How to Unclog a Toilet
Learn how to unclog a toilet with a plunger, hot water and dish soap, baking soda and vinegar, or a toilet auger. Step-by-step methods plus when to call a plumber.
A clogged toilet is one of those household problems that feels ten times more urgent than it actually is. The water is rising, you are standing there thinking about your flooring, and every second feels like a countdown to disaster.
You are not alone in this. In a 2004 Kohler survey of 1,000 adults, 27 percent said they deal with a clogged toilet every month, which Kohler projected to 28 million clogged toilets a month across the United States. It is an old, self-reported number, but the problem has not gone anywhere. The methods below start with tools you probably already have. We have dealt with more clogged toilets than we would like to admit, and the techniques below are the ones that keep working, though step 7 covers the clogs that beat them.
Flange plunger (the kind with an extra rubber lip inside the cup) Rubber gloves Old towels or newspaper for the floor around the toilet Bucket Liquid dish soap Pot or kettle for heating water Toilet auger/closet auger (for stubborn clogs) Baking soda and white vinegar (optional, for chemical-free approach)
Stop the water before it overflows
If the bowl is rising after a flush, act fast. Lift the tank lid off the back of the toilet and push the rubber flapper valve down to seal the drain hole. This stops more water from entering the bowl. Then reach behind the toilet and turn the oval-shaped shutoff valve clockwise until it stops. If you cannot find the shutoff valve or it will not budge, lift the float ball or float cup inside the tank upward and hold it. This prevents the tank from refilling and sending more water into the bowl. Keep holding it until the water level in the bowl stabilizes.
Heads up: Do not flush a second time hoping the clog will clear itself. A second flush with a full bowl is how bathroom floods happen.
Grab a flange plunger and seal it properly
You want a flange plunger, not a flat cup plunger. A flange plunger has an extra rubber lip that folds out from inside the cup, and that lip creates a much tighter seal around the toilet drain opening. Flat cup plungers are designed for sinks and tubs. They work poorly on toilets because the drain hole is curved and recessed. Run the plunger under hot tap water for a minute or two before you start. Cold rubber is stiff and does not flex into a tight seal. Warm rubber is pliable and grips better. Insert the plunger at an angle so the cup fills with water, not air. You want hydraulic pressure, which is water pushing against the clog. Air compresses and loses force. Fit the flange snugly into the drain hole so no gaps remain around the edges.
Good to know: If you only have a flat cup plunger, fold the edges inward to create a makeshift seal. It is not ideal, but it works in a pinch.
Plunge with steady, controlled strokes
Start gently with the first few strokes. The goal of the initial pushes is to force air out of the cup and get water moving back and forth through the drain. Once you feel resistance and the plunger is sealed tight, increase the force. Push down firmly, then pull back sharply. The push-pull action creates alternating pressure and suction that works the clog loose from both directions. Keep the plunger submerged the entire time. If the cup breaks the surface, you lose the seal and have to start over. Do about 15 to 20 vigorous strokes, then pull the plunger out and see if the water drains. If the water level drops, the clog is clearing. Flush once to confirm. If the bowl fills up again without draining, repeat the plunging cycle. If three rounds do nothing, move on to step 4 rather than plunging harder.
Try hot water and dish soap for stubborn clogs
If plunging alone is not working, remove as much standing water from the bowl as you can using a disposable cup or small container. Then squirt a generous amount of liquid dish soap into the bowl, about half a cup. Heat a pot or kettle of water on the stove until it is hot but well short of boiling, under about 140°F. That is the maximum operating temperature Charlotte Pipe gives for PVC pipe, and whatever you pour into the bowl goes on into your drain line. Pour the hot water into the bowl from waist height so the force of the pour helps push things along. The soap acts as a lubricant, reducing friction between the clog and the porcelain drain passage, while the hot water softens and loosens organic material. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. The soak works on clogs made of toilet paper and waste, which soften as they sit. It does nothing to a toy, a wipe, or anything else that does not break down. After waiting, try flushing. If the water drains slowly, repeat the process one more time before moving on.
Heads up: Never pour boiling water into a toilet bowl. Porcelain is a ceramic, and a sudden jump in temperature can stress it enough to crack. Boiling water is also far past the 140°F rating for PVC drain pipe, so keep the water under that.
Use a toilet auger for deep or solid clogs
A toilet auger, also called a closet auger, is a three-foot flexible cable inside a protective metal housing with a rubber sleeve at the tip. The housing prevents the metal cable from scratching the porcelain, which is why you should never use a regular drain snake on a toilet. Insert the auger into the drain opening with the rubber-sleeved end going in first. Crank the handle clockwise while pushing the cable forward. You will feel resistance when the cable reaches the clog, usually within a foot or two. Keep cranking to either break through the obstruction or hook onto it. Once you feel the cable move freely, slowly pull the auger back out. The clog material may come out attached to the cable tip. Flush the toilet to test. If water still drains slowly, run the auger through once more. Toilet augers handle objects that plungers cannot reach, like toys, cotton swabs, or excessive toilet paper buildup deep in the trapway.
Good to know: A toilet auger is an inexpensive hardware store tool that lasts for years, and it reaches clogs a plunger cannot. That makes it worth owning before you are standing over a clog.
Try baking soda and vinegar as a chemical-free option
Remove as much water from the bowl as you can. Pour one cup of baking soda into the bowl and let it settle to the bottom. Then slowly pour two cups of white vinegar over the baking soda. The mixture will fizz and bubble, and it is worth knowing what that is. Vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base, so mixing them neutralizes both into sodium acetate, water and carbon dioxide gas. The bubbling can help break up soft paper mechanically, but once it stops there is nothing in the bowl but salty water. Leave it for 20 to 30 minutes anyway, because the soak is what softens the clog. After waiting, pour a pot of hot (not boiling) water into the bowl from about waist height. Any improvement at this stage comes from the soak and the hot water softening the paper, not from the fizz. This method is gentler on pipes than commercial drain cleaners and safe for septic systems.
Know when to call a plumber
If you have tried plunging, hot water and dish soap, baking soda and vinegar, and a toilet auger without success, the clog is likely beyond the toilet itself. It may be in the main drain line or even in the sewer lateral that connects your house to the municipal system. Other signs you need professional help: multiple fixtures backing up at the same time (toilet and shower, or toilet and sink), gurgling sounds from other drains when you flush, water coming up through the floor drain in the basement, or sewage smell throughout the house. These symptoms point to a mainline blockage, which requires professional equipment like a motorized sewer snake or a hydro-jetting machine. Also call a plumber if you suspect a hard object fell into the toilet and you cannot retrieve it with an auger. Forcing a foreign object deeper into the drain can create a much more expensive problem farther down the line.
Prevent future clogs
The simplest prevention is to flush nothing but toilet paper and waste, and that includes wipes labeled flushable. In Consumer Reports' 2025 tests, none of 11 flushable brands blocked the test toilet, but the trouble shows up further along. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies estimates wipes add $441 million a year to the operating costs of U.S. clean water utilities, and CR's advice is not to flush them. Keep a small trash can with a lid next to every toilet. Cotton balls, dental floss, feminine hygiene products, paper towels, and hair all belong in the trash, not the toilet. Dental floss in particular wraps around other debris and creates stubborn clogs over time. If your toilet clogs frequently, the issue might be the toilet itself. The EPA says low-flow toilets from the 1990s were sometimes associated with performance problems such as needing a double flush. Toilets with EPA WaterSense certification use 1.28 gallons per flush or less and have to pass independent flush performance testing. If an old toilet clogs again and again and an auger finds nothing in the trapway, a replacement is worth pricing out. If you are already dealing with slow drains elsewhere in the house, our guide on how to unclog a drain covers kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, and shower drains. And if your toilet runs constantly after you clear the clog, that is a different fix entirely. Our guide on how to fix a running toilet walks through the flapper, fill valve, and float adjustments that stop the problem.
A clogged toilet is not a crisis. Start with a good flange plunger and two minutes of steady plunging, because that is what a soft paper clog gives way to. If the plunger stalls, try hot water and dish soap next, then a toilet auger. If you have worked through every method here and the toilet still will not drain, the problem is almost certainly deeper than the toilet itself. That is when a plumber earns their money. For a paper clog near the top of the drain, you now have everything you need to handle it yourself.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
We do not recommend it. Poison Control lists what these products contain, including sulfuric and hydrochloric acids and sodium and potassium hydroxide, and warns that injury can happen when a drain cleaner splashes back, especially when too much is poured into a completely blocked drain. A clogged toilet full of standing water is that situation exactly, and if the cleaner does not work, you are left plunging or augering through a bowl of caustic water. A plunger, hot water with dish soap, or a toilet auger avoids all of that.
Frequent clogs usually come down to one of four things: using too much toilet paper per flush, flushing items that do not break down (wipes, cotton products, feminine hygiene products), an older low-flow toilet with a weak flush mechanism, or a partial obstruction deeper in the drain line that catches debris over time. Try reducing the amount of toilet paper per flush first. If clogs continue, run a toilet auger to check for a partial blockage in the trapway. Persistent problems across multiple fixtures usually mean the main sewer line needs professional cleaning.
The hot water and dish soap method is your best bet. Remove excess water from the bowl, squirt in half a cup of dish soap, wait five minutes, then pour in a pot of hot (not boiling) water from waist height. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. The soap lubricates the passage while the hot water softens the clog. You can also try the baking soda and vinegar method, one cup of baking soda followed by two cups of white vinegar, wait 20 to 30 minutes, then add hot water. The fizzing does less than it looks like, as step 6 explains, but the soak and the hot water genuinely help.
Sometimes, yes. If the clog is made of toilet paper and organic waste, it may dissolve on its own over several hours as the paper fibers break down in the standing water. This works best if the bowl is not completely full. Leave it alone for a few hours (or overnight), then try a gentle flush. However, clogs caused by foreign objects, wipes, or excessive buildup will not clear on their own and need manual intervention.
A plunger uses suction and pressure to dislodge clogs near the top of the drain. It is the tool for clogs of toilet paper or waste close to the drain opening. A toilet auger (closet auger) is a flexible cable that reaches two to three feet into the drain to physically break through or pull out clogs that a plunger cannot reach. Think of the plunger as the first tool you grab and the auger as the backup for stubborn clogs.
Home Maintenance 101
How to Clean a Microwave
How to Fix a Running Toilet
How to Unclog a Drain
How to Paint a Room
How to Clean an Oven
How to Hang a Picture
How to Unclog a Toilet
← you’re hereHow to Remove a Stripped Screw
How to Remove Rust from Metal