Afternoon all, newbie here seeking some advice. Skill level - not professional, not even particularly handy, but willing to have a go ie probably a menace to all and sundry. Toilet blocked, used a plunger, used some drain cleaner, no joy. Someone from a company came round, stuck some rods in, no joy. Their diagnosis, going to come back next week, drill a hole in the soil pipe and go in that way and maybe use a camera to see if there is a blockage. At the mention of the need for audiovisual equipment my alarm bells started ringing. Would it not be easier to remove the toilet and check the waste pipe going from the toilet - seems logical to me and which I am happy to attempt. Any thoughts gratefully received. For the record, the water levels are usually quite low in the toilet and it blocks fairly regularly but a plunger sorts it easily.....don't know if this has any bearing on anything....cheers
Few questions. Toilet, upstairs or downstairs. External manhole close by. Internal or external stack pipe if upstairs.
As Phil has suggested, lift the manhole cover lid as could be blocked in there. if it is have a rake around with something like a garden cane/broom handle and find the exit hole as that could be blocked possibly with a chunk of fallen off render if it an older build property.
Hi Was the small hole in the soil pipe below the branch? Did water come out? If no water came out,the problem will be in the branch! If water came out and the level in the pan dropped, blockage further down? Regards Peter
Many, many thanks for your replies, and to answer: it's an upstairs toilet, nothing else runs into the soil pipe which is external. Manhole cover is in the alley which belongs to the business next door so will have a poke around there first thing tomorrow am. Hole hasn't been made in the soil pipe yet, it's what being proposed by the company that came round ....
Might seem grim but first thing I'd try is get a black refuse sack put my arm in, put my hand down the toilet and feel around the trap at the bottom to make sure there's not a nice big pile of toilet paper blocking it...
Blocked toilet for me, usually means chucking two or three boiled kettle-fulls of water down the toilet. Leave it for half hour, then flush flush flush. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
I'd go straight to that manhole cover and investigate there. Drain rods aren't too expensive. Normally like above said you can rod and it will clear. I like the rods cause you can stand away from the nasty stuff
You say there is a business next door, I'd bet they have put something down there. Public don't care what's not there's. Found all sorts over the years wet wipes are right pain and normally do it.