Flushing the toilet and noticing the water starting to rise can be a nightmare. Preventing a toilet from overflowing is usually as easy as being careful about how much toilet paper you use and never trying to flush anything but toilet paper and waste. Nonetheless, things can still happen that lead to your toilet suddenly starting to overflow, no matter how careful you are. Here, we’ll show you what can cause a toilet to overflow and also explain what steps you should take when this issue occurs.
Most Common Reasons a Toilet Will Overflow
Toilets will generally only ever overflow for one of two reasons. The first and most common reason is that the trap inside the toilet or the drain pipe underneath it is clogged. The other time it can happen is if there’s a clog in the vent pipe that extends vertically up through the house and sticks up above the roof. Any time you flush a toilet, air gets drawn down into your plumbing system through this vent pipe. If the vent pipe is clogged and no air can get in, it can cause a vacuum to form inside the drain pipe that prevents all the wastewater from going down.
Most of the time, when a toilet overflows, it happens right after you flush. However, there are also situations where you may come home or wake up in the morning to find that your toilet overflowed and your bathroom is flooded with clean water.
If your toilet overflows on its own when it hasn’t been flushed recently, it almost always indicates that you’re dealing with a clog. You are also having a secondary issue like a faulty fill valve or misaligned float. Either of these issues can lead to the toilet not shutting off when it should and the tank continually filling. When this happens, the water in the tank will eventually rise to the level of the overflow tube. This is so that water starts draining into the bowl to prevent the tank from overflowing. However, the toilet normally still won’t overflow in this situation. That’s because a toilet will essentially end up flushing itself when the water level in the bowl reaches a certain height. The only time your toilet would overflow in this situation is if there is a blockage somewhere that prevents this from happening.
What to Do When a Toilet Starts to Overflow
Luckily, you can often prevent the toilet from overflowing if you act immediately and shut the water off. This is done by turning the silver shut-off valve on the water line next to the toilet clockwise. The only problem in this regard is that this valve rarely gets used. This means it can sometimes be stuck and make it impossible for you to shut the water off.
If the shut-off valve is stuck, you can still stop the water from flowing or at least keep the water in the tank from continuing to drain into the bowl. Lifting the float inside the tank should cause the fill valve to close so that the water shuts off. However, you’ll need to be able to prop the float up or else the fill valve will open again when you let go of the float. This is why the better option is to manually close the rubber flapper at the bottom of the tank and then place something on top of it to keep it closed. Doing so will prevent more water from flowing into the bowl and at least help minimize the amount of mess you need to clean up.
Once you’ve got the water shut off or otherwise stopped the toilet from continuing to overflow, the next step is to deal with the clog. Using a plunger will usually be sufficient to clear a more minor clog inside the toilet itself or in the drain pipe. If plunging the toilet doesn’t get the water to go down, it means you’re either dealing with a more severe clog or an issue with the vent pipe. In either case, you’ll want to contact a plumber to deal with the issue for you.
The one thing a plumber will tell you never to do is to try and unclog your toilet or any other clog with any type of drain cleaning product. One reason is that chemical drain cleaning products are highly corrosive and can burn your skin if you accidentally get the chemicals on you. Nonetheless, the biggest reason is that the chemicals can damage your pipes and lead to your plumbing leaking.
Call the Professionals
Whether you’re dealing with a clogged toilet or any other plumbing issue, Dynamic Home Service is the plumbing service you can trust. We have years of experience helping customers in Manalapan and the surrounding areas with all of their plumbing, drain, sewer, septic and water heater needs. No matter what plumbing service you require, contact us today, and we’ll be happy to help however we can.
