Before You Call the Plumber

About five months ago I noticed that my bathroom commode was taking longer for everything to go down. A few days later it began backing up. Plunging helped, but the problem kept coming back. I plunged again, and this time, even though the system worked as it should, I heard a gurgling noise as the water went down after flushing, and when the bowl refilled, the water did not come up as high as usual.

My youngest son said it was time to call a plumber, but I did not have the money. I searched the Internet for do it yourself methods and found quite a few. I tried every single one of them and they were:

1. Pour a cup of baking soda into the bowl followed by a cup of vinegar, and let it sit for 30 minutes before flushing.
2. Pour a cup of Epsom salts into the bowl and follow with a gallon of hot water.
3. Put a little dish washing liquid, laundry detergent, or liquid soap into a gallon of hot water and pour it into the commode.

I did all of these for two days, and on the third day, no more gurgling sound and the commode flushed properly.

About a week later the commode was stopping up again, and my husband said maybe it was time for a plumber. I went to the internet again and read about the necessity of proper plunging. The instructions said to make sure of two important things. The first is that plunger must be in working condition, and not weak for flimsy. The second is to make sure the plunger fully covers the opening where the water goes out. Give one good shove and hold, and then release. Continue to do this until the water begins flowing through the commode. I tried a few times and it worked, but a few days later the gurgling sound returned, and the water began backing up again.

I went online again and found out that Clorox bleach can be used in commodes, as well as Ridex, which is made specifically for septic tanks. I purchased a box of Ridex and poured it into the commode, following the instructions on the box. It eventually worked, but a few days later the gurgling sound came back yet again. I poured a cup of Clorox in the bowel and the toilet worked properly for about two weeks when it stopped up yet again. I almost called the plumber, but decided to assess the situation and see if I could figure out what was causing the problem. I had lived in a home with seven people and one bathroom, and never experienced any problems so what was different now?

I realized that before, during the day everyone was at school or at work and the commode got a break. Now, however, I was working from home, my husband retired, and we watched our three homeschooled grandchildren when their mother had to work during the day. I was also babysitting my oldest son's godchild. My youngest son was still living at home at the time as well. So basically, there was someone in the house 24/7, and in my opinion, the toilet was not getting a break.

I talked to everyone and emphasized the importance of not using too much toilet paper, and to be careful that objects did not fall into the toilet bowl. I make a habit now to pour a gallon of hot water with dish detergent into the commode on a weekly basis, and follow with plunging. Each time I clean the bowl, I pour in Clorox and flush it down. So far this maintenance has been working for about six weeks, and I hope it continues. I hope this helps someone else, because I am finding the ounce of prevention is definitely worth the pound of cure.