Toilet unblocking by specialists

How a toilet gets blocked

A toilet carries away more solids than any other drain in the house. Yet the narrowest point is usually not in the pipe but in the toilet itself. The curved trap inside the porcelain, which holds the water in the bowl and keeps sewer smells out, is narrower than the 90- or 110-millimetre waste pipe behind it. Anything that gets through the trap will usually make it the rest of the way. But not always.

What doesn't belong in the toilet

The toilet blockages we deal with are often caused by things that don't belong there:

• wet wipes and baby wipes, which don't break down the way toilet paper does;
• kitchen roll and tissues, which are made to keep their shape when wet;
• sanitary towels, tampons and cotton buds;
• cat litter, which clumps into a hard mass in water;
• a toothbrush, a toy, or a toilet block that has slipped out of its holder.

Causes in the pipe itself

Sometimes the problem isn't what gets flushed but the pipe itself. A horizontal waste pipe without enough fall leaves paper stranded halfway along. The effect is worse with the smaller flush of a water-saving toilet, especially in older homes where the toilet was moved at some point and the waste pipe now takes a long detour. Inadequate venting can play a part too. If the soil stack doesn't get enough air, the water seal in the bowl can be sucked out. You'll notice gurgling and a water level that's lower than usual.

A blockage further down the system

If the water stays up in the bowl and the shower next to it is also slow to drain, the blockage isn't in the toilet but further along. In a flat, that's often the bend at the bottom of the soil stack; in a house, it's often the underground drain to the street.

How to tell how far the blockage goes

The classic picture: the toilet won't flush away, the water rises to just below the rim and then drains very slowly. Before you try anything, it's worth finding out how far the problem extends. If the water in the bowl isn't up to the rim, run the washbasin tap for half a minute and watch the toilet. If the toilet gurgles or the water rises, the two share a blocked pipe further down. If nothing happens, the blockage is probably in the bowl or just behind it.

If you have an inspection chamber in the garden or by the front door, lift the cover. If it's full, the blockage is further towards the street. If it's empty but the toilet still won't drain, the problem lies between the toilet and the inspection chamber. Knowing this helps us work out over the phone what the job will involve.

Unblocking a toilet yourself: what you can try

If only the toilet is blocked and the other drains are still working, you can try the following:

1. Don't flush again. Every flush adds more water to a bowl that's already full.
2. If the water level is high, use a small container to bail some of it out into a bucket, so you have room to work.
3. Place a flanged toilet plunger over the outlet, push down gently and then pull it back sharply. Repeat this about ten times.
4. If that doesn't work, pour hot but not boiling water with a squirt of washing-up liquid into the bowl and leave it to soak for a while.

A toilet plunger only reaches what's stuck in the bowl or just behind it. If the water still won't go down after a few rounds, the blockage is further along the pipe, and more force is more likely to make things worse than better.

Why we advise against chemical drain cleaners

Caustic soda and sulphuric acid drain cleaners aren't designed for a bowl full of water. They get diluted and won't dissolve a wad of wipes, let alone a solid object. What they can do is damage the rubber pan connector between the toilet and the waste pipe, and they leave a corrosive liquid standing in the bowl. That's a splash risk for you and for the engineer who has to work on it afterwards.

When to stop

Call us if the water still hasn't gone down after ten minutes of plunging, if something hard has fallen into the toilet, if other drains are affected, or if water comes up downstairs when someone flushes upstairs. A plunger only pushes an object further into the pipe, and then a small job turns into a big one.

How we unblock a toilet

When a toilet is blocked, many people's first thought is a plumber, but unblocking toilets is exactly the work our engineers go out for. We work from the top down: first the bowl, then the connection, then the pipe behind it. That way nothing gets taken apart unnecessarily.

Toilet auger and bowl

The first step is almost always the toilet auger: a short, sturdy coil with a protective sleeve that stops it damaging the porcelain. We use it to break up a blockage in the trap or to retrieve an object. If that doesn't work from above, we can take the toilet off if necessary, whether it's a floor-standing model or a wall-hung toilet on a concealed frame. That gives us access to the connection from behind.

Soil stack and underground drain

If the blockage is further down, we work through the rodding eye in the soil stack or through the inspection chamber outside. An electric drain machine can feed the coil a long way into the pipe. Where there's grease, urine scale or silt, we follow up with high-pressure jetting so the pipe is clean along its full length again. Once the toilet is unblocked, we flush it several times and check the shower and washbasin too.

Camera inspection for recurring problems

If the same toilet keeps getting blocked, there's often a structural cause: a sagging underground drain, a wrongly connected bend or roots in the pipe. A camera inspection of the drains shows you exactly what's going on before you decide on any repairs.

What toilet unblocking costs

Unblocking a toilet costs from €129. The call-out charge is not included: it comes on top, and we'll tell you the amount beforehand. In the evening, at night, at weekends and on public holidays an out-of-hours rate applies. If the job involves more than clearing a blockage, such as cleaning a long underground drain, you can ask for a quote first. You'll always get a price estimate over the phone before the engineer sets off. What you end up paying depends mainly on where the blockage is: in the bowl it's a quick job, in the underground drain it's more work.

Blocked toilet in the evening or at night

A toilet that won't flush can rarely wait until Monday, especially if it's the only one in the house. That's why we unblock toilets day and night, including on Sundays and public holidays. The engineer is usually with you within the hour. In the meantime, don't flush again, lay a few old towels around the base of the toilet and ask everyone else in the house not to use the shower or washing machine for now. That keeps any damage to a minimum if the water does rise.

How to stop it happening again

A few simple habits will keep the drain clear:

• keep a bin with a lid in the toilet for wipes and sanitary products;
• if you have a water-saving toilet, use the large flush button for everything except urine;
• teach children that toys don't belong in the toilet, and consider a child lock on the lid if you have toddlers;
• never flush cat litter, even if the packaging says you can.

If you notice the bowl emptying more and more slowly, don't wait until it's completely blocked. A partial blockage is quicker and easier to clear.

Where we unblock toilets

Our engineers cover cities including Amsterdam, The Hague, Tilburg and Enschede. We work throughout the Netherlands, and our service area overview lists the cities with their own page. If the shower is slow to drain as well, see our page on shower drain unblocking. For an overview of how we work in general, see our drain unblocking service page.

Toilet blocked right now? Call 085 333 4698 and we'll talk you through it straight away.