So, it happens! Sometimes more frequently than we would like to think. Many times, a second flush will free up a clogged toilet. Sometimes it takes something more. If you are really in trouble with a nasty clog, you might even search the internet for a remedy. Angela Brown, internet cleaning guru, often has lots of suggestions. Typical solutions will include a plunger (purchase price about $5.00). If your problem is bigger than that, you might see if the handle needs to be replaced. Again, a replacement is probably less than $5.00.
Taking another step, you may need to try something like a toilet auger. This device will run you in the neighborhood of $30 or $35. Keep in mind that you need to have the toilet bowl emptied of whatever is in the bowl (other than water) to use this tool. It is great for clogs that originate further down in the pipe system.
But what if your issue lies waiting for you in the toilet bowl in the form of a huge mass of feces? Do you call a plumber? They will deal with such problems, but the cost will be well upwards of $100. So, what is the solution? Do you take things into your own hands? If you glove up, that may be the best course of action. However, it is not what employees did one night when faced with the big brown glob in the toilet.
After a quick conversation and assessment of the circumstances, the fearless manager recommended that they get the power washer they use for deep cleaning the showers and blast the orb into smaller pieces that would then flush easily down the sewer system.
How many of you are chuckling already? Believe me, it was no laughing matter when the blow back “hit the fan,” so to speak. The employees gloved up and stood ready with a plunger for use once the large mass was broken into fragments. Needless to say, there was brown spotted spray all over the walls, all over the stalls, all over the floor, and yes, on the ceiling as well. And the employees, so lacking in judgment as to try such a foolhardy solution, stood with surprised expressions, also covered in spray. A job that could have been easily solved with a bucket, a baggie, gloves, and a few minutes of hand “fishing,” plus time to gather supplies, turned into a mega, hours-long biohazard clean up. They now had to obtain a ladder, rags, mops, buckets, disinfectant, and more. After spending two hours, they finally accomplished a fete that should have taken twenty minutes.
So, the next time IT happens, remember that power is not always your friend. Although the thought of handling the feces, even with gloves on, is not particularly appealing, it beats scrubbing it off walls, floors, and your face! Don’t get caught with “egg” on your face. Listen to the advice of the skilled, well-trained employees at ACS, two-time winners of the Cities Best Award. They have been instructed in managing nightmares of the toilet bowl variety. They understand that although “poop” may not be a dinner table conversation, the toilet clog can be easily resolved by following the quick, easy instructions above instead of trying to muscle through the job with a power washer.