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Toddlers and the Toilet!

pmcplumber • Oct 26, 2019

Little Henry is ready for potty training! Yay! A milestone! However, now he has a new interest…the toilet! If you have little ones you know quiet can be ominous…and then you find him, trying to flush his trucks down the toilet! If you’re a parent you’ve been there! But, once you realize something is stuck down the toilet drain, what can you do?

Get your gloves on and grab some old towels…here we go!

1 – Scoop almost all the water out of the bowl

2 – If you can see the toy, try to pull it out….if that doesn’t work, it’s time to get a little more intense! You will need some tools…

3 – Plunger – make the first plunge gentle as the cup of the plunger is still full of air. Now begin firmly pushing the plunger up and down as rapidly as possible. It’s important not to be too forceful, as this may cause damage to the toilet bowl. Allow just enough water to remain in the bowl to completely cover the cup or rubber part of the plunger. This may release the toy so you can take it out or it may push smaller items down the drain and the remaining water will drain out of the bowl. If that doesn’t work…

4 – Auger (snake) – if the blockage is not released by the plunger, you will need to get an auger into the drain hole in the toilet. Insert the Auger Cable into the toilet.

Get a water closet auger or a snake . This is not a regular toilet snake; there are some differences. There’s a steel cable inside the tube and a crank-handle. This snake has an open, coiled head that is used to “hook” the toy down the toilet, and pull it out. Others are designed to push and grind through the clog, which might loosen it to float down the drain.
While you’re cranking, you will feel the head hit the item, turn it a few more times and pull the cable out while keeping pressure on the crank. Ideally, you will have hooked the toy and brought it up.
Make sure everything works. Do a test flush and then do a couple more test flushes with wads of toilet paper to ensure it goes down and stays down.
If your toilet begins or is about to overflow, turn of the water supply at the shut-off valve. You can also take the lid off the tank and lift the float.

Note: Don’t try using a coat hanger or any other type of wire apparatus to catch or push the clog as this may damage your toilet.