SeramaSilly Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 My toilets seem to keep blocking and it costs a fortune for the plumber to come out and sort. I am currently going through a housemove and really don't need to fork out again. Is there a magical product that I can put down it to sort it out. It still flushes but not all the toilet-paper - has been like this about a week - and is starting to pong!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 There are some things you can buy, but beware - I have a large hole in my bathroom carpet to testify to the fact that one tiny drop will burn it's way through anything! Is the blockage in the toilet, or is it a problem with a blockage in the sewer pipe? I think you need to be sure, because no amount of products will help if it's something like a disposable nappy jammed further down - do any of your neighbours have problems? A friend of mine had this once, and it was someone further down the road flushing nappies away .. If you're sure it is your loo, and not the sewer, then don't waste money on dangerous chemicals. I learned the hard way, as above. Take an ordinary old-fashioned mop - you may want to buy a cheap one, or use your existing one and buy a new one - you're not going to want to use it on the floor again. Use it like a sink plunger, to block the loo and then release. You may need to do this a few times, and flush in between, but it worked wonders when I had this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Oh no Are you on mains drainage? We aren't and have had problems recently with our septic tank. Is it all your toilets? if so would that suggest a problem with the drains rather than the toilets themselves? Do the sinks and baths drain ok or are they slow? Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken shack Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 As Olly said it could be the drains in which case call out the water board. They will clear it in no time. They come out very quickley also as it can be a health risk. If you have shared drains and the blockage is not on your property there is no charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 They come out very quickley also as it can be a health risk. Chicken Shack you must have a different water board to us. Neighbours had a leak on their mains which stopped the shared septic tank working (I will not go into details ) as it was full of clean water, it was reported before Christmas and they fixed it finally last week. The fact neighbours are in the eighties, he will be ninety this year had no working toilets did not matter to the water board, we are younger and could cope but not such an elderly couple. In the end OH sorted it temporarily so that we could all use our toilets. When the two workman arrived they were excellent, I could not fault them but trying to get people out to do the job was a nightmare. Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 As olly says a plunger might well do the trick. You can buy ones for loos but a mop is a brilliant idea. I would sort it whatever is causing it. It's not really fair to leave an ongoing problem with new buyers (has happened to me!) We have had an offer on our house and we have had the chimney swept,the boiler serviced and the septic tank emptied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 ypu can get these plunger things with an aersol attached from Homebase - after that all you need is the cannister and use the same plunger - great fun - we have 3 toilets and I lived in fear of pushing the blockage down one and up the other Beware our blockage was down to toilet wipes - deadly things for loos dynarod said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thank you everyone for your replies. It is only the upstairs toilet at the moment but has been the downstairs before. I will definitely sort it out before we move - I wouldn't want to inflict that on the poor people! Just wanted to try an inexpensive option first. I have been picking up the dog poo for a while with kitchen paper and flushing down the loo but that is the downstairs loo - could that be the problem do you think? Sophiex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Mmmmmmmm might be. Loo paper is made to fragment quickly....you can see that from how easily it falls apart when you use it as a hanky Kitchen roll has stiffeners and all sort in it to keep it intact when wet. When I lived in London suburbs I had raw sewage seeping out of my manhole. Long story............ but the a lovely bloke from the council,thinking laterally..... bless him, found a bend in the system five houses away which was jammed with disposable nappies. Makes you wonder what some people consider disposable means. Hope you get it sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Pudding Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 It could well be, especially if you use a brand of strong, long-lasting kitchen roll. Loo paper breaks up when it's flushed, into a soft slurry that won't block pipes - kitchen roll is treated so that it doesn't break up, a bit like the dreaded wipes. Even wipes sold as 'flushable' are horrors for blocking pipes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Another toilet horror is those cleaner blocks that go under the rim of the toilet. If the plastic bits get flushed away they can catch in the bend & stop anything else flushing away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindafw Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 We are on a septic tank shared with our neighbours...our drains link to theirs before running into the tank. My neighbour has a lovely photo of me stripped to my bra with my hand and arm to the shoulder inserted into sh#####t cleaning their pipes with my rods! ..In the full summer heat! I highly recommend purchasing your own rods..mine have a brush attachment so I can sweep the chimney too...ah the joys of becoming a single mum when the children were small and becoming as self sufficient as possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Quilted loo roll plays havoc with blocking our loo. So much so, we have resorted to putting paper in cheapo scented nappy sacks & into a bin. Obviously for number 2's it has to go down the loo. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 *goes off eating Marmite on toast* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Threads on Omlet are going down the pan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Threads on Omlet are going down the pan Or not depending on the state of your plumbing After our problems since before Christmas I have sympathy for anyone with plumbing issues. I know more about septic tanks than I ever wanted to know Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 So do I - I posted on here a year ago that I spent an interesting morning trying to unblock our drains with a pipe thing down the man hole - bum in air and postman who must be used to seeing Mill Hill women up to their necks in muck said "morning" grinned and walked off. Didnt offer to help. Dynarod were brill - we all stood watching our drains being unblocked - best enetertainment in a long time and something for younger son to discuss over school dinner table with his mates Cost £100- best £100 we had spent in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 When our drains blocked, it cost £15 to hire a set of the dynarod pole things from our local hire shop. Very simple to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatieB Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 It really is likely that the kitchen roll is the problem. It will create a blockage further along as it does not disintigrate as needed. Where we lived previously had problems and it was caused by potty training wipes (supposedly flushable). The man that came out said that they, along with moist bottom wipes (I know what I mean but cant think what they are called) and kitchen roll are major problems. In the meantime I would suggest you only put easily disposable paper down the loo, cheap stuff or caravan toilet paper both dissolve much quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Kitchen roll, quilted toilet paper, disposable nappies, "fushable" panty liners. and "flushable" wipes (like Kandoo) are all notorious for cauding problems. I remember seeing a programme on TV a while ago, the walls of the sewers were caked with dried bottom-wipes. Imagine the sort of papier mache project you might have done at school, that was the effect. They had to use electrical equipment to try and slice it off. Hope you get yours sorted soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 If the loo is draing but only slowly fill a bucket with water and chuck that down, just make sure that the capacity of the bucket isn't more than the capacity of the toilet bowl. I spent years living in an old house with bad drainage and became a dab and with a bucket, a sink plunger kept for just that purpose also works well followed by a bucket of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Another 'expert' drain clearer here too I usually try a bucket full of water first... a couple of times, then resort to the mop wrapped in a plastic carrier bag (tied on tightly!) that creates a better suction that just a mop. Luckily my manhole is right outside the back door and I have a set of rods which I can clear it with. It doesn't happen very often at home, but our drains at work are the worst the building is even older than my house and the problem seems to be caused by a kink in the really old waste pipes under our driveway - a local drain clearing company come and do this one, but it is usually caused by wet wipes sticking to the pipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 We have some of the rods and OH and I regularly spend time whizzing them thro the pipes - its an integral part of our relationship now - sometimes they work sometimes they dont. I bare my teeth at the sad cow on TV who is promoting Andrex bum wipes - she trills " all I wanted was a nation of clean bums" and I added sarkily "and blocked loos" we all fell about laughing. Romance is a morning spent cleaning the sewers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeramaSilly Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Oooooooo I've been pouring buckets down it and I think it is getting better - fingers crossed! Sophiex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Quilted loo roll plays havoc with blocking our loo. So much so, we have resorted to putting paper in cheapo scented nappy sacks & into a bin. Obviously for number 2's it has to go down the loo. Emma.x I do that......I liberate paper ST bags from motorway loos and put them on the fire. Guests are free to put loo paper down but I have a large notice on the wall, suitably embellished so that it's decorative, to say that putting anything else down is punishable by death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
