How to Unclog a Toilet Without a Plunger

It always happens when there is no plunger in the house. The good news is you can usually unclog a toilet without a plunger using a few things from the kitchen and laundry. Here is what actually works, in the order to try it. Before you start, if the bowl is near the rim, wait twenty minutes for the level to drop so you have room to work, and resist the urge to flush again.

Hot water and dish soap

This is the first thing to try and it works surprisingly often.

1. Squirt a generous amount of dishwashing liquid into the bowl, or drop in a few chopped pieces of bar soap.
2. Boil the kettle, then let it sit for a minute so it is hot, not boiling (boiling water can crack the porcelain).
3. Pour the hot water into the bowl from about waist height. The height adds a bit of force.
4. Give it ten to fifteen minutes. The soap lubricates the blockage and the warm water softens it, and it often slides through on its own.

Bicarb soda and vinegar

The same fizzing reaction that cleans drains can break up a toilet blockage.

1. Tip one cup of bicarb soda into the bowl.
2. Slowly add two cups of white vinegar, it will fizz up.
3. Leave it for half an hour, then pour in a bucket of hot water and see if it clears.

A toilet brush or a wire hanger

Not glamorous, but effective. Push the head of a toilet brush into the outlet and pump it like a plunger, the brush forms enough of a seal to shift a nearby blockage. A straightened wire coat hanger with the end bent into a small hook can also hook out a blockage close to the bowl. Go gently, you can scratch or crack the porcelain if you are rough.

An enzyme or “bio” drain product

If the blockage is organic (paper, waste) and you are not in a screaming hurry, an enzyme-based drain product left overnight can dissolve it. These are gentle on pipes, unlike caustic cleaners, but they are slow, so they are a “tonight” fix, not a “right now” one.

When to stop and call a plumber

If none of that works, or it clears and then blocks again within a day, the problem is not in the toilet, it is further down the line. A recurring block usually means roots or a partial blockage in the sewer the whole house shares. At that point a plunger would not help either, so do not keep at it.

For the plunger method and more, see our guide on how to unblock a toilet. And if you are in Newcastle and the toilet is still blocked, our 24/7 blocked toilet plumbers will clear it without the mess.