What to Do When You Clog the Toilet at Your Friend’s House

Right now you’re in freak out mode. You’re probably desperately searching the internet on your phone for guidance on how to handle this mortifying situation. What do you do? Do you pretend like it never happened? Blame it on the dog? Jump out the window, go home, change your identity and move to a foreign country?

You need to remedy this situation and unclog the toilet fast before your absence is noted and everyone is wondering why you spent half an hour in the bathroom.

Don’t panic. If you’ve unleashed a load that just can’t be flushed, follow these steps to save you, and your host, from an awkward situation.

If you’re unsure what to do when you clog the toilet at such a delicate time and how to unclog a toilet at a friend’s house in a manner that will have you remain undetected, you’re in the right place.

Step 1. Don’t Try To Flush Away Your Disgrace

You know it’s clogged, so don’t keep flushing. Continuously flushing while praying for your embarrassment to disappear won’t save you in this situation. Flushing a clogged toilet will only further the damage your unreliable bowels have already caused. Clogging a toilet is embarrassing enough without also flooding the floor with nasty toilet water and, um, well, whatever else was in there’¦ After the initial try, stop. You can’t flush away your disgrace and you won’t want to risk overflowing the bowl. If you toilet won’t flush, it’s probably best to try something else than repeatedly pressing the magic button.

Step 2. How to Unclog a Toilet

How to Unclog an Overflowing Toilet

The first step to unclogging a toilet is to prevent it from overflowing. If the toilet appears clogged after flushing once, refrain from flushing again and follow these steps to turn off the water:

You can wear gloves if you prefer (and if you happen to find some), but, hopefully, you won’t have to get in that deep.

1. Step 1. Remove the lid from the toilet tank.
2. Step 2. Close the toilet flapper. What does the flapper look like? It looks similar to a drain stopper and links to a chain.

Follow the directions below to unclog the toilet.

How to Unclog a Toilet With a Plunger

Now that you’ve ensured a flood-free bathroom, you’re ready to unclog a toilet like a plumber. In most bathrooms, there should be a plunger. Look around the toilet or under the sink for one. This is your safest bet when dealing with a clogged toilet.

Locate your new best friend, and get to work disposing of the evidence. You should be able to fix the problem quickly and discreetly, returning before anyone learns of your disgusting deeds.

Here’s how to unclog a toilet using a plunger:

1. Step 1. Soften up the rubber by running your plunger under hot water.
2. Step 2. Make sure the flange is pulled out from the cup of the plunger.
3. Step 3. Approach the toilet bowl with the plunger at an angle to fill the plunger with water. Avoid allowing air into the cup of the plunger as this will reduce the pulling force.
4. Step 4. Submerge the flange around the drain hole to form a seal. You want to make sure there is no air escaping from the sides of the drain hole when you push down on the plunger.
5. Step 5. With a firm grip on the handle, you’re ready to begin plunging. Push down and pull the plunger up repeatedly until the clog loosens.
6. Step 6. The toilet bowl should empty on its own once the clog has loosened and is often accompanied by a gulp. When this occurs, you can rinse your plunger and set it aside.
7. Step 7. Locate the flapper in the toilet tank and open it to turn on the water.
8. Step 8. Now you’re ready to flush. Keep the lid off the toilet tank until the toilet flushes normally. This will make it easy to shut the water off to prevent an overflow in case the toilet is still clogged.
9. Step 9. Repeat these steps to loosen up the clog if the toilet doesn’t flush correctly.

The trouble is, for some reason, some people don’t keep their plungers in the bathroom because they are ‘unclean’. If you can’t find the plunger anywhere, you’re not out of luck just yet.

How to Unclog A Toilet Without. A Plunger

The steps above are reassuring when you have to unclog a toilet with a plunger. But sometimes, you unfortunately realize you need a plunger in the house when it’s too late. If you don’t have a plunger handy, don’t worry. There are a few things you can do to clear a clogged toilet fast.

1. Step 1. Stop the overflow if it is overflowing. Remove the tank lid and unlock the chain that connects the toilet handle to the flapper. This will stop additional water from entering the bowl.
2. Step 2. Remove water. Check if there is a bucket nearby or any way you can remove some of the water. If there isn’t, because a lot of people don’t keep a bucket in their bathroom, you might have to go to step 3.
3. Step 3. Try hot water. If you can reach the shower handle and have it blast hot water in the toilet without making too much of a mess, it’s worth trying. The addition of hot water might be enough to loosen the clog and dislodge the blockage. 
4. Step 4. Poke to break off the cause of the clog. You may be able to dislodge or break off parts of the clog by poking it with a toilet brush. Do be aware that it will make the brush dirty though.

Step 3. Come Clean To The Host If You Can’t Unclog a Toilet

Hiding your shame may seem like the best option, but trust us, people will figure it out. You might expect to sneak out with no one noticing, but if even one person is waiting to use the bathroom, they will know you were the culprit.

If you cannot fix the issue yourself, come clean to the host of the party, as their toilet may require some professional help (in which case, what did you eat?).

Telling the truth will always make you feel better and take the weight of the hidden secret off your chest. Your host might have even had a similar experience, and help you hide your secret out of empathy. Just remember everybody poops, and those who pretend they don’t are usually filled with the most of it.

How to tell someone you clogged their toilet

It’s happened to the best of us and a little bit of honesty might be the best way to go about it. Hopefully, the host will be so impressed with your honesty, chances are they won’t mock you too much.

Be polite and tell them the facts: the toilets are clogged and you need help.

Now there’s no need to go into detail about this, not only does nobody need to hear the full story, it will also only make things more awkward. So keep it simple.

Here’s a quick way you could say it: “Hey, I ran into an awkward situation in the bathroom, the toilets are clogged and I need your help. Could you give me a hand with this?”.

Simple right?

If you stumbled upon a clog that you can’t fix, you can always call Performance AC for emergency plumbing. Our plumbers have seen their fair share of dirty situations so we can guarantee it won’t be quite as awkward! Book an appointment online or call us.