How to Unplug Your Toilet

We've all had this experience. You really have to go but someone has just made your toilet nonfunctional. You've tried to plunging it until your hands and wrist started to ache but no amount of effort seems to get things flowing again. You've thought of calling a plumber but they're expensive at even the normal labor rate. So what can you do besides getting your body tired by continuing what you are doing?

• Most people don't know how to plunge a toilet properly to begin with. They push and push until the wax seal breaks out and then they have another problem to contend with. Also, they've bought the wrong toilet plunger.
• The most effective plunger to buy is the one that has a flap that folds out so the rubber end looks like a bell. Stay away from the one that looks like a saucer.
• To properly plunge your toilet first make sure the flap on the plunger is extended out. Then place the end into the hole. Slowly push the plunger down into the hole until the air in the plunger is expelled. This creates a vacuum in the plunger. Make sure the outside rim of the plunger is fully seated over the hole on the bottom of the bowl. Then with a quick jerking motion pull the plunger so that the vacuum created lifts the water out of the hole and releases the obstruction. You may have to do this several times before you are successful.

After many attempts using this method without success I discovered another way.

• Hot water! My bathtub is next to the toilet, so I filled a large pot with hot water and poured it into the bowl to soften the obstruction and within eight or nine potfuls I was successful. As soon as I saw that the water level was going down quicker I used the plunger once again and then tried to flush and it worked!

Next time this happens you should try these methods. You'll save your muscles and your pocketbook!

Ryan writes at http://www.fiftyandahalf.com, a blog about life in your fifties. He is always on the lookout for ideas on how to make life easier and ways to improve the quality of life.