Nobody wants a slow-draining toilet. It is challenging to take care of and requires time and patience. There are many reasons you may have a slow draining toilet; low water levels, a clog, and mineral buildup are just some of the many reasons for this. Despite requiring time and patience when being taken care of, a slow draining toilet can be fixed in many ways.
Dealing with a slow-draining toilet can be quite a difficult task for anyone. You must maintain your toilet regularly and often to prevent the drain from becoming slow. Ideally, you should contact a plumber to fix your slow-draining toilet. The professional will know how to repair your toilet, restoring its draining speed to normal again.
Alternatively, you can also try to repair the slow draining toilet by yourself. There are six ways on how to fix a slow draining toilet:
1. Use a plunger on a slow draining toilet
Using a plunger should always be your first resort upon first noticing that your toilet drains slower than usual. Plungers are explicitly designed to unclog toilets, which is one of the reasons a toilet may be slow to drain.
Simply insert a plunger into the toilet bowl to clean your toilet with a plunger. Apply force to the plunger to make it move up and down continuously. Do this for about 15-20 minutes and flush to see if any progress has been made. This method may need to be repeated multiple times to achieve ideal results.
2. Fix with a toilet auger
If a plunger fails to work, it’s time to move on to the next best thing. A toilet auger is a tool designed specifically to unclog toilets; it is much more aggressive than a plunger and has a higher success rate for unclogging toilets. To use a toilet auger, insert the auger cable into the toilet bowl.
While inside the bowl, crank the handle a few times so the cable can work its magic. After a few cranks, remove the cable and flush to see if the toilet has been unclogged.
3. Fix a toilet with a plumbing snake
Like a toilet plunger or auger, a plumbing snake is a long metal tool designed to tackle hard-to-treat plumbing clogs. It is most popular when a plunger or auger may not work as planned. To use a plumbing snake to unclog a toilet, simply insert the snake into the toilet bowl and twist it while it’s inside the drain.
Once the spring catches hold of whatever may be clogging the drain, it will become more resilient; that is your sign that it’s time to pull out the plumbing snake from the drain and cut off the excess wire.
4. Fix a toilet with baking soda & hot water
Using tools is not the only way a slow-draining toilet can be treated. There are also many ways it can be treated using everyday household products! Baking soda is one of the many standard household products used to unclog drains; to treat a slow draining toilet using baking soda and hot water, ensure your toilet is fully drained.
Once fully drained, pour baking soda with a pot of boiling water into the toilet bowl. Let this mixture sit for an hour and flush.
5. Invest in enzyme cleaning & drain cleaning products
Enzyme/drain cleaning products are designed to break down clogging materials present in the drain. They are simple and easy to use. They require little patience and time to achieve the best results! It is always best to read the instructions for each cleaning product, but a general rule of thumb is to pour the product into a fully drained toilet and let it sit. After letting it sit for a while, flush the toilet and repeat until the drain is no longer slow.
6. Using vinegar, baking soda & hot water
Similar to the baking soda and hot water hack, this one also utilizes common household products. Vinegar is another example, similar to baking soda, that can be used to treat a clogged toilet. To use this mixture to unclog your toilet drain, first ensure the toilet bowl is fully drained of all water. Then, pour one part of baking soda into two parts of vinegar and let it sit for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, pour in hot water and let it sit for a few more minutes. After a few minutes, flush your toilet to unveil the final results. This method may need to be repeated a few times, but the results will be all worthwhile in the end!