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

"J" wrote in message
...
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.

If her underwear is polyester or any other synthetic, they will not do any
good in the septic tank as the bacteria will not dissolve the man-made yarn,
they could block the exit pipe and cause another back-up or move through to
the leach field and block one of the pipe runs. I would get them out of the
pipe as soon as possible. Do you have any cleanouts that you could open and
work from, or pull the toilet and attack the blockage from the open pipe
without scratching the toilet. The pipe size from the toilet is a minimum 3
inches in diameter. If the daughter is a child, I cannot imagine the
underwear being big enough to plug the pipe, if she is old enough, possible
something else like a sanitary pad attached to them may block the pipe.
Again, I would not let them travel into your septic tank, unless you
immediately have it pumped out.

Figuring that's the clog, I'd be tempted to get a snake, and open up the
end of the wire, so it will catch and retrieve the offending fabric. Use
some kind of tube (inch PVC maybe?) so the snake doesn't scratch the
porcelean. I've done that, scratch porcelean.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"J" wrote in message
...
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

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:10:30 -0800 (PST), J wrote:

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

You should try to pull the panties out. A closet auger is good for
about 3 ft. A longer snake will get farther in the sewer line but
it's harder to get past the toilet loop. Might have to take the
toilet off the stack. So it really depends on where the panties are.
I don't know about septic systems.
I can tell you that nylon or other polyester panties won't degrade
very fast. Don't know about cotton. Might be some chemicals that
would break them down. Seems like a long shot though.
I had the same thing happen, so feel alone.
About a week after a social gathering, my lift system pump started
vibrating. Since it was almost brand new, I had the installer come
out. He had to pull it out and we found chewed up nylon panties
wrapped around the impeller. Still tough getting the threads out.
Cost me 3 bills.

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:00:54 -0500, "EXT"
wrote:

If her underwear is polyester or any other synthetic, they will not do any
good in the septic tank as the bacteria will not dissolve the man-made yarn,
they could block the exit pipe and cause another back-up or move through to
the leach field and block one of the pipe runs. I would get them out of the
pipe as soon as possible. Do you have any cleanouts that you could open and
work from, or pull the toilet and attack the blockage from the open pipe
without scratching the toilet. The pipe size from the toilet is a minimum 3
inches in diameter. If the daughter is a child, I cannot imagine the
underwear being big enough to plug the pipe, if she is old enough, possible
something else like a sanitary pad attached to them may block the pipe.
Again, I would not let them travel into your septic tank, unless you
immediately have it pumped out.

+1

"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...


inches in diameter. If the daughter is a child, I cannot imagine the
underwear being big enough to plug the pipe, if she is old enough,
possible something else like a sanitary pad attached to them may block the
pipe.

I worked at a hospital at one time. The main sewer ling got stopped up. We
had a machine that you take the tolit off the wall and it looked like a big
spring about 2 inches in diameter could be ran in the pipe by a motor. When
we pulled the 'snake' out , on it was two of the biggest panties I have ever
seen . We thought it was a bed sheet or a couple of pillow cases when they
first came out.

"Vic Smith" wrote in message

stuff snipped

I can tell you that nylon or other polyester panties won't degrade
very fast. Don't know about cotton. Might be some chemicals that
would break them down. Seems like a long shot though.

Bleach or drain cleaner might work. If you've even accidentally bleached a
poly-cotton blend you'll discover the poly discolors which I assume is step
one on the path to disintegration. .

I had the same thing happen, so feel alone.

I feel so alone. (-:

About a week after a social gathering, my lift system pump started
vibrating. Since it was almost brand new, I had the installer come
out. He had to pull it out and we found chewed up nylon panties
wrapped around the impeller. Still tough getting the threads out.
Cost me 3 bills.

I fixed a washer whose impeller snagged a nylon half-stocking and stretched
it out to at least 20 feet. What a mess.

--
Bobby G.

J wrote:
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

My vote would be to start by taking the toilet off and see what you can see
from there. If you are not comfortable taking the toilet off, the plumber
idea would probably make the most sense. That's what a plumber will
probably do, and the cost of having a plumber take care of it now may save a
bigger expense later on with your septic system.

Another option (if you don't want to do the above just yet) would be to buy
a "closet auger" and try it yourself first. Here's a 90-second YouTube
video on how to do that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6ILFbD7zGE

The video uses a more expensive closet auger, but you can buy a cheap one at
Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc.

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:16:35 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

I had the same thing happen, so feel alone.

I feel so alone. (-:

I see the journalist coming from you :-\

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:16:35 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message



I had the same thing happen, so feel alone.

I feel so alone. (-:


Heh. Usually most people don't read closely enough to notice when a
word that is left out - "don't" - reverses what is meant.
Or maybe they do, ken the mistake and ignore it.
A day or 2 ago I warned somebody in the "used car prices up" thread to
stop digging himself a hole with a teaspoon when I was using a
backhoe. That wasn't too smart.
But it wasn't even noticed, or at least commented upon.
If it was, I had a comeback ready. "That wasn't too smart."
Har har.

"TomR" wrote:
J wrote:
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

My vote would be to start by taking the toilet off and see what you can see
from there. If you are not comfortable taking the toilet off, the plumber
idea would probably make the most sense. That's what a plumber will
probably do, and the cost of having a plumber take care of it now may save a
bigger expense later on with your septic system.

Another option (if you don't want to do the above just yet) would be to buy
a "closet auger" and try it yourself first. Here's a 90-second YouTube
video on how to do that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6ILFbD7zGE

The video uses a more expensive closet auger, but you can buy a cheap one at
Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc.

It's is what I would do. The two times I have had problems... Scratch that
- the two times my wife has screwed up the plumbing the objects she has
dropped have gotten caught somewhere in the trap of the toilet and I have
never had any success using a snake.

One of the items was caught on an edge of the toilet just where it touches
the wax ring and would never have gotten free the other time it was deep in
the trap and I had to back flush it with a garden hose to get it out.

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:16:35 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message



I had the same thing happen, so feel alone.

I feel so alone. (-:


Heh. Usually most people don't read closely enough to notice when a
word that is left out - "don't" - reverses what is meant.

I can't resist a good straight line and spent years editing copy so I'm
attuned the very common missing word - in other people's writing. I miss
them all the time in my own. Once that got me written up in an article on
editing mistakes. Instead of "We are the best" I wrote "We the best." My
editor asked me "Shouldn't it be: "We be the best?"

Besides, I still owe you for bamboozling me with that post about a day in
the life of gun-toting Vic. Payback! (-:

--
Bobby G.

On Nov 12, 9:10*am, J wrote:
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

From experience external to plumbing, soak the item in straight
bleach. Cotton in no time dissolves into pieces!

Downside: septic system and down the drain.
septic bleach is not so good for
and, down the drain means you may not get the concentration required

oh, if the undies were polyester, won't work.