Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
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Posted: 3/25/2026 6:54:05 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FrankSymptoms][Edited]
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It's been blocked 3 times last week, and now it's slowing WAAY down. My son said he'd dropped an epic turd in it (think USS Ohio-sized*) but that should have flushed a couple of days ago. Now it acts OK for a couple of flushes, then slows down again. My wife has tried the vinegar-and-baking-soda routine several times. I've put 2-3 gallons of hot (not boiling) water several times and that seems to help the most, but it always comes back to a slow flush. I'm afraid of tree roots now. I also suspect that a fatburg has developed. So fatburg first. What is the best enzymatic toilet-clearing chemical out there? I suspect I'll have to dose it, then flush, then wait 8 hours for the enzymes to take effect. *It wasn't too bad coming out till the sail hit. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
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I've tried a few different chemicals with no success. A 6 ft toilet auger works. I've used it more than a few times and it has paid for itself compared to paying a plumber. The clean up can be pretty gnarly depending on the contents of the bowl.  I put the auger in the tub, spray it with hot water, then wd40. It's worked so far. This is probably the best, but there are less expensive brands. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015BABE8?tag=arfcom00-20 |
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Bell Bird Crystal Lye Drain Opener worked for a neighbor its lye sodium hydroxide wonder if there is an adapter (& maybe an air bladder) that could be used w/ an air compressor  
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Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: Is it only slow in one bathroom or whole house and are you city sewer or septic system? If only in that bathroom, I'd check vent. If whole house slow, I'd check the main line out, should be a clean out tee going out under house or inline within 10' of house. Solid questions and advice here. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
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Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
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EE: 100% (6)
ID, USA
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Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: Is it only slow in one bathroom or whole house and are you city sewer or septic system? If only in that bathroom, I'd check vent. If whole house slow, I'd check the main line out, should be a clean out tee going out under house or inline within 10' of house. One bathroom, one toilet... although the sink and shower periodically need clearing, too. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
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Originally Posted By LetFreedomBeep: Serious question what brand of tp are you using Charmin Essentials. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
|
Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Charmin Essentials. That ultra soft TP swells up when it hits the water. Especially with the amount a woman uses after taking a leak. I forced everyone in my house towards Scott and stopped up toilets are rare now. |
I love a good double entendre.
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
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I am (guardedly) reporting success! I've dumped several 6-gallon doses of warm (NOT boiling) water and it helped; this morning it seems to have cleared the line after 2 doses. Perhaps the heat dislodged enough of the fatburg that the line is clear. BUT (!) where did that clog go? If to the sewer, then okay; if not, it's lurking like an evil supervillain, waiting its chance to strike again! eta Enzymatic line cleaners will become a regular maintenance issue from now on. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
|
Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Charmin Essentials. Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Originally Posted By LetFreedomBeep: Serious question what brand of tp are you using Charmin Essentials. Theres your problem. Stop using that stuff it doesnt break down. Switch to angel soft and watch your clogging issues magically disappear (consumer reports tested this and charmin is the cloggiest iirc - when we switched most of our issues stopped) |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
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Well, before LetFreedomBeep even posted, the damn terlit backed up again. It has NEVER been fully clogged; it would drain at least by 1/2 inch per minute (at its worst). So I scratched my head and combed my ass, and remembered I have a 25' pistol-grip snake out there. Found it, ran it down the terlit, and damn if that didn't fix it! Someone suggested I put a 3' length of garden hose on it to protect the porcelain from scratching and I went to work. Damn if it didn't work! I remember doing such jobs as a young kid; for some reason they took half of forever and ended up with waste all over the place. Nowadays I have disposable gloves and neat stuff like that. Thanks to all for responses, ideas, constructive criticism, etc. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
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Posts:
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I remember doing such jobs as a young kid; for some reason they took half of forever and ended up with waste all over the place. Nowadays I have disposable gloves and neat stuff like that. For your entertainment I include the following: My dad had a 50' plumber's snake, 3/8 diameter. He kept it in an old washing machine tub; the tub had a handle and was actually pretty handy EXCEPT when that snake got out of control. So here I was, solid effluent coating the snake, and it got loose- shooting all over the place. I was desperately trying to contain it when dear old Dad came out and said, "You look like a bear cub fucking a football!!" I lost it, laughed so hard I lost control of the snake entirely. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
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I'd put a sign on the wall in front of toilet that says: "PLEASE READ & FOLLOW PROCEEDURES #1-#5" #1- "pitch a loaf, flush it" #2- "wipe ass with wad of asswiper, flush it" #3- "wipe ass with another wad of asswiper, flush it again" #4- "repeat #3 as many times as needed" #5- "if you failed to follow proceedures #1-#4 & stop up toilet again, you will from now on be using 5 gallon bucket in back yard" ETA: when my woman moved in years ago, she found out quick why I buy & use the septic safe john wayne asswipe paper & not the babywipes she liked when I had to run the power auger line up the cleanout tee towards house, luckly clog was only approx 8' up line. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Yes, a household turd cutter is a real thing. Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Originally Posted By Gunrunr: Leave a serrated edge knife next to the TP with directions : anything over 6" must be cut up in 4" chunks and flushed seperately. Yes, a household turd cutter is a real thing. Damn if they aren't a real thing! Amazon poop knife I tried "turd cutter" and amazon changed it to "turf cutter" and displayed gardening shears! |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
|
Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Yes, a household turd cutter is a real thing. Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Originally Posted By Gunrunr: Leave a serrated edge knife next to the TP with directions : anything over 6" must be cut up in 4" chunks and flushed seperately. Yes, a household turd cutter is a real thing. The roommate of a friend of mine used to keep a coat hangar in his bathroom as a turd cutter. He should have marketed that. 
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Originally Posted By jmt1991: The roommate of a friend of mine used to keep a coat hangar in his bathroom as a turd cutter. He should have marketed that. "Stop at a yard sale or thrift store and buy a butter knife that absolutely, positively DOES NOT match your existing flatware, then find an old knife sheath and fasten it to the inside of the under sink cabinet." My uncle taught me that sometimes a man has to do unreasonable things. He was right. To his advice above I'll add "Always keep a fresh can of Lysol disinfectant handy too!"  
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| Three woman in my home I can't count how many times I've hade to crawl under the house to open the sewage line to ramrod a turd or heeps of tp through the line. I finally got smart and added a clean out line straight to the back of the house. No more low crawls or swimming with turds. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
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Originally Posted By jab: Three woman in my home I can't count how many times I've hade to crawl under the house to open the sewage line to ramrod a turd or heeps of tp through the line. I finally got smart and added a clean out line straight to the back of the house. No more low crawls or swimming with turds. I solved that! My younger brother and I shared a house one summer while the parents were on vacation. He had shoulder length hair and wouldn't use a hair strainer in the shower 'cause it was icky. I finally left it to him to clean out... for 5 days. I told him "Look, you were wearing this stuff on your head less than 20 minutes ago!" He cleaned the drain and used the strainer after that. You are doing your daughters no favors by letting them get away with this. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
|
Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: I'd put a sign on the wall in front of toilet that says: "PLEASE READ & FOLLOW PROCEEDURES #1-#5" #1- "pitch a loaf, flush it" #2- "wipe ass with wad of asswiper, flush it" #3- "wipe ass with another wad of asswiper, flush it again" #4- "repeat #3 as many times as needed" #5- "if you failed to follow proceedures #1-#4 & stop up toilet again, you will from now on be using 5 gallon bucket in back yard" ETA: when my woman moved in years ago, she found out quick why I buy & use the septic safe john wayne asswipe paper & not the babywipes she liked when I had to run the power auger line up the cleanout tee towards house, luckly clog was only approx 8' up line. Yep, multi flushing protocol is always in effect |
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: It's been blocked 3 times last week, and now it's slowing WAAY down. My son said he'd dropped an epic turd in it (think USS Ohio-sized*) but that should have flushed a couple of days ago. Now it acts OK for a couple of flushes, then slows down again. My wife has tried the vinegar-and-baking-soda routine several times. I've put 2-3 gallons of hot (not boiling) water several times and that seems to help the most, but it always comes back to a slow flush. I'm afraid of tree roots now. I also suspect that a fatburg has developed. So fatburg first. What is the best enzymatic toilet-clearing chemical out there? I suspect I'll have to dose it, then flush, then wait 8 hours for the enzymes to take effect. *It wasn't too bad coming out till the sail hit. Sounds like the sewer line has roots growing in it that grab toilet paper, baby wipes and paper napkins into a big clog. Baby wipes and napkins don't breakdown in water like toilet paper does, so they cause the worst clogs. Quickest DIY solution is to buy or rent a drum sewer machine with a cutter head. If you have root growth, the roots will come back until you get rid of them using root poison (like from Home Depot or Lowes or Ace Hardware). Read the drum machine instructions and look online also for how to clear the sewer. |