What are Toilet Plumbing Emergencies?
This is an unexpected problem that occurs when your toilet won’t stop running or if it has backed up into your bathroom instead of draining downward (especially bad news for anyone with a septic system in place). If you can hear water underneath the floorboards in your home, feel around for dampness, see standing water anywhere in the room, and/or hear the sound of running water coming out of your toilet’s pipes when it shouldn’t be – call us right away so we can come to fix whatever problem is occurring.
So, you’ve decided to go and do some reading on toilet plumbing emergencies. That’s great! We’ll be here to help. If we know about it, trust us when we say that there is information online on pretty much everything these days. It can make it hard for people like us who want to share helpful information with others to get noticed though. Luckily for you (and us), you’re already here!
We would like to inform you of a few things before we get started:
-This article was written specifically for emergency situations and does not cover regular maintenance or other advice that may assist in everyday use.
-The majority of this article will deal with the most common causes and their solutions – while doing so using common industry terms.
-This article is not meant to take the place of an emergency repair service in any way, shape or form. It is ONLY to be used as a last resort in extreme situations where you have exhausted all other possible solutions and are left wondering what to do next.
-There are cameras that may become involved with parts of this article – anything said about them will not delve into specifics past generalities or common knowledge. If you are unfamiliar with these types of tools please do ask someone who is before continuing on your own.
With that out of the way, let’s get started! What follows after this introduction will only deal with toilet plumbing emergencies caused by things outside of the actual tank itself (bad flappers, broken fill valves, etc.). If you are dealing with anything happening with the actual tank – you will need to consult an emergency plumber.
We’re going to start things off by covering some of the more common emergencies that come up for us and how we handle them here at Cedar Park Plumbers. Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list (otherwise there would be no point in writing it), but they are enough to give you a pretty good idea of how to act during these kinds of situations. We’ll also go over several different kinds of tools involved in some aspects – simply because these can often make or break your attempts at getting through some problems yourself.
What happens if I flush my toilet and nothing comes out?
This is perhaps the most common of our toilet emergencies. If you are reading this article, it is probably safe to assume that this has happened to you at some point in time. This causes panic for many people because deep down they know that something wrong has happened with their toilet, but they just aren’t quite sure what yet.
What’s happening here? Let’s first take a look at why your toilet does not work anymore – 9 times out of 10 the reason behind this is going to be one of three things: Either there was something blocking whatever goes into the bowl (paper towels, baby wipes, etc.), you’ve got an issue with your knob or ball being messed up on your fill valve or flapper, or something is clogged up within the trap.
The first thing you’ll want to do is remove your lid and take a look down inside the bowl – if it’s clear congratulations! You’ve got some blockage on the way out that needs to be taken care of via either plunging or snaking with a toilet auger. If things are not so clear, don’t panic! What you really need at this point in time is a plunger – preferably one with an extension tube so you can reach all the way into the bottom of your tank. They make them specifically for toilets too , if yours isn’t long enough already. Make sure that whatever kind of plunger you use, it creates a seal when being pushed down against the opening of the toilet bowl. If it does not, you will have to use a different plunger until you can find one that does.
How to Plunge a Toilet:
Make sure the water is filled up to at least an inch or two above your rubber flange on your plunger! This way, when you push down and create the seal against your bowl’s opening, it’ll force all of the dirty water inside back out again – hopefully taking whatever blockage has occurred with it. Then take your plunger in hand, push down as hard as you can, lift up quickly and pull away from the bowl immediately! Repeat this process over and over again until whatever is clogging things upstarts moving on its own or until the plunger starts making that gurgling sound that gives away air being forced into the system. If you are using a plunger with an extension tube on it, pay attention to how quickly it fills up with water – if you can see air bubbles leaking back out of your clear hose cap at this point, keep plunging until they stop! If nothing is happening, don’t panic! You’ll need your toilet auger now.
How to Use a Toilet Auger:
You’ve got two major choices here depending on what kind of plumbing problem with your toilet you currently have going on in your bathroom. The first choice will be an electric toilet auger or power snake – these work by inserting them into the bottom of your tank and turning them on. These work great if they are still plugged in and getting a good connection to your pipes – otherwise, you’ll have to switch over to manual power snake augers, which basically do the same thing as the electric except for the fact that you actually turn them yourself. Make sure your auger is long enough (if using one of these) before inserting it into your tank’s bottom opening – then lower it down towards the toilet bowl until you feel something blocking your way. From here, slowly twist and push forward at the same time until you’ve broken through whatever problem you might be up against (you will see and even feel things moving downwards this way). Once you’ve gotten past whatever blockage has occurred, pull back out and make sure the auger is clear of debris before you try to insert it down once again. At this point, things should be flowing much more smoothly and much quicker – if not, check your ball or knob on your fill valve (or for those who have a ballcock system that doesn’t require one, check out their flapper) and make sure that it’s still open and releasing water as it’s supposed to.
If none of these steps seem to be working (if you can see/hear air bubbles coming back up inside your clear hose but nothing seems to be moving downwards after multiple attempts), congratulations! You’ve got an issue with either your trap or drain itself which will now need special attention from the pros.
Cedar Park common places with Toilet Emergencies
For many years our plumbers have been helping our community with their plumbing needs. This includes clogged toilets, toilet leaks, new toilet replacements/installations, and more.
The neighborhoods around the Austin Steam Train Association Museum located at 401 E Whitestone Blvd C-100, Cedar Park, TX 78613 is one of these places where we have replaced hundreds of toilets.
This community, especially the discovery blvd neighborhood, is very happy with us because of the level of professionalism we offer for their needs.
Other neighborhoods that we have the pleasure to serve are John Gupton Stadium 200 Gupton Way Dr, Cedar Park, TX 78613.
A lot of families experience toilet problems and they don’t have a trusted plumber to cal until they find us. Then they become loyal to us due to the quality work we deliver. We would like to earn your business as well. So, if you are in need of a new toilet or fix something simple give us a call today.
Finally, the Creekview Neighborhood at Cedar Park, TX 78613 is the third place where we conduct business almost every month. They are fortunate to have us close to them, so when they call it’s easy for us to get to their homes in no time.
