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Common Causes of A Blocked Toilet

A clogged toilet can be a recipe for disaster, not only can it cause a lot of problems for you and your family but it can also damage your home if left for too long.

What To Do In The Case Of A Clogged Toilet

In the unfortunate event that your toilet does not clog and begin to back up the best thing to do is not panic, but act fast. A Backed up toilet or leaking toilet pipes can cause serious water damage leading to things such as mould, mildew and damp which can cause serious health issues when left over a period of time.

Is your toilet continuously getting blocked and you aren’t sure why? Not to worry, we’ve devised a list of common causes of toilet clogging to help crack the code on what could be causing you so many issues with your toilet. So keep reading!

An Issue With Your Sewer Line

If you are having frequent toilet clogging issues combined with drain blockages throughout your property, then this could be the sign of an external issue within the pipework or sewer. Just like the massive fatberg found in London, this can actually happen in the pipework underneath your home in the sewage systems as it becomes blocked up by non-degradable items and fats, oils or beauty products.

As well as this, if you live in a wooded area it’s possible for tree roots to grow inwards of your sewage pipes and pierce them, meaning they leak out and are exposed to sediment as well as other debris. In the case of this, it can cause issues both internally and externally to your property, so it’s important that you contact a professional who is qualified and experienced enough to address the situation.

You’ve Flushed Non-Flushable Items

The only thing that is meant to be disposed of down the toilet are things that can decompose with ease such as toilet paper. Anything else should be put in the bin, hundreds of thousands of people flush wet wipes, earbuds, cotton balls and hundreds of other things down their toilets.

These things over time gather and cause a massive blockage that can take weeks on end to clear. These things being flushed down the toilet can cause an instant back up that can cause sever damage to your property. Be sure that you make your whole family – especially young children aware of what they can and cannot put down the toilet. To make it easier make sure that you have a bin in the bathroom to make it easier to dispose of things.

Check Out This Detailed List Of What You Can Or Can’t Put Down Your Toilet
  • Food Fat

A serous problem, as it tends to bind around wet wipes and other things like clay around straw. “It slips down sinks very easily when warm but ones it hits the sewers it cools down and congeals into what we call fatbergs.”

  • Condoms

Difficult to flush, even though many people manage it, it could cause blockage.

  • Pets

Goldfish are most common of course, but hamsters and gerbils are also commonly flushed.

  • Nappies

These are a rarity, because of the sheer difficulty of getting one round the U-bend to begin with, but the blockages they cause can be terrible.

  • Cotton Buds and Tampons

They just won’t break down. It may take months or even years for a fatty ball of them to accumulate, but in the end they do block drains, which then have to be unblocked by hand.

  • Paint and Building Waste

The viscosity of paint causes problems when it joins a fatberg. Bits of rubble are heavy enough to settle in bends, providing a base on which wet wipes can food can collect.

  • Food

A piece of bread won’t do any harm, but bones or even apple cores do cause blockages. Sweetcorn collects in large quantities and an accumulation will cause a blockage.

You Have Hard Water Problems

Hard water can become a problem over time not just in your toilet but also with things like showers and taps. If your area has a high hardness of water, it indicates that there’s a copious amount of calcium and minerals within your water.

Not sure how hard the water is where you live? Find out by entering your postcode with the Water Hardness Map.

This isn’t great news as if not regularly checked it can lead to build up and calcify on the inside of your toilet, taps and shower head causing blockages and prevent full water efficiency. The white calcified substance can be difficult to remove, a bit like limescale, so it’s important that if you see the first signs of it that you do something about it as soon as possible.

Within a toilet, if hard water calcifies and builds up over time, it can set and make it a lot more difficult for water and other things to pass through your toilet system, leading to regular blockages. A solution to this would be either to have a professional Plumber to flush out the system, or have them install a water softener.

You Have Old or Outdated Pipework

You can’t see all of the sewage and pipework in your home so it can be difficult for you to judge whether it’s in good condition or not. As well as this, older homes have led pipework which can be dangerous and contaminate drinking water – So be sure to have your pipework checked if you feel unsure.

Things like collapsing pipes can cause a whole whirlwind of problems, one of the first signs of clogged pipework is sediment and backwash in your drainage systems. If the drainage systems all around your home appear slower or aren’t draining properly, this can be an indication of a bigger problem, and you should have it checked out. When left things like a burst or broken pipe can become costly, so it’s better to have it fixed sooner rather than later!

You Have A Clogged Trap Pipe

Your trap is a curved pipe under your toilet system, all it does is prevents sewer gasses from entering your home. If you’ve been flushing things that should not be flushed they can block up the trap pipe.

A simple way to solve this would be to use a plumber to get all the clogged up material out of the pipework. If this is the case and you remove any blockage, you should monitor toilet paper usage and keep out non-flushable materials to prevent causing a more serious issue.

Your Plumbing Vent Is Blocked

With more modern toilets they have a component called a plumbing vent that lets in fresh air to your plumbing system and heightens flushing pressure. As they’re an external component of your plumbing system, they can become clogged with debris such as sticks, animals, leaves and dirt.

When it happens, it means regular clogs for toilet and can cause it to back up and flood your home, which is really bad news. It also reduces the flushing pressure of your toilet meaning it inefficient. As a solution, it’s best to hire a professional cleaner as the issues can be difficult to spot as well as the fact that a professional will have access to unique, specialised tools for the job.

Make Sure You Take Care Of Your Toilet

When toilets are not looked after properly, it’s more than easy for them to become damaged and need costly repairs or replacements, As well as this if your toilet backs up and floods your home, you have a serious problem that can result in damage to your home.

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