Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Unclog a Toilet with Dishwashing Liquid

Okay, so how do you unclog a toilet without a plunger and an auger using dishwashing soap? Well, first, this won’t work if it’s clogged with a solid object such as one of your child’s toys. But if it’s excess paper or something like that, this works remarkably well.

Why not use a plunger and auger? Well, a plunger can damage the seal that keeps your toilet from flooding the floor. An auger is not the easiest thing in the world to figure out and it’s messy. So....

Dishwashing liquid. I’m talking about the kind you use to hand wash dishes. Squirt a generous amount into the clogged toilet bowl. Wait until the water level goes down a bit. Then fill a bucket (or empty wastebasket) with water and pour in from about waist high. You may need to repeat this 2 or 3 times but odds are that even the first or second time you’ll hear something starting to happen.

No mess, no broken seals, no overflow (assuming you stop pouring from the bucket before it goes over the top).

Your Resourceful Problem Solver,
April