When faced with a toilet clog, calling a plumber may not be your first choice. By the proper use of a drain snake, or plumber’s auger, you may be able to clear the problem and avoid making the call to the plumbing professional. You push the snake down the toilet, turning it to engage the offending plug and try to break it up, or hook it and pull it back out.
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If these efforts fail, there is another step you may be willing to take. You can remove the toilet from its seal. There are usually only two bolts holding it down. It will be resting on a thick seal. That will need to be replaced. If you decide to lift the toilet, have the new seal ready so that you can get the toilet back in business quickly. Once you have lifted the toilet off the seal you will be able to go through the snake insertion process again. But this time you are quite a bit further down the line and may be able to dislodge the clog.
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Once you have taken it this far, if you are not able to clear the line, it is probably time to call the plumber. Your local plumbing professional has modern tools and diagnostic equipment to find the problem and deal with it quickly.
