North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

A blocked toilet is a minor crisis, and many people end up paying hefty fees to a plumber to save the day. But curing the problem is an easy – if occasionally unpleasant – DIY job that requires no expert building skills. Anyone, from bus drivers and office workers to architects, can clear it with the right tools. Unlike painting, decorating and plastering, it’ll be over and done with on average in less than half an hour.

Begin with a large toilet plunger: you can buy some WC plungers with pump handles which literally surges a jet of water into the U-bend. These are usually effective in shifting blockages in the toilet bend itself or nearby in the soil stack. A more compacted blockage, though, may require a sterner approach. This is where you’ll need a special instrument called a toilet auger (don’t panic, they cost under £10 from plumber’s merchants). It’s a flexible metal wire, which you feed into the bend until it meets the blockage. As soon as you’ve hit the obstacle, just turn the handle whilst pushing and then pull the blockage outwards (hold your nose – it’s probably not going to smell very nice, but this piece of kit does drag compacted blockages out very effectively).

If the blockage is still there, you can try a chemical cleaner. These are available from plumber’s merchants and they’re extremely powerful. You must be sure that there is no bleach in the pan or a violent chemical reaction can ensue. You’ll definitely need to use thick protective rubber gloves and eye goggles for this. If all this fails, call that plumber!