What to do if your toilet is blocked with paper

A blocked toilet is not something to leave. It can start with the bowl draining slower than normal and end with it overflowing onto your bathroom floor if you ignore it. You have two ways to deal with it: unblock it yourself with a plunger, or call a professional plumber to fix it safely. Most blockages come from toilet paper buildup or objects that should never be flushed, so knowing the cause helps you pick the right fix.

Common causes

Blocked toilets happen for a few different reasons. The most common cause is a buildup of toilet paper that hasn’t dissolved.

Other times it’s objects that should never be flushed, like toys, food, nappies or sanitary napkins.

Toilet blocked with paper?

Most of the time your plumbing breaks toilet paper down and dissolves it with no trouble. That keeps the flush working properly and lets you get on with your day without worrying about a clogged toilet.

Sometimes however, your toilet can become overwhelmed by too much toilet paper, and it can clump together to form a clogged toilet.

You can unblock a toilet clogged with paper a few ways at home. For the most reliable result, hire a plumber.

Plunger

When you’re facing a drain blocked with toilet paper, you have the option to unclog it with a plunger.

To plunge your toilet successfully, ensure the suction cup covers the toilet drain opening to create a seal. Then move the plunger up and down to pull and push the paper. Repeat this method until the clog is dissolved.

A telltale sign that you’ve dissolved the toilet paper is that the bowl empties once your plunger has been removed, meaning you are ready to use your toilet as normal.

Coat wire hanger

A coat wire hanger is a common household object that can also be used to unblock a toilet, although caution is advised with this method.

The coat hanger can be turned into a long wire that is inserted into the clogged toilet drain, which can then be moved around to help dissolve the toilet paper.

Poking the clogged paper back and forth will help break it up so that the toilet can then be flushed and used normally.

Flushing

Continually flushing the toilet to remove the blockage may seem like a good idea at the time, but this method for unclogging a toilet is not recommended.

Flushing the toilet too many times can cause overflows, which is a messy problem that should be avoided if possible.

Unblock your toilet

If your toilet is blocked with paper and you want to leave it to the professionals to fix, you can call the friendly Drainpro emergency plumber team on 1300 303 247.

We’ll have your toilet unclogged and flushing normally again in no time, so it stops being a problem today.