Toilet Backups: Is Waste Backing Up Into Your Bathroom?

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If backups occur in your toilet all the time, even after you clear the clog with a plunger, there could be a large obstruction somewhere inside your main sewer line or roof vent. Obstructions, or clogs, can cause backups throughout your home's structure over time. The constant backups in your toilet could be just the beginning of your problems. If you do the following things, you can remove the obstruction and keep wastewater out of your bathroom and house.

Auger Your Toilet

Although plungers are handy tools to have around the house, the devices don't always work when needed. The clog inside your plumbing system could be too large to suction out with your plunger. The blockage may also be situated in an area of the system you can't access with a plunger alone, such as on your roof or inside your main sewer line. If you insert an auger, or toilet snake, down your toilet's waste pipe, you may be able to manipulate some of the debris down the pipe and out into your main sewer line.

Here's how you do it:

  1. Purchase a toilet auger from your local home and gardening store. Try to choose an auger that comes with a rotating cable for the best results.
  2. Protect your hands with gloves and place goggles over your eyes. If the odor coming from your toilet is too great, cover your mouth and nose with a mask.
  3. Cover the tile or flooring around your toilet's base to keep waste from damaging it.
  4. Position the snake over the base of the toilet's bowl, then slowly insert the device into the waste pipe.
  5. Follow the instructions on the auger's packaging to clear out the blockage.

If the waste inside the toilet goes down properly, flush the toilet and wait. If waste doesn't reappear after flushing the toilet, you removed the clog. But if the toilet backs up with waste again, call a plumber.

Get Toilet Backup Help

Sometimes, large blockages develop deep within the main sewer line in the home. If the main sewer line clogs up, waste could build up inside the pipes in your bathroom. It's also possible for backups to occur in your toilet if the vent pipe on your roof becomes obstructed with debris. 

If a plumber suspects a problem in your main sewer line or roof vent, they'll clear out your roof vent pipe or repair your sewer line. You may also need to repair the waste pipes in your bathroom to help solve the issue. A contractor may go over everything they may or may not do with you after the inspection.

For more details, information, or tips on how to keep your toilet from backing up repeatedly, contact a company like Rob's Septic Tanks Inc.

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