Why does my toilet keep clogging and gurgling?
A toilet that keeps clogging or bubbling usually points to a deeper blockage in the main drain line rather than a simple bowl obstruction. This makes people too afraid to flush again for fear of an overflow, halting normal bathroom use until the underlying pipe issue is cleared.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Plunging the toilet repeatedly
- 2Turning off the water supply valve to prevent overflowing
- 3Letting the bowl sit and drain on its own
- 4Renting a toilet snake
- 5Flushing multiple times to push the item to the street
- 6Using a plumbing auger to retrieve the item
- 7Using kitchen tongs to pull out the gunk
- 8Putting pre strainers on drains and cleaning them daily
- 9Wearing a full-face respirator while snaking drains
- 10Using a plumbing snake instead of household tools
- 11Poke at the baffle with a stick
- 12Call a professional plumber
- 13Using a closet auger and extending it to the full six feet
- 14Adjusting or replacing the fill valve
- 15Plunging aggressively with water filling the plunger instead of air
- 16Scrubbing vigorously through the trapway
- 17Using a mesh strainer or drain hair catcher like a Sinkshroom
- 18Cleaning the drain and stopper regularly once a week
- 19Snaking the drains to remove excess debris
- 20Using a long bottle brush and hot water to scrub inside the pipe
- 21Taking off the tailpiece and pushing paper towels down with a screwdriver
- 22Using a plunger to clear it
- 23Snaking through the sink drain ahead of the toilet
- 24Flushing the upstairs toilet to pull the clog out
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I put pre strainers on drains and clean them daily.”source ↗
“I wear a full-face respirator when I snake out the girls shower drain. I swear I can still smell it though the 3M respirator”source ↗
“It was clogged before hand, so we used an auger which didn’t seem to do anything this time around. Now when you flush the water seems to come into the tank slowly and drain out of the toilet bowl quickly.”source ↗
“Our shower was slowing up last week and I pulled out one that was like the size of a bratwurst.”source ↗
“I flushed a washcloth down the toilet”source ↗
“Soooo I accidentally flushed a lint free, thin, washcloth, down the toilet as I was cleaning my bathroom, then when I saw it going down, I panicked, amd flushed the toilet AGAIN.”source ↗
“Am I absolutely cooked? Im horrified.”source ↗
“Last night, while the shower was running, we had water coming into the basement from where a flexible tube enters a PVC pipe and runs to our primary drain”source ↗
“My toliet started to fill up because it's clogged. I plunged it, it went down, and I pulled the handle down and it filled up again.”source ↗
“I'm afraid it could be a severe clog because my bathroom sink has been draining slowly.”source ↗
“Im scared to flush more!”source ↗
“Im scared because Google said DONT flush, get an auger and try to get it out.”source ↗
“I kind of got scared off by reading things about people breaking the baffle or getting a plumber's snake stuck in it. Figured repair guys would have better equipment (and insurance if they break something).”source ↗
“I don’t know if my 2 year old put something down there or if my husbands turds killed it. I will try a different motion.”source ↗
“I got sick and tired of snaking the drains all the time.”source ↗
“I’ve had problems with this toilet clogging more and more frequently.”source ↗
“I am pretty sure it keeps clogging at the T sometimes a plunger clears it sometimes I can clear it by snaking through the sink drawer n ahead of the toilet, and sometimes I can clear it by flushing the upstairs toilet, which I think pulls the clog out.”source ↗
“It’s dripping downstairs and I plan to take the toilet off and replace it and the seal wondering if I should do anything more while replacing the toilet.”source ↗
“I guess it is not clogging, it won't flow because there is no venting.”source ↗