Toilet Bowl Choke

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Table of Contents (click on the sub-topic to get to the section you want)

• • • • • • • • • • Causes of Frequent Toilet Bowl Choke
                  • Methods to Unclog A Clogged Toilet Bowl
                  • Tips to Prevent A Toilet Bowl Choke
                  • Case study
                  • FAQs

Why Does My Toilet Bowl Choke So Often?

A toilet is a bathroom fixture that is often used at home, so clogs in the toilet bowl can cause extreme inconvenience to the entire family. A toilet clog, also known as toilet bowl choke, is when there is a foreign matter stuck or some complications in the drainage system, causing the toilet difficulties in flushing. Sometimes this may even lead to an backflow of sewage water, flooding the bathroom with sewage waste. This is never ideal.

If you have a toilet at home that clogs often, you will have to understand the causes in order to prevent blockages in the future. Read on and know why toilet bowl choke occurs so often.

Causes of Frequent Toilet Bowl Chokes

Toilet bowl chokes are one of the most common plumbing emergencies a plumber gets called in for. Most people would be annoyed, even frustrated, when they encounter the inconvenience of a toilet bowl choke. Most of the time, you can tell a toilet bowl choke is imminent from other signs of common toilet bowl issues. If you find that some plunging of the toilet bowl only temporarily clears the clogged toilet, it is time to find out why your toilet bowl chokes so often, find the root cause and rectify it.

Some of the causes of clogged toilet in most Singapore home include:

1. Toilet Paper or Kitchen Paper Towel Papers

Toilet bowl choke by toilet paper usually occurs when a large volume of toilet paper is being flushed down at once. If a bulk volume of toilet paper needs to be flushed, be sure to flush in intervals to prevent a toilet bowl choke. Even though kitchen paper towels seem to be made of the same material as toilet paper, do not flush these down the toilet as they are made more impotent to dissolve into pulpy matter like toilet paper.

2. Foreign items

The toilet in your Singapore home is designed for disposal of human wastes and toilet paper only! Other foreign items like diapers, baby wipes, paper towels, tampons, sanitary pads, and so forth, can cause a toilet clog if disposed using your toilet, as they do not dissolve.

3. Waste Accumulation

Solid waste can accumulate and cause a blockage, especially when it is dry and in huge amount, which will obstruct the normal flow of subsequent wastes. When the drainage pipe become obstructed, this will develop into a toilet bowl choke. As a general rule of thumb, if there is a large volume of waste that needs to be flushed, be sure to do it in intervals, so that each volume becomes manageable.

4. Trees or Plants.. or Animals

Trees, plants or small animals can obstruct the pipes if the pipes are laid underground. It is possible that trees or plants can find their way into the pipes due to its natural instincts to seek out water sources. In Singapore, pipe obstruction by trees or plants occur more frequently for landed property owners. In some cases, we have also found small rats or cockroaches which died and accumulated in the pan collar, resulting in a toilet bowl choke.

5. Weak flush

A weak flush can also cause a toilet bowl choke to happen due to its inability to flush down solid wastes. When you notice a weak water pressure, it is time to replace your toilet flush system that provides you with a much stronger flush.

6. Old toilet

If your toilet is very old (lifespan is usually 20 -30 years old), it probably lacks the pressure that is required for clearing the trap and flushing it efficiently. This can lead to clogs frequently when there is low water pressure for a proper flush. If you are experiencing a low flush pressure, or if the toilet is showing signs of common toilet bowl issues, it is advised to get your toilet bowl replaced.

7. Blocked plumbing vent

Toilets used today have roof vents for directing fresh air into the plumbing system, and increase flushing pressure. Such vents, over time, may be clogged with outdoor debris like animal nests, sticks, leaves etc, which is one of the most common residential emergencies in Singapore. When the toilet vent is blocked, it can lower the pressure of flushing and result in toilet clogs regularly. One of the best clogged toilet solutions is to get a hire a plumber to clear the vents. It can be tough to detect blockages in sensitive plumbing, and you need special tools for removal.

8. Sewer line problems

Generally, regular clogging of the drains and toilets occur due to problems in the sewer pipe. Clogged toilets usually are a result of over-accumulation of human waste together with non-flushable items and toilet paper. It is also possible that the sewer lines be punctured by tree roots, allowing the entry of sediment etc that can act as debris. Problems in sewer line can result in issues in your home as well as outside, and also ruin your family’s health. With a professional plumber, you can unclog a toilet bowl choke easily.

Methods to Unclog A Clogged Toilet?

Now that you know what may be causing your toilet bowl to choke, here are some methods you can try to unclog it yourself before calling a plumber.

• Using A Plunger

This is the first tool that comes to every homeowner’s mind. The first best thing to do is to turn off the water supply to the toilet. This will prevent water to overflow out of the toilet bowl. After turning off the supply, you can begin working with a plunger. The plunger will create some movement and air pressure to dislodge the object in the toilet bowl. Using a plunger requires some time and effort if the clog is stubborn, so it is important to work on it for at least 15 to 20 good plunges.

• Enzyme waste removal product

Similar to pouring a drain cleaner down a shower drain pipe when it drains too slowly, you can try pouring an enzyme waste material product to salvage the situation. Enzyme waste material products contains a mixture of enzyme that liquefy waste materials.

Purchase a suitable product and follow the instructions on the container. You will usually have to wait overnight for the enzymes to work on the clog, and the toilet should drain after the clog has been removed. Do note that this method will only work if the clog resulted from waste materials only.

You may also try homemade drain cleaner recipes you can find online. Most recipes should basically contain hot water, baking soda & vinegar. Make sure to prepare about 2 litres of the concoction in order for it to have enough pressure to push through to the clog. Let the concoction work its magic overnight, and it should clear the clog of any organic waste the next morning.

• Chemical Drain Cleaner

Chemical drain cleaners are considered a last resort. The chemical drain cleaner works in the same way as an enzyme waste material product but much stronger. It is very toxic to people and pets, corrosive to pipes, and chlorinated drain cleaner can be very damaging to the environment. Always follow the manufacturer’s instruction and keep the lid down to prevent toxic fumes from filling the bathroom. Ensure that the room is well ventilated to prevent inhalation of the chemicals.

• Plumbing Snake

A plumbing snake is what a plumber uses to handle those tough and stubborn clogs, mostly for inorganic material. It is a flexible coil of wire that can find its way through the structure of the drainage pipe, thus the term plumbing snake. The goal of the plumbing snake is to probe the clog, causing it to collapse and breakdown into smaller size so that the drainage can flow.

If you don’t have one available, you can straighten out a wire hanger as a substitute and try it out to see if you are successful. Otherwise, it might be better to hire a plumber to do it.

• Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner

Worse comes to worst, this professional plumber tool will have to come in as a last resort. As this machine can be quite powerful, it can only be done with drain pipes of a certain diameter. A wet/dry vacuum cleaner can cope with water unlike the conventional vacuum cleaner. The main objective of the vacuum cleaner is to suck out the clog in the toilet. But this can only be done after the water has been sucked out with the wet function of the vacuum. Then the dry function is used to try and suck the clog out.

Tips to Prevent A Toilet Bowl Choke

A toilet bowl choke can be easily prevented with regular cleaning and maintenance of your toilet bowl, not flushing any non-flushable items including hair, sanitary napkins, towel sheets and food. This is just one of the common misconceptions of plumbing that people have, thinking that such innocuous items may not choke the toilet.  Generally practicing these few ways to save money on plumbing, will help you prevent toilet bowl chokes as well.

• Differentiate between what is flushable and what is not

As a homeowner, you must know what can be flush down the toilet drain and what would likely cause a clogged toilet if flush down. Things such as facial wipes, napkins, paper towels, hair, food and more are non-flushable materials.

These items do not disintegrate inside water, which will eventually clog up the drainage pipe, causing a choke. If it is hard to identify what is not flushable, just remember that you can only flush wastes, be it solid or liquid, and toilet paper only. Keep to this golden rule and your toilet bowl will be choke-free.

• Practice proper flushing

Proper flushing is to only flush an amount acceptable for the size of your toilet drainage pipe, per the volume of water used for each flush.

For example, when cleaning up after using the toilet, do not use an excessive amount of toilet paper as these can snowball into a large item with your waste, that is too big to pass through the size of your toilet trap or drainage pipe.

If you expect to be flushing down a large amount of waste, then flush regularly in intervals.

• Keep your toilet tank clear

Keeping your toilet tank clear of items is vital in preventing a toilet bowl clog. You will never know when the items on the toilet tank may or may not fall into the toilet bowl. But on the off chance that it does, it will increase the likelihood of toilet bowl choke.

• Address weak flushes early

As previously addressed, a weak flush could cause the drainage pipe to clog, which will lead to a choke as the waste is not adequately flushed away.

• Educate your children

If you have a child at home, it would be best to educate him/her about the dos and don’ts when using the toilet. On top of potty training when young, as they grow older, it is good to educate them on what can or cannot be flushed down the toilet. This will not only prevent any possible toilet bowl chokes, but also provide them with life skills which they can keep for life.

Case Study

• Clear Toilet Bowl Choke / Drainage Pipe & Replace New Toilet Bowl Plumber Singapore – HDB Clementi

• Clear Toilet Bowl Choke Jet Machine Clearing Plumber Singapore – Commercial Building Jurong West

• Wall Hung Toilet Bowl WC Replace Pan Collar Plumber Singapore – Condo Lakeside

• Clear Toilet Bowl Choke Drainage Pipe Choke Plumber Singapore-Landed Sembawang