How do I unblock a toilet which I believe to be clogged with tea leaves?

Question

OK, i know tea leaves sound a bit strange but thats what im pretty sure has blocked my toilet...i have tried hot water and washing up liquid and a plunger but nothing is working...

i guess the hot water method didnt work cos it cant really dissolve tea leaves.

help! i dont wanna have to call a plumber or take apart the toilet!! :(:(:(

Answer 1

DO NOT use any strong drain cleaners cause they can splash up and onto you, and they can also damage the porcelain, unless the cleaner says it's ok for toilet use. If you have already put strong drain cleaner in your toilet, make sure you put on glasses to protect your eyes in case water splashes up into your face.

This may sound silly, but make sure you are using the plunger properly. Something as simple as a plunger? "Oh please," you say, rolling your eyes, but hear me out.

Make sure you have enough water in the toilet bowl so the plunger head will be completely submerged.

Bend over, and grab the handle of the plunger with both hands, and put the head of the plunger under water and get rid of any air that might be trapped underneath the bowl of the plunger head.

Put the head of the plunger down over the drain and make sure you have a good seal that will not let water pass around the edges of the plunger. If you don't do this, you will be wasting your time.

Push the plunger halfway down, then tense your arms up and using just your forearms very quickly and vigorously pump the plunger up and down, only an inch or so.

This will create a strong pulsing motion of the water in the drain that will force it back and forth. This should usually be enough to dislodge and break up clumpy stuff like paper and hopefully tea leaves from the drain.

Too many people just try to push the plunger all the way and all the way down only a couple times and wonder why their plunger doesn't work.

OK I just found a video on youtube, watch carefully how he tries it, and then at the 0:30 mark see how it does it and it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MubTKOI79...

Good luck

Answer 2

If it wasn't you that dumped several kilos of tea down the loo, then make THEM pay for the plumber.

But in any case, there is several possible solutions.

Easiest would be to go to a hardware renter and lease a plumbing snake and use that.

Next, use a caustic or acidic solution to start dissolving the clog.

You can also use a bottle of compressed gasses and chemicals to hopefully force the blockage...the issue being that some pipes could rupture with this.

Good Luck!