I've had plenty of clogged toilets in the past and have always been able to eventually push the clog through with a plunger (things usually soften up and dissolve in the water after a while). After we had guests over yesterday I discovered that the toilet was clogged - and much worse than I've ever seen before. I plunged and plunged and eventually cleared the bowl, but now it's in a state where it will slowly drain but not flush properly. I'm guessing I just moved the clog a little further down the pipe. I would not want any solids going in that toilet right now.

I had my suspicions, but new evidence has come to light that strongly suggests our friends' daughter probably had an accident and decided to hide the evidence by flushing her undies. :-( If I had know that from the beginning, I might have approached matters differently from the start. Now I'm not sure what how to proceed. We have a septic system. Should I just keep up with the plunging and hope to eventually move the obstruction through - or is that futile, or will that harm our septic. Should I get a plumbers snake and try that method (to pull the undies back up maybe) and hope I haven't already moved the obstruction out of reach? Is there another longer tool to use (I've heard mention of a closet augher) - or will that scratch the porcelain on our toilet? Should I just skip to the chase and hire a plumber?

Thanks for advice on how to best resolve this problem.

-J