Frequent Toilet Clogs Solved

Frequent Toilet Clogs: Why Does it Happen?

Why does the toilet clog every time I flush? There are a few reasons why your toilet is clogged.

• P trap/Bends in Pipes
• Foreign Objects
• Too much TP
• Poop too big
• Vents Clogged
• Main Sewer line issues
• Low Flow toilets
• Bad Flapper
• Mineral Deposits

One reason is that the pipes in your toilet aren’t perfectly straight.  They have bends in them called elbows all throughout your plumbing.  They also have a P trap, which is an almost 90 degree bend.  This is required under most building codes.  

P traps hold water in them which keeps gross sewer gases from coming up into your house.  P traps are an important part of your plumbing.

You may even have a foreign object in your pipes that was flushed accidentally. 

You could also be using WAY too much toilet paper, or, very THICK toilet paper which will temporarily clog up your toilet. 

Your vent could be clogged or your main sewer line could be compromised. Read here on how to unclog your main vent line with a drain auger. These are the two main reasons a toilet backs up but isn’t clogged.

Low flow toilets, the older models, they just don’t hold enough water and are also designed incorrectly leading to toilets not flushing properly and things getting caught in the P trap/U bends and in the pipes themselves. Best thing is to upgrade to newer model toilets.

Double check that your flapper inside the toilet tank is lifting up high enough so that the tank refills completely with water after each flush. If not, you may need to replace the flapper.

If you have hard water, check for mineral deposits in the toilet bowl. There may be some gathering in your pipes too and they need to be augered to clear out the build up. If that’s the case, you should think about getting a water softener whole house system.

Toilet Clogs Every Time I Poop! (Too Much Information!)

To be honest, it might even be that your poops are just too big!  I’m not a doctor so get a hold of them to discuss if that’s a bigger health issue for you. I don’t know, eat more fiber?

We discuss below how all the things above can cause frequent toilet clogs.

What Plunger do I Use for Which Clogs?

Plunger	Use
Sink	Sink Drains
Flange	Toilet
Accordion	Toilet

Toilet Clog Prevention

Here are some tips to prevent future toilet clogs:

• Don’t flush too much TP down the toilet at once
• Flush multiple times during a big poop
• Watch that the kids don’t flush anything
• Don’t flush any wipes down the toilet. It doesn’t matter if they say they are “flushable”. They aren’t. Most of my service calls are for this issue.
• Clean out your pipes twice per year with a toilet auger
• Don’t flush cat litter: it turns into cement in your pipes
• Don’t flush paper towel
• Don’t flush large feminine hygiene products
• Grease should be poured into a container and thrown out, not down your toilet

Pipe Bends, Elbows, and P Traps: Frequent Toilet Clogs

These bends and elbows in your pipes mean that the inside of your pipes are not smooth.  There are edges and areas where gunk can collect.  This gunk, TP, and other nasty stuff collected in these areas builds up over time and forms a nasty sludge.  

As the sludge gets bigger and bigger, it blocks water, TP and yes, poop, from going down your pipes. This causes clogs.  Unless you manually remove the gunk from these areas, frequent toilet clogs will happen.  

Some toilets come with S traps, and they do the same job as a P trap, gunk and sludge will collect in that area.

U Bend/P Trap in the Toilet: Common Place for Clogs

Most clogs in drains and toilets happen in the P Trap. The bend in the pipes means stuff just gets caught and gunk gathers there.

Flushed Objects and Frequent Toilet Clogs

Sometimes things get flushed that shouldn’t.  Maybe something fell in by accident or the kids thought it was funny to flush their toys.  

I once had frequent clogs and couldn’t figure it out I cleaned out the pipes with my toilet auger and BAM, someone had flushed a pencil!

How to Fix a Toilet that Keeps Clogging Up

If your toilet clogs every time you flush, you have a problem that needs to be removed.

Once that pencil was removed, the toilet ran fantastic.  Moral of the story is you never know what is in your toilet causing those clogs, so we recommend a toilet auger to fully clean out your pipes.

Toilet Paper and Clogs

Too much paper can clog your toilet up temporarily.  Try using less toilet paper.  Sometimes kids are guilty of using way too much.  Let them know how much is OK to use.  Also, the toilet paper you use may be super thick.  We all love the plush stuff, I get it.  But that means using less of it to prevent toilet clogs on a regular basis.

Size Matters!

Why do I Clog the toilet every time?? Seriously, the size of what you are flushing matters.  Toilets were built to handle a certain amount of poop per flush and that’s about it.  If poops in your household are plugging it on a regular basis, talk to your doctor!  

Crush Frequent Toilet Clogs with a Toilet Auger

Toilet augers are the best solution for frequent clogs.  Other things like plungers, baking soda, hot water, and other home remedies are great for a fast solution.  Unfortunately, they leave all the gunk that started the problem behind.  Your toilet WILL clog again and in a short time, until you manually remove all the sludge that’s built up inside your pipes.

Toilet augers are specifically designed for toilets.  They have thicker cables that are covered with a vinyl cover to prevent it from scratching your porcelain toilet bowl. 

Toilet augers work by using a metal cable with a bulb head on the end.  That bulb head moves around inside your pipes in a circular motion.  When you’re turning that head, it reaches and cleans all the sides of your pipes.  It grabs gunk, sludge, and even objects and bring them back up through your toilet bowl.

This means that the inside of your pipes are cleaned out, preventing future toilet clogs.

All Toilets in the House Keep Clogging

You may have bigger problems that just a toilet clog. This is a symptom of either a venting clog/issue or a main sewer line problem.

You can clear out your own vent with a drain auger. A main sewer line problem could be roots, clogs, broken pipes, and you should do a sewer camera scope of the insides to determine what sort of issue you’re dealing with.

Conclusion

Frequent toilet clogs can be a thing of the past if you use a toilet auger to clean out your pipes. Forget other solutions and get it done right the first time with the right tools.

FAQs