I had a toilet clog that I could not see. I plunged and plunged and plunged, went to the dry cleaner to get a wire hanger, you name it. Nothing worked.
Someone suggested putting a cup of dishwashing liquid in the bowl and flushing, then let the bowl fill up again (thought it was going to overflow!) and put another cup in and let it sit for a couple of hours. Then flush.
I’ll be damned. It worked.
Hmm, helped whatever was in there slide through I guess. Get a hand cranked snake next time - much better than a plunger.
You tried plunging, plunging and plunging, a wire hanger and a cup of soap.
And you credit only the cup of soap? Do you think the plunging might have loosened something and been a major factor?
Would this work on a clogged bathtub?
Yes, yes and no.
It worked like toilet lube.
If the plunging had worked at any point, the bowl wouldn’t had almost overflowed on the refill after every time I flushed.
If you Google dishwashing liquid in a clogged toilet you will see a bazillion (give or take a few) sites that tell you how to do this.
so, just how much grease are you eating?
The snake can be a useless piece of junk if you have extended (and convoluted) piping. There are some specific cleaning products just for unclogging, you pour half of the bottle in, wait a few hours and rinse. Available at every supermaket.
the weight of a full toilet bowl of water can eventually let a clog finally let loose, it stresses the clog until it weakens and breaks.
did you do your last flush with the bowl full to the rim with water? or a lower amount?
In my experience, along that path lies madness. And much anger.
Had this one clog that just… would… not… let… loose. So I bought this thing from Home Depot that had a compressed air capsule. Put that thing in the toilet, pushed the trigger, and BAM! That clog was an unclog!
I dunno, Pyper - the detergent basically breaks down any solidified fats. I have had success with bi-carb soda and white vinegar for bathtub blockages though.
Toilet clogs usually are lots of poop and lots of paper. Detergent and time will usually loosen that up. Bathtub clogs are the stuff you wash off yourself, that is skin oil, hair oil, soap and hair, all mooshed together. It all turns black after a while. Detergent and a plunger might work on that, too, but the plunger is the more active part.
Remember to cover the overflow drain with a wet cloth while plunging. Sometimes that makes it a two-person job. The pulling up stroke is usually more important than the push.