You don’t think about how your toilet functions until it stops working the way you expect it to. A blocked toilet is not only an inconvenience but is also an embarrassing situation to be in. You can’t use it, there’s a bad odour – and it might even overflow! A foul smell and a flooded bathroom with debris and waste everywhere is everyone’s worst nightmare. That’s why it’s critical that you prevent it from happening in the first place. Fortunately, most Melbourne plumbers deal with blocked toilets in Melbourne daily, which means they can handle the situation and fix the problem. They’ll also be able to tell you what happened – in other words, why your toilet was blocked in the first place. Here are the top reasons why toilets become blocked, and what you can do to prevent it from happening again.

1.         Toilet Paper Blockage

Even though it seems like toilet paper melts into nothing once it gets wet, there is such a thing as using too much paper. The more you use, the higher the chances are that your toilet will get blocked up. In an office block or an apartment building, this could become a severe problem, because there are toilets on every floor or in every apartment. Your drain pipes and sewer lines need to be able to handle the frequency of multiple flushes and large volumes of toilet paper every day, or you’ll be dealing with blocked toilets every other day.

2.         Poorly Constructed Plumbing

In some instances, a building’s pipelines were installed skewed, or sections of pipes weren’t lined up perfectly when they were first attached. When a blockage occurs in this situation, detecting its location can get complicated – especially if the building in question has multiple stories. Being on one of the higher floors means that the blockage could be anywhere, and your plumber will have to run a camera down the drain line to find and diagnose the problem before being able to fix it. It’s the same situation in large corporations and facilities, such as office blocks, apartment buildings, universities, and hospitals. The drain line needs to be constructed correctly, or you’ll have a continuous problem with blocked toilets going forward.

3.         Insufficient Water Flow Or Pressure

When you flush a toilet, the force of the water should be strong enough to force the waste down the drain line. If the water pressure is weakened, or there is an insufficient water flow, what you’re flushing down might not move as quickly or as far down the pipeline as you expect. After a few times of flushing like this, you’ll be left with a blocked toilet. Your plumber should be able to assist you in increasing the water flow or the water pressure so that this issue doesn’t keep happening and you can flush in peace.

4.         Building Renovations

If your toilet has started getting frequently clogged since you remodelled your building, something could have changed in your plumbing system during the renovations. A pipe could have been disconnected, or gotten bent or dented in a way that’s causing a blockage. You’ll need to get a plumber to look at the problem, and they’ll probably need to thread a camera through the pipes to see what’s caused it, before making moves to repair it. If this is the case, you’ll need to repair the damage to the impacted drain line or replace the line itself.

5.         Foreign Object Blockage

If you have young children, you know that it’s possible for foreign objects to be flushed down the toilet accidentally. When unblocking toilets in homes with small children, plumbers aren’t surprised to find items of clothing, toys, washcloths, toothbrushes obstructing the toilet drain pipe. The blockage will need to be removed, which could be done in any number of ways. If this happens, you might want to invest in baby-proofing your bathroom, so that your children can’t lift the lid to throw random items inside the bowl – or flush something down that shouldn’t be there. Prevention is always better than cure.

6.         Buildup Of Human Waste

Unfortunately, human waste can build up inside the toilet drain pipes and cause a blockage. In that event, the toilet could even overflow, or leave a foul smell, so it’s recommended that you call a plumber to fix the problem immediately. It can be very embarrassing and awkward in such a situation, but you should always get a professional to help you, instead of trying solutions of your own and making the problem worse. Remember, it’s their job.

7.         Improperly Discarded Sanitary Products

There are the correct ways to dispose of sanitary products, and most of them exclude being flushed down the toilet. Wet wipes, sanitary pads, and nappies should be discarded in a dustbin because they are not biodegradable and can clog toilet pipes very easily. One nappy alone could clog your toilet, which means that if it’s a habit to discard them this way, you’re guaranteed to have a plumbing problem arising soon.

8.         An Issue With The City’s Main Sewer Line

Sometimes, your toilet could become blocked through no fault of your own. If your city’s main sewer line is blocked, yours could become blocked too. When this happens, many houses and businesses will be affected. You could call for a professional plumber to come in and take a look; however, the root of the problem needs to be addressed. The city council will need to clear the blockage and ensure that the sewers are flowing correctly again, or you will all keep experiencing the same problem until the main problem is resolved.

Having a blocked toilet in your home or office space demands you take one action – to call in a plumber. A plumber will diagnose the problem, find the root cause and fix it. This is one area where we don’t recommend you attempt a DIY approach, as a plunger or hazardous chemicals could make the problem worse. Instead, call a Melbourne plumber so they can solve the problem once and for all.