Toilet Blocking Up

JHet

Hi Folks,

I live in an apartment and I'm noticing every two or three times I go to the lu its blocking up. Its only a problem with solids and its been happening consistently ever since I moved in a few months ago. The thing is its generally very easy to unblock, usually a couple of seconds with the plunger and its flushing properly again.

The only thing is its getting annoying having to do it. Does it sound like a problem with the toilet itself or something further on down the pipe.
Is there anything I could do to stop this happening myself?

Thanks

Kashkai

Living in an apartment might make it tricky to find out where the actual blockage is.

The first thing you should do is buy a "Drain Bomb" from woodies, b&q etc. Its basically a big plunger where you place the business end over the mouth of the bowl, you pull up the handle which sucks up the water and then you compress the handle and it forces the blockage through the pipe into the drain. I bought one a few years ago when my loo got backed up and the blockage turned out to be one of those toilet rim blocks that had come loose and was blocking the outlet pipe.

However in your case, the blockage could be caused by someone else's loo further along the line. In this case, get the management company to investigate or talk to your neighbours to see if they're having troubles with their drains.

JHet

Thanks Dave

Is there any chemical solutions people could suggest? As I say it only blocking every third time or so and its generally very easy to unblock so maybe something that would breakdown the crap further down the pipe?

Cheers

old hippy

Dunno about apts but our ground floor flat, the toilet was blocking every few months, it was costing and it turns out that the blockage was upstairs flushing her tampons/food down the u bend :mad:

We had a word and she stopped but the drainage round our way is poor, so once or twice a year we still have to unblock. We bought the metal rods and do it ourselves now. Not the most pleasant of tasks!

Kashkai

JHet wrote: »

Thanks Dave

Is there any chemical solutions people could suggest? As I say it only blocking every third time or so and its generally very easy to unblock so maybe something that would breakdown the crap further down the pipe?

Cheers

How old is your apartment complex? There could be a build up of grease in the pipes that has restricted the diametre of the sewer pipe which is why liquid waste flushes freely while solid waste gets stuck. If this is the case, you'll need the pipes power flushed to dislodge the grease. A CCTV survey of the wastewater pipe network would show you where the problem is. If the apartment complex is old, then your problem could be caused by tree roots that have broken through into the pipework and are blocking it.

I don't think throwing chemicals down the loo would work as they would be diluted the further along the pipework they went to the point of being useless. Try the drain bomb I suggested to see if it clears the problem (if its at your end). They only cost a tenner and it solved my blocked loo in seconds.

JHet

The apartments are only about 5 yrs old!

Joey the lips

I dont want to sound stupid but have you tried a couple of things.

For example. Check the water mark in the cistern and make sure you are getting a full flush.

Are you using expensive toilet roll. Sometimes the very quilted can be terriable to flush.