Is your toilet overflowing? Call your local water damage repair company to address the problem.
Few occurrences are more troublesome than an overflowing toilet. Not only can it result in water damage, but it can also be a serious obstruction for the entire family. Since a toilet is among the most used appliances at your home, you must address the problem as soon as you detect it. In this guide, we’ll explain how to address an overflowing toilet. But before that, let’s take a look at what results in the problem:
Reasons A Toilet Overflows
There are three main causes of an overflowing toilet, namely:
- A clogged drain ,
- A blocked vent pipe that’s supposed to replace the air in the pipe after every flush
- A high-filler float
Let’s discuss each of these causes in detail:
A Clogged Drain: A clogged drain is not difficult to detect. When it occurs, water overflows from the toilet’s bowl and causes a huge mess on the floor. While some elbow grease and a plunger should be enough to treat the clog, more complicated clogs will require professional assistance. Anyhow, treating the clog is the only way to stop the overflow.
High Filler Float: As opposed to a clogged drain, a high filler or improperly adjusted float causes the water to overflow from the toilet’s tank rather than the bowl. This typically happens when the filler float is set too high, allowing water to fill the tank, resulting in leaks. The simple fix is to adjust the mechanism inside the tank to lower the float level.
Blocked Vent Pipe: If your toilet clogs again and again, a blocked vent pipe might be the culprit. The vent pipe’s job is to move outside air into the plumbing system to regulate the air that’s pumped during a flush. Any obstruction here will prevent your toilet from flushing properly, thus causing the toilet to overflow. In this case, you’ll need to call your plumbing professional to solve the problem.
How to Address the Problem
If the toilet starts to overflow in front of you, perhaps after you used it, some minor fixes might do the trick. Reach into the tank and look for the fill valve, which is the ball you see floating on water inside the tank. Pulling this valve up should stop the flow, after which you can remedy the situation using a plunger.
However, if it’s a severe overflow leading to a massive sewage backup in your bathroom, don’t attempt to solve the problem on your own. This is because sewage and wastewater carry bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi. Exposure to these can lead to lung, intestinal, and other infections, while less dangerous conditions include headache, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Depending on the complexity of the situation, water damage can also be severe.
