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Old 21 February 2015, 02:19 PM
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Default "How to unblock the toilet" tip

I had my downstairs toilet blocked due to me throwing stale cat food in it. I tried the rod method, didn't work. I tried metal hanger wire method, didn't work. I tried Caustic Soda method, didn't work. So, I asked Mrs. H. next door, and she supported the method shown on the internet as the most successful option. I reluctantly got my old mop, tied two plastic bags around the head of the mop, and pushed it up and down in the toilet bowl. Guess what, it unblocked in, like, two minutes!

I thought I'd share it with you guys here on NSR, rather than on DIY, as you guys talk about painting your walls and all sorts here anyway, and more of you will learn this trick, if I post it here.

Here's the demo for it that I found on YouTube:


Terrific and so cost effective.

Good luck, if ever. It's a sure-shot success.
Old 21 February 2015, 02:22 PM
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I've done it that way for years.
Old 21 February 2015, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Rescue Dude
I've done it that way for years.
Rescue Dude, I never had my toilet blocked. Only the once about 23 years ago when we lived in the converted chapel when I ended up blocking our toilet with my broken hair. I used to throw them in there after cleaning my hair brush. My son grassed me up to Mr. T., and I was reprimanded. Mr. T. had to unblock it with a hard core plunger, then. But since then, I've never had to face this calamity.

I've learnt a lesson not to ever throw uneaten cat food in there. I usually use the food recycling bin for its disposal, but it was full, so I thought it would be fine to throw cat food in the toilet and flush it. Obviously it wasn't. Never again.

And yes, I'm amazed to see that such a simple trick worked without having to call a plumber and giving him 40 quid!
Old 21 February 2015, 02:34 PM
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I used to work at a leisure centre so blocked toilets were fairly regular. This was always the easiest and quickest method.
Old 21 February 2015, 02:40 PM
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Boak!!!
Old 21 February 2015, 02:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Rescue Dude
I used to work at a leisure centre so blocked toilets were fairly regular. This was always the easiest and quickest method.



I'm quite stunned by the simplicity of the method, RD. I like things like that. Either people complicate the matters or simplify them; in order to save allsorts. I prefer the latter.
Old 21 February 2015, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Milneragain
Boak!!!
Google says that boak means feeling sickly or even sick. I'm sure one day, you may have to unblock your toilet, and then, you will have to do it- boak or not boak. You will then thank Scoobynet for teaching you this simple technique.
Old 21 February 2015, 04:20 PM
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Is this a good thread to recant the tale from Christmas 2013 when the then miss-B pulled the plug on the bath only to find the contents of the bath poured out of the toilet? That was fun

Boxing day resulted in me pulling up several manhole covers to find them all brimmed to the top with a months worth of shyte. Managed to borrowed a rod kit and eventually unblocked it all.

The blockage? Sheets of Kitchen Roll ! So who TF has been flushing kitchen roll down the bog? Lots of "I dunno" innocent faces.

After tracing back, we concluded it was the plumbers who fitted the hot water tank, and presumably mopped up their mess and flushed it. Bastid plumbers should know better.

This in no way helps my trust in them. Anyone know a good plumber?
Old 21 February 2015, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by ALi-B
Is this a good thread to recant the tale from Christmas 2013 when the then miss-B pulled the plug on the bath only to find the contents of the bath poured out of the toilet? That was fun

Boxing day resulted in me pulling up several manhole covers to find them all brimmed to the top with a months worth of shyte. Managed to borrowed a rod kit and eventually unblocked it all.

The blockage? Sheets of Kitchen Roll ! So who TF has been flushing kitchen roll down the bog? Lots of "I dunno" innocent faces.

After tracing back, we concluded it was the plumbers who fitted the hot water tank, and presumably mopped up their mess and flushed it. Bastid plumbers should know better.

This in no way helps my trust in them.

Anyone know a good plumber?
Well, I also had a leak from the flush box pipe lately, in the same downstairs toilet. No neighbours couldn't recommend any plumber, so I called one out of our local business directory book. A 26 years old very polite and respectful plumber turned up at the door, and even took his shoes off before getting in. An awesome kid who went to the same school as my kids, and did a top job for a 40 quid; part included with at least 45 minutes labour. I'd recommend this kid to anyone, locally.

But this mop trick has even saved me calling him. This is what I recommend.

You did over-complicate your life with pulling up several manhole covers, Al. Did you find any ninja turtles inside, and had conversations with them?

Last edited by Turbohot; 21 February 2015 at 05:32 PM.
Old 21 February 2015, 04:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbohot

You did over-complicate your life with pulling up several manhole covers, Al. Did you find any ninja turtles inside, and to have conversations with them?
No turtles that I could see, just mutant turds. All three manholes were full to the brim - I started at the one closest to the bathroom (obviously) and worked my way round to find them all clogged up.

General conversation at the time focuses the blame on the person who talked the most crap.

Was impressive seeing a few 100 gallons disappear the moment I cleared the blockage.....the suction/flow nearly pulled the rod in along with me...Then I'd literally be in the s**t
Old 21 February 2015, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by ALi-B
No turtles that I could see, just mutant turds. All three manholes were full to the brim - I started at the one closest to the bathroom (obviously) and worked my way round to find them all clogged up.

General conversation at the time focuses the blame on the person who talked the most crap.

Was impressive seeing a few 100 gallons disappear the moment I cleared the blockage.....the suction/flow nearly pulled the rod in along with me...Then I'd literally be in the s**t

Old 21 February 2015, 06:39 PM
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This reminds me place we inherited ten years ago , but kind of opposite

On discovering loo didnt flush i asked the lady whod looked after the whole joint and my great aunt who she might recommend - amongst other jobs

A man was dispatched from the village to poke around after lifting manhole in the garden ( 2 acre ) .

It was fill to the brim with floaters , turns out hed done this year in year out .... it was forlorn task since the plumbing inside hadnt been looked at for decades

and outside the oufall was stuffed with roots forever . This and general drainage stretching out through the attached fields hadnt been looked at since 1923 when they moved in

New owner spent large , just on drainage
Old 21 February 2015, 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by dpb
This reminds me place we inherited ten years ago , but kind of opposite

On discovering loo didnt flush i asked the lady whod looked after the whole joint and my great aunt who she might recommend - amongst other jobs

A man was dispatched from the village to poke around after lifting manhole in the garden ( 2 acre ) .

It was fill to the brim with floaters , turns out hed done this year in year out .... it was forlorn task since the plumbing inside hadnt been looked at for decades

and outside the oufall was stuffed with roots forever . This and general drainage stretching out through the attached fields hadnt been looked at since 1923 when they moved in

New owner spent large , just on drainage
Actually, this sort of thing I did face in a rented accommodation once. That was in 1995 after I moved out of the chapel.

It was a wooden house on top of a North Wales hill where the sheep grazed, the birds sang and the wild (including the magic ones) mushrooms grew. The house was so small that my children had to share their bedroom. and there was no central heating either. We had a log fire in a small living room, and for other rooms (my bedroom and kids' bedroom) we used electric heaters. it had some ancient electric meter of the sort in which I had to stick a pound in every so often, only for it to pop back out, and I still got the electricity bill. That house even had a very deep well in the back, all properly covered up and secured.

However, in a hard core winter of 1995 (or 1996; I can't remember so well), all the water pipes froze in there, so did the loo. You couldn't use the well, and you wouldn't, even if you could. Mrs. Kirk, the landlady was too old and lived in Liverpool, so she couldn't really help with anything. I had to hire the plumbers myself. They worked over two days at it, and found that the tree roots had crept through the underground ninja turtles pipe lines. That meant that Mrs. Kirk and the farmer who owned the rest of the hill and sheep would have had to work out between them to get that sorted. I had had enough of living without fresh water and toilet, so I started to look for another house in the village. My little boy used to get me some snow on his sledge to melt; in order for me to make a cup of tea for meself. I soon found somewhere else and left that sh7thole after 5 months of hell there. After all that, Mrs. Kirk rightfully (???) kept my deposit, but so did every other landlord- around that time. So pleased that I own my home now, and unintentionally break and intentionally fix whatever I like; without any landlord being unfair to me.
Old 21 February 2015, 09:25 PM
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love this one
smell free
Old 21 February 2015, 09:31 PM
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Originally Posted by daviee
It works on a simple principle of creating a vacuum, which is quite clear.

Where do you get this sticky thingy from, though?
Old 21 February 2015, 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by daviee

That is brilliant yet so obvious
Old 21 February 2015, 09:40 PM
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Too much disintegrated sh7t for my choice in that Daivee's vid toilet, though. Mine only had the cat food in it, so mop method didn't really bother me. I wouldn't have done the mop method if it was blocked with some proper sh7t- No way. I would have had to just find some hard core disintegrating agent (better than that useless Caustic Soda), but then again, I hear that people can get knocked out with the gases of such chemicals, so I guess I would have tried to get some plastic sticker thingies that Daivee suggests.
Old 21 February 2015, 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbohot
It works on a simple principle of creating a vacuum, which is quite clear.

Where do you get this sticky thingy from, though?
Forgot to say, it was quite clear that the vacuum has to be created since the day people started to use the plunger. Sadly, plungers do not always work.

Anyway, I found this in relation to those sticky strips that Daivee showed through that vid:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...g-toilets.html

2014 Korean invention, and I don't think it has taken off in the UK yet.
Old 21 February 2015, 09:52 PM
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Had a time when I just went in bare armed, messy as **** but it worked. I wretched like a **** doing that and then showered for about three days straight in a manner akin to that seen in The Crying Game lol
Old 21 February 2015, 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Torquemada
Had a time when I just went in bare armed, messy as **** but it worked. I wretched like a **** doing that and then showered for about three days straight in a manner akin to that seen in The Crying Game lol

NO WAY!!!!
Old 21 February 2015, 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Torquemada
Had a time when I just went in bare armed, messy as **** but it worked. I wretched like a **** doing that and then showered for about three days straight in a manner akin to that seen in The Crying Game lol

Knock your self out on this one

Old 21 February 2015, 11:26 PM
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Originally Posted by daviee
Imagine the cover gave way when pressing down
Old 21 February 2015, 11:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Infected by sti
Imagine the cover gave way when pressing down

There's a thought.

Seriously, there really is. One could go right in it, if this sticker ruptures. That would be an epic fail.
Old 22 February 2015, 04:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Turbohot
NO WAY!!!!
Yep! In fact it was just like that video Daviee put up, except I wasn't fishing around for heroin suppositories
Old 22 February 2015, 10:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Turbohot
Forgot to say, it was quite clear that the vacuum has to be created since the day people started to use the plunger. Sadly, plungers do not always work.

Anyway, I found this in relation to those sticky strips that Daivee showed through that vid:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...g-toilets.html

2014 Korean invention, and I don't think it has taken off in the UK yet.
I can't believe I'm talking about this but, I believe it wouldn't work so well in the UK because we have larger diameter pipes and conventional "wash down" bogs along with low water content cisterns. So it would need a greater area to create enough pressure to unblock. Probably why traditional "small" plungers don't work either.

Over in the states and Asia they have smaller diameter waste pipes and double-trap/syphonic toilets that create a stronger flush - the small pipes means its requires a toilet to produce a higher water velocity and pressure to prevent them blocking. Its also easier to create pressure in a small waste pipe to unblock it (less volume).


I like double trap toilets...got an old Balterley one in the one loo you can dump a load as big as you like, and think no way is this going to go down without blocking or requiring a second flush...as for a good five seconds it only sedately trickles a bit of water down the pan. But then suddenly it swirls, its sucks and slurps then the turd is gone!

Nightmare getting new internal parts to fit it though....it has to have a certain amount of water in the cistern to work properly and a special widget fitted (called an Aspirator) in the flusher (the flusher is also called a siphon - confusingly), and of course our modern EU compliant water saving flushers stop it working properly and also the widget won't fit.

RIP the Siphonic toilet - Genius Victorian design killed by EU bureaucracy.
Old 22 February 2015, 11:01 AM
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Amateurs, here's the professionals in action...

Old 22 February 2015, 11:08 AM
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It's still blocked.
Old 22 February 2015, 12:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Torquemada
Yep! In fact it was just like that video Daviee put up, except I wasn't fishing around for heroin suppositories
Right, but if I watch that video, it will make me boak big style. Good on you sustaining the task.
Old 22 February 2015, 12:32 PM
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I always use to wonder why they had signs abroad telling you not to flush paper down the toilet. Then I found out one day, when after flushing the toilet the turds came over the bowl and chased me out of the cubicle.
Old 22 February 2015, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by ALi-B
I can't believe I'm talking about this but, I believe it wouldn't work so well in the UK because we have larger diameter pipes and conventional "wash down" bogs along with low water content cisterns. So it would need a greater area to create enough pressure to unblock. Probably why traditional "small" plungers don't work either.

Over in the states and Asia they have smaller diameter waste pipes and double-trap/syphonic toilets that create a stronger flush - the small pipes means its requires a toilet to produce a higher water velocity and pressure to prevent them blocking. Its also easier to create pressure in a small waste pipe to unblock it (less volume).


I like double trap toilets...got an old Balterley one in the one loo you can dump a load as big as you like, and think no way is this going to go down without blocking or requiring a second flush...as for a good five seconds it only sedately trickles a bit of water down the pan. But then suddenly it swirls, its sucks and slurps then the turd is gone!

Nightmare getting new internal parts to fit it though....it has to have a certain amount of water in the cistern to work properly and a special widget fitted (called an Aspirator) in the flusher (the flusher is also called a siphon - confusingly), and of course our modern EU compliant water saving flushers stop it working properly and also the widget won't fit.

RIP the Siphonic toilet - Genius Victorian design killed by EU bureaucracy.
No, quite an enlightening post. and I'm glad you shared the pearls of your technical knowledge about the toilets with us, Ali.

I'm not a fan of those new EU compliant toilets with economy flushes. If it can't even take your turd underground, there's no point of having one. There's so much rain in this country. For a live example, all it has done today since morning is rain, and it's still raining. Even then, our Government is always whinging about water, and wants us to cut down on its consumption. Only stupidly weak flushing systems of this day and age are available. I mean, come on, even a 5 YO child would know that it's unhygienic to have a toilet with your out-of-date turd (and your family's) floating about inside the rim for days. OK, you can't see it from top, but it must cause germs growth thus more diseases.

We need turbo-charged toilet flushes. Or, may be, Mr. Dyson can make one with the super action vacuum power. He remains within EU bullsh7t and still makes @rse kicking gizmos. The problem is: 1. His stuff is ear deafening. That's the main reason why his hand dryer was a flop imo 2. If someone has weak physical internals, their intestines and stomach could be sucked out- never mind just the turd. They'll have to remember to stand up without fail before they flush.

I like that double trap toilet you mention. They must be like those in the trains and the ones in the portable loos in festivals? I was going to compare them to the ones in planes, but I think plane toilets simply vacuum down all your sh7t, and then shatter it out into the universe. I'm sure we, on the ground, end up getting the sprinkles of the nano particles of it, but we just do not know. We really don't know enough, do we?

Old was gold, and still remains one. I'd love a toilet with Niagara Falls installed to it for flushing tbh. But one can only dream. Luckily, my toilets don't have those silly bi-optional water saving system. My toilets are more hard core than the modern ones that won't even take your wee underground, let alone your turd.

Last edited by Turbohot; 22 February 2015 at 01:08 PM.


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