Is It Bad To Leave A Clogged Toilet Overnight?

What causes clogged toilets?

Toilets can get clogged in a variety of ways. The most common reasons clogs occur include:

• Foreign objects like feminine hygiene products and baby wipes that don’t dissolve in water are flushed down the toilet.
• Cracked, broken, or crushed pipes cause slow drains or blockages.  
• Too much toilet paper is used.
• Hard water leads to mineral buildup in the pipes, causing blockages.

Can a clogged toilet cause a leak?

If you have a clogged toilet it is possible it could cause a leak. Often you’ll notice a leak at the base of the toilet. This might be because there is a clog that’s putting pressure on the wax ring that seals the toilet to the drain.

Can one clogged toilet affect another?

When one toilet gets clogged, it is possible for other toilets in the home to be clogged as well. In this case, the clogs are usually caused by a back-up in the main sewer line. It’s also likely other drains are clogging or draining slowly if your sewer line is blocked. In order to unclog the toilets and other drains, the blockage in the sewer line will need to be cleaned. Tree roots entering the sewer lines are a common cause of sewer line blockages.   

Will a toilet eventually unclog itself?

While a clogged toilet might seem like a disaster, it is possible for the toilet to unclog itself. This will often depend on what is causing the clog. If it’s just an excess of toilet paper or other paper products that dissolve in water, you can wait for the products to dissolve and this should unclog the toilet. On the other hand, if the paper product isn’t water-soluble—many types of wet wipes, for instance—or it’s something more solid like a child’s toy or dropped razor, you’ll probably need to plunge the toilet or clear the clog some other way.

What can you pour down a toilet to unclog it?

As with other drains, when you have a clogged toilet, plumbing professionals recommend that you not use harsh off-the-shelf drain cleaners to unclog your toilet. If you have a simple clog, however, you can unclog your toilet with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. You pour the baking soda in first, then the vinegar, and allow the mixture to start fizzing. Let the mixture fizz for a few minutes to break through the clog, and then pour in a pot of hot water. Check to see if the clog is cleared. You may have to repeat these steps a few times to clear the clog. Afterward, flush the toilet to get it fully cleaned out.

Will Coke help unclog a toilet?

Another home remedy that can unclog toilet drains is pouring a 2-liter of Coke or similar cola product down the toilet. Colas are fairly caustic, though not as bad as chemical drain cleaners, and are especially good at eating away buildup in any of your drains. After you let the cola sit for about an hour so the acids in the drink can do their work, you’ll need to flush the toilet or rinse the drain to clean off the syrupy residue from the soda.

How do you unclog a toilet when a plunger doesn’t work?

Plungers are often some of the most useful tools to clear minor clogs. But, if you’ve plunged your clogged toilet and it’s still clogged, some other methods you can try before calling a plumber include using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar or as noted above pouring in a cola product. You might also want to try unbending a wire hanger and sliding the hooked end down to pull out materials like hair or paper. You have to be careful with a hanger and not scratch the toilet bowl, as this could seriously damage the ceramic. Similarly, you have to be careful using any hand-cranked drain auger or snake. Use tools like these that are specifically designed for toilets.