Is there any more helpless feeling than when a toilet, sink or shower clogs and begins backing up into your home? The sewer and drain experts at Roto-Rooter, your 24-hour plumbing company, knows clogs better than anyone. After all, we invented the electric drain cleaning machine in 1935 that started an entire sewer and drain cleaning industry.  When you experience a clogged drain, here are some plumbing tips that should help.

For clogged toilets, if the bowl won’t drain and threatens to overflow, quickly remove the tank lid and lift up the float ball to stop the flow of water from the tank to the bowl. Then reach down and turn off the water valve at the base of the toilet to prevent the tank from refilling itself. Get a plunger and fit the rubber cup over the drain hole tightly. Thrust downward four or five times then pull back. Repeat as necessary. Most clogs will clear this way.

For kitchen sink clogs, use a sink plunger, not a toilet plunger. Make sure there is enough water in the sink to cover the rubber cup of the plunger. Then thrust about ten times and pull the plunger loose. If the sink doesn’t begin draining, repeat. If the plunger doesn’t work, get a bucket and place it under the P-trap (the U-shaped drainpipe in the sink plumbing under the sink). Remove the slip nuts on the pipe and pull it free. Allow the sink to drain into the bucket. Run a bottle cleaning brush or wrap a rag around a flexible cable and clear the gunk and debris from the P-trap pipe. This is where most clogs form.

If your clog is deeper inside your plumbing, it is time to call in a professional for help. Roto-Rooter sewer and drain technicians have professional equipment that will not only clear the clog, it will thoroughly clean your drain pipes to prevent them from clogging for a long time. Call 1 877-784-6074 to have one of our experienced plumbers stop by.