? More problems addressed in Part 4.