One of the common domestic problems that almost everyone face is the clogging of a toilet. This is not less than a disaster. Some of us are living in our own homes, but a considerable amount of people are residing in some apartments, rental houses, hostels, or as paying guests. This problem of clogged toilets can happen anywhere. In this article, you will know how you can unclog a toilet with dish soap and hot water. No matter how much you have invested in your toilet for the sake of quality and a powerful drainage system. And you might try a plunger, toilet brush, and other household items or expensive chemical solutions, but are still fail to open the blockage.
What causes your toilet to be clogged?
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A clogged toilet is a very common problem. Sometimes the clog might be tissue paper, cleaning wipes, or toilet paper, it can be big poop too. Or it can be any other big or hard toilet essentials that you may drop mistakenly into the toilet. It can be a soap, toothbrush, razor or other such foreign subjects.
So here we have assembled all you need to know about using dish soap for a clogged toilet. Let’s have a look at them.
Use a Dish soap and Hot water
Getting trapped in a scenario where your toilet is obstructed and you don’t have accessibility to a plunger can just be stressful. If the blockage is stubborn, you may use a mixture of hot water and dish soap to retain your toilet clean and avoid overspill without contacting a plumbing service. Liquid dish soap is a very useful and handy remedy for clogged toilets. It works by acting as a lubricant for the clog.
Now moving toward the procedure of using dish soap and hot water in clearing the clog in a toilet, first, you’ll get to know what things of stuff you’ll need in the whole process.
Requirements
To unclog a toilet with dish soap and water method, you will need
- Safety Gloves
- Dish soap
- Hot water
- Plunger (optional)
How to unclog a toilet with Dish Soap & Hot Water: step-by-step
The following steps must be followed when trying to deal with a clogged toilet using dish soap and hot water:
- Firstly, wear gloves for your safety and hygiene.
- Then turn off the valve of the toilet to stop the water from coming in and going out from the toilet bowl.
- Then take out the overflowing water from the toilet bowl or use a plunger to let the water drain.
- Take a gallon of water and pour it into a utensil. Heat the water. Note that you need very hot water but not boiling water. As boiling water can cause severe damage to the parts of the toilet.
- Take any dish wash or dish soap that is available. Pour a half-cup to one cup of that dish soap into the toilet bowl. Give it some time to settle until the water is heated. The dish soap may help in displacing the clog from the hole.
- When you get your water heated (not boiling) then turn off the stove and carefully pour the hot water into the toilet. Be careful of the splashing of hot water.
- After pouring the hot water, you can leave it for almost half an hour. In that time the clog will loosen from the hole.
- Then take a plunger and start plunging. The dish soap and hot water will allow the clog to be dislodged.
- Stop plunging when the water in the toilet bowl will start going down from the outlet.
- After the clog is cleared, then flush the toilet.
Sometimes the clog is small or soft, so after pouring the hot water you might don’t need to plunge the clog. And sometimes the clog is much harder and tough to be clear, so you may need to pour more soap during plunging. It will solve your problem depending on your effort, patience, time and wisely dealing with the clog.
Why Dish Soap is good and How its work?
As liquid dish soap is having a thick consistency and more weight than the water, so when it is poured into the toilet bowl, after some time it’ll start to settle down. The dish soap will move towards the hole of the toilet. And at the hole, the clog is stuck. So when the liquid soap will reach the clog, it will lubricate the clog. After pouring the hot water into the toilet, the clog will get soaked and start to loosen. The whole procedure will take almost 30 minutes. That’s why it is inexpensive and a quick method to unclog a toilet.
What if dish soap is not available?
If you are out of the liquid dish wash or dish soap, don’t worry you may have many other alternatives that can be used in the place of dish soap. You can use a hand wash also, the procedure will be the same as dish soap. Or you can use bar soap, cut the bar into small pieces, pour them in water and mix until they get dissolved. Then use that water to unclog your toilet. You can use any laundry detergent or shampoo also to unclog your clogged toilet. Other than soapy items, you can use some household and kitchen ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, some kind of salts and bleach. All these items can be used as alternatives of dish soap.
