- 2 months ago
A toilet that keeps clogging again and again often has a simple cause: weak flush power, not a need for a plumber. This practical home repair guide shows how to clear a stubborn clog with plain dish soap and hot tap water, then how to stop repeat clogs by fixing the water level in the tank and holding the handle down long enough for a full flush.
The method starts with a safe, free way to soften the blockage using soap and hot water, with a clear warning to avoid boiling water and never mix cleaners. Then it moves to the tank, where the overflow pipe, fill valve, and flapper can all affect how strongly your toilet flushes. If the water level is too low, or if the handle is released too quickly, the toilet may only give a weak half flush and clog again.
Created for anyone searching for toilet clog fixes, clogged toilet repair, plumbing tips, DIY home maintenance, and simple toilet tank adjustments. It’s also useful for homeowners who want a stronger flush, fewer repeat clogs, and a no-tools toilet repair they can try before calling a plumber.
The method starts with a safe, free way to soften the blockage using soap and hot water, with a clear warning to avoid boiling water and never mix cleaners. Then it moves to the tank, where the overflow pipe, fill valve, and flapper can all affect how strongly your toilet flushes. If the water level is too low, or if the handle is released too quickly, the toilet may only give a weak half flush and clog again.
Created for anyone searching for toilet clog fixes, clogged toilet repair, plumbing tips, DIY home maintenance, and simple toilet tank adjustments. It’s also useful for homeowners who want a stronger flush, fewer repeat clogs, and a no-tools toilet repair they can try before calling a plumber.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00There are few troubles in a house that bring on that sinking dread, quite like a toilet that will
00:05not flush, the water rising instead of falling, and you standing there with the plunger doing
00:11nothing, already thinking of the plumber's bill, or worse, of buying a whole new toilet.
00:17Well, before you spend a penny, let me tell you two things. First, there is a way to clear a
00:23stubborn clog with nothing but a thing under your kitchen sink. No plunger, no plumber,
00:28no harsh chemical that works nearly every time. And second, and this is the part almost no one
00:35shows you, there are two small free fixes inside your toilet tank that will stop the clogging from
00:41happening again at all and turn a weak, always clogging toilet into a strong one without buying
00:47a new thing. So today I will show you both how to clear the clog you have and how to
00:52stop it coming
00:53back for free. Let me show you. Here is the thing to understand first, for it is the root
00:58of the whole trouble, and it tells you why both fixes work. A toilet clogs, and a toilet clogs
01:04again and again, most often for one reason. It is not moving enough water with enough force
01:10to carry everything cleanly through and away. Either something has caught and the water cannot
01:15get past it, which is your clog now. Or, the deeper trouble, your toilet simply flushes
01:21weak, with too little water moved too feebly, so that things do not clear all the way and
01:26catch and build and clog over and over. So the clearing of a clog is about getting water
01:31and a grease cutter through the blockage to soften and free it. And the stopping of the clogging
01:37for good is about getting your toilet to flush with its full strength of water the way it was
01:42meant to. Weak water is the whole problem, and strong water is the whole cure. Now let
01:48me give you both, the clearing first, and then the stopping.
01:52Quick word before we go further. My name is Esther Yoder, and the old household ways handed
01:57down to me, the kind I am sharing today, and a great many more besides, are far more than
02:02I could ever fit into one video. I have gathered the whole of them into a book, and you will
02:08find
02:08it at EliasYoder.com. If today's tips serve you, that is where the rest of what my mother and
02:14grandmother taught me lives, all in the one place. Now, to the toilet. My grandmother had a saying that
02:21fits this to the very ground, that most troubles are not solved by force but by understanding, and the
02:27person who knows how a thing works fixes it where the one who only pushes harder fails. She meant that
02:33so many of us, faced with a stuck thing, only shove at it harder, when if we understood what
02:39was truly wrong, we could mend it easy. And the clogging toilet is the very picture of it, for folk
02:45plunge and plunge by main force, and never think to ask why it clogs. And the answer, once you
02:51know it, is a small, free fix. So here is her kind of understanding applied to the toilet, the clearing
02:57and then the true cure.
02:59First, the clearing of the clog you have right now, when you have plunged and plunged and the water just
03:05sits there and will not go down. Do not despair and do not call anyone yet, for there is a
03:10thing under your
03:11kitchen sink that clears most any clog, and it is plain dish soap and hot water. Here is why it
03:17works.
03:18A good part of what clogs a toilet is bound up with grease and waste, and the dish soap is
03:23a grease cutter that
03:24slicks and softens and breaks up the clog, while the hot water melts and loosens it, and the two together,
03:30given a little time to work down into the blockage, free it so it flushes away. And here is the
03:35way to do
03:36it right, for there is a right way that works far better than the way most folk try. Now heed
03:41this first,
03:42for it is a real caution and the source of much woe. Use hot water, but not boiling water. Get
03:48your water good and hot
03:49from the tap, but do not pour a hard rolling boil into the toilet, for boiling water can crack the
03:56porcelain of
03:57the bowl, which is a ruinous thing, and it can damage the wax seal beneath the toilet besides. So hot
04:04from the tap,
04:05hot as it runs, but never boiling. If you want it hotter, you may warm it just short of a
04:11boil, but pour it hot,
04:13not boiling, into the porcelain. Here is the method, step by step. Have about two gallons of hot tap water
04:22ready. Now, the step most folk get wrong. Before you add any soap, pour a quart or two of the
04:30hot water
04:30into the bowl first, to warm up the cold water sitting in there, for the soap works far better in
04:37warm water
04:37than in cold. Then pour in a good quantity of dish soap, a quarter to a third of the bottle,
04:45right into
04:45the bowl, and let it settle down toward the clog for a minute. Then take the rest of your hot
04:52water and pour
04:53it in on top of the soap, minding not to fill it so full it overflows. And now the most
05:00important part,
05:01the whole secret, you wait. You leave it to sit a good forty-five minutes to an hour, and you
05:08walk
05:08away, for it wants that time to coat and soften and work its way down through the clog. This is
05:14my
05:15grandmother's patience again, the thing doing its work while you go about your day. And often, as it
05:21works, you will see the water level drop on its own before you ever touch the handle, and that is
05:27your
05:27sign, it is working. After your three-quarters of an hour, flush, and you will most often hear that
05:34good, full flush, and find your trouble gone. And if it did not fully clear, no matter, simply do it
05:41again, and the second go clears what the first did not. Soap, hot water, and patience, and the
05:48plumber never called. Now, part two, the part almost no one shows you, and the true heart of this, why
05:56your
05:56toilet keeps clogging, and the free fix that stops it. For clearing a clog is well and good, but if
06:03your
06:03toilet clogs again next week, and the week after, something is wrong with the flush itself, and here is
06:09where you truly mend it. The trouble, most often, is that your toilet is not flushing with enough
06:15water and enough force, especially the newer, water-saving toilets that are made to use little
06:21water, and so often flush weak. But you can give near any toilet a stronger flush, for free, with no
06:28new toilet and no tools, and here is how in two fixes. Lift the lid off the tank, that covered
06:35box
06:35behind the seat, and set it gently aside, and look inside. There are two things in there we care about.
06:42The first is a tall pipe standing up in the middle, called the overflow pipe. It is there to carry
06:48water
06:48safely down the drain if the tank ever overfills. Now look at the level of the water sitting in your
06:54tank, and see how high it comes up that overflow pipe. Here is the rule. You want that water level
07:01to sit
07:01up near the top of the overflow pipe, just a little below its rim, for the higher the water in
07:06the tank,
07:07the more water rushes down when you flush, and the stronger the flush. If your water is sitting well down
07:13low,
07:14far below the top of that pipe, then there is your trouble. Your toilet is starved of water and
07:20flushing weak, and that is why it clogs. And here is the free fix, and it wants no tools at
07:26all.
07:27Look for the other part, the fill valve, the tall piece off to one side that lets the water in
07:32to
07:33refill the tank. On the common kind, you will find a little screw or an adjustment on the top of
07:39that fill
07:39valve. To raise your water level, you turn that screw slowly clockwise, to the right, a little at a time,
07:46and it raises the level the tank fills to. Turn it slow, and watch the water rise, and bring it
07:53up until
07:53it sits just below the top of the overflow pipe, near the top, but not so high it runs down
07:59into the pipe.
08:00If you raise it too far, and water starts running into the overflow pipe, just turn the screw back the
08:06other way,
08:06to the left, until it stops. And that is all there is to it. You have given your toilet the
08:12full tank of water
08:13it was starved of, and a far stronger flush, for nothing. And here is the second free fix, and this
08:20one
08:20almost no one knows, and it may be the most useful thing I tell you today. It is in how
08:26you flush.
08:28Most folk press the handle and let it go right away, a quick little press. But here is what happens.
08:34Down in the bottom of the tank is a rubber piece called the flapper, that lifts to let the water
08:40rush out,
08:41and drops back to seal the tank so it can refill. When you press the handle and let go quick,
08:47that flapper drops back down too soon, cutting off the flush early, before all the water has left the tank.
08:54So you get a weak half flush, not enough to carry everything through. So here is the proper way, and
09:01it costs nothing.
09:02Press the handle down and hold it down, and do not let it up until all the water has rushed
09:08out of the tank,
09:09and the bowl has fully flushed clear. Hold it a few seconds longer, the flapper stays up,
09:15and the whole tank empties in one strong rush, that carries everything cleanly away, and cleans the pipe as it
09:22goes.
09:22Those extra couple of seconds give you a powerful flush, and that alone is often enough to stop the clogging
09:29for good.
09:30Raise your tank water, hold your flush, and a weak clogging toilet flushes strong.
09:36Now here is the honest word I always owe you, so you know when these fixes are not enough.
09:41The soap and water and the stronger flush clear and prevent most every clog.
09:47But if you have done all of it, cleared it with the soap and raised your tank and learned to
09:52hold your flush, and it still clogs,
09:55then it may be that something solid has fallen in and lodged down in the trap.
09:59That curved passage in the toilet, a child's toy or a bottle or some such thing that no amount of
10:06water will flush past.
10:08And that is a different trouble that wants a different tool.
10:11A good plunger worked hard, or a closet auger, that special toilet snake made to reach down into the trap
10:18and hook or break up a blockage,
10:20or for a thing truly stuck, a plumber, or the toilet lifted to reach it, which is a bigger job.
10:27So know the difference. The soap and the flush fixes for the common clog, which is most of them,
10:33and the plunger or the auger or a plumber for a solid object stuck in the trap.
10:39Use the right tool for the trouble you have.
10:41And a plain word of safety, as ever.
10:44Whatever you do, never pour bleach into the bowl or tank along with vinegar or another cleaner, nor mix cleaners
10:52in there,
10:52for bleach and acid together make a poison gas.
10:56The good news is this whole fix is only dish soap and water, which is perfectly safe.
11:02But keep the bleach out of it and away from any other cleaner, always.
11:06Now think a moment about why we came to believe a clogging toilet means a plumber's bill
11:11or a whole new water-guzzling power flush toilet, when a bit of dish soap and a turn of a
11:17little screw
11:18and holding the handle down a few seconds longer fix it for nothing.
11:22It is worse than a plot, for no one had to arrange it.
11:26There is money in the plumber's call and in selling you a new toilet,
11:30and none at all in teaching you that your toilet was only flushing weak and starved of water.
11:35And that you can give it back its full strength for free with your own two hands.
11:40So the plain knowing of how a toilet works and how to mend its weak flush just stopped being handed
11:46down,
11:47because no one profits by your fixing it yourself for nothing.
11:51My grandmother's rule was that understanding beats force.
11:54And somewhere between her day and ours, we were taught to plunge harder and call for help,
12:00rather than lift the lid and see what was truly wrong.
12:03The mending of it is dish soap, a little understanding and your own two hands.
12:08You clear the clog you have with dish soap and hot, not boiling, water left to soften it three quarters
12:15of an hour
12:16and a second go if it wants one.
12:18And then you stop it coming back for free.
12:21You lift the tank lid, you raise your water level up near the top of the overflow pipe
12:26with a little screw on the fill valve.
12:28And you flush properly by holding the handle down till all the water rushes out.
12:34And your toilet flushes strong and clears clean and clogs no more for nothing at all.
12:41And you know that a solid thing stuck in the trap wants the plunger or the auger instead.
12:47That is how it comes home.
12:49One cleared clog, one strong flush at a time.
12:54The keeping of your own house back in your own hands.
12:58So here is what I would ask of you.
13:01This week, even if your toilet is running fine, lift the lid off your tank
13:06and check where your water sits against that overflow pipe.
13:10And raise it if it is low.
13:12And start holding your handle down when you flush.
13:16And then come back and tell me in the comments what a difference the stronger flush made.
13:21For I do love to hear of a body mending a thing themselves that they thought wanted a plumber.
13:28And tell me too, while you are there, your county and the age of your house.
13:33For the old houses have the old plumbing.
13:36And the new ones the weak, water-saving toilets.
13:39And the troubles run so different.
13:42And I learn from every one of you how it goes where you live.
13:46And if your own mother or grandmother had a plumbing trick I have not named here,
13:52tell me that most of all.
13:53For that is how this goes.
13:55We share what we were given.
13:57I read every comment.
13:59And I learn from you the way the old women learned from one another across the fence line.
14:05One house and one season at a time.
14:08Next time I will show you the other small plumbing fixes anybody can do themselves without a plumber.
14:15The running toilet that wastes water day and night.
14:19The weak or dripping faucet.
14:21The small mends that save a fortune in bills and repairs.
14:24For there is a great deal in a house that wants only understanding and not an expensive hand.
14:31There is a right and an old way to keep a home's workings running
14:35that runs on knowing how a thing works rather than paying another to touch it.
14:41But this week you start with the toilet.
14:43You clear any clog with dish soap and hot, not boiling, water and a little patience.
14:50And then you lift the lid and raise your tank water and learn to hold your flush.
14:55And you turn a weak clogging toilet into a strong one for free.
15:00And you will understand, as my grandmother did, that most troubles yield not to force but to understanding.
15:07That a toilet clogs because it flushes weak and starved of water.
15:12And that the fix the plumber and the salesman never show you is a turn of a little screw
15:18and a few seconds hold of the handle, costing nothing at all.
15:22The household kept the plain old way is the one that remembers how the old folk
15:28mended the workings of a house themselves with a little understanding and their own two hands.
15:33And that is a thing we are only just starting to remember.