The Restroom – Most Important Room in the House

One of the more important rooms in your home has to be the bathroom for obvious reasons. When something goes wrong in the bathroom, specifically with the toilet, life as you know it changes drastically. Calling a plumber may not be an option a lot of times.

For one thing, plumbers are at all-time shortage right now so you may find out it will be DAYS before he can make a visit to your home. Or you may not have the money to have your toilet professionally repaired. Take heart, as there are a couple of toilet problems you can fix by yourself.

The first of these is the running toilet. This is a problem that happens frequently. Most of the time, it can be remedied easily by buying a new flapper or ball assembly to replace broken ones. To fix the flapper, turn off the water to the toilet. Remove the lid from the toilet’s tank. Disconnect the flapper and go buy a new one. Nothing is easier to fix and the price is right at about $5. Sometimes you’ll have to clean mineral deposits from the tank but it’s not difficult. Use boiling water, vinegar and baking soda and you’re all set.

The second common toilet problem is the backed up toilet. This can be one of the most annoying and momentarily frightening things you’ll experience. Besides the ick factor, it puts your toilet out of commission for as long as it takes to unclog it.

Remember this: If you flush a toilet once and water rises rather than drains, DO NOT FLUSH AGAIN! Instead, remove the tank lid as fast as possible. Push the tank ball down so the flush valve closes. This stops rising water.

Most clogged toilets result from toys, sanitary products, or plastic items. If this is your problem, try removing the item instead of forcing it along. Clogs from regular flushed waste can be fixed by using a plunger or closet snake.

Try the plunger first. Wear rubber gloves, and drape a large towel over the toilet bowl and under the seat. For an empty bowl, add water to put it about half full. If it’s full, empty until the water is halfway. Use the plunger to seal the hole in the toilet bowl.

Push down slowly and quickly pull back. Begin slowly and work up to faster. If something is stuck in the opening of the drain, use a stiff wire to retrieve it. After dislodging the item, put a gallon of water into the bowl and flush.