# Actually need to clog a toilet



## VIPlumber (Aug 2, 2010)

Try 3" rubber test plugs.










As for the not normally used toilets, why not just shutoff the water to them and flush them down so there's little water in the tank and just enough in the trap?


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

Why not turn off the water supply to three of the toilets and drain the bowls with either a sponge or a wet vac and stop using them?

Then in the remaining toilet place one of those chemical slow release cleaners in the tank.


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## Dan Robbins (Sep 15, 2011)

*What type chemical release?*

First, thank you Bud Cline & VIPlumber. I should have mentioned that the 2 toilets we don't use are shut off unless we have company so they are not a problem.

VIPlumber...where do I get one of those test plugs? I'm in Indiana and my local plumbing supply house claims they didn't know of anything that would work. 

Bud...what type of slow release chemical would clean all of the upper areas? That would be perfect until I figure out why my water went bad.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Drape strips of vinegar soaked cloth over the stains as if they were strips of paper mache and you were going to cover the surface. Soak the strips with more vinegar every now and then.

Under your method of plugging the toilet and filling the bowl with vinegar you will need a tremendous quantity of vinegar, perhaps four gallons. Using the soaked rags you might not need more than a quart of vinega.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> Bud...what type of slow release chemical would clean all of the upper areas? That would be perfect until I figure out why my water went bad.


Don't know of a brand name at the moment but I can probably find one if you can't find something. Some of those slow-release gizmo's that hang in the tank contain chemicals to keep the minerals from collecting and are renewed each time there is a flush.


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## VIPlumber (Aug 2, 2010)

> ...where do I get one of those test plugs? I'm in Indiana and my local plumbing supply house claims they didn't know of anything that would work.


That supply house should have 'em, if not then try another one, or Ace, HD, Lowe's, etc...

Alan makes a good point about the amount of vinegar you'll need to soak it each time. Add to that the fact that you need to do it every couple of days, even if vinegar if pretty cheap.

I like Bud's idea about the toilet pucks, though I'm not that familiar with them. Around here I'll install a softener & whole house filter, etc... depending on what the water tests tell me.

Remember that if your toilet bowl looks like that, imagine what the inside of all your fixtures, valves, hot water tank, etc... look like. Sounds like you need to get your water tested and conditioned ASAP.

Good luck.


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## Alan (Apr 12, 2006)

VIPlumber said:


> Try 3" rubber test plugs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Probably going to need a 2" balloon. Most toilets don't have 3" trapways.

:thumbup:


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## plumber666 (Oct 7, 2010)

Speaking of balloons.......how bout using a balloon?


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## Polly003 (Aug 24, 2011)

I am absolutely not an expert at plumbing, but have run across another thing that might work in addition to what has been recommended here. 

Use a cleaning polish of some sort inside the bowl (after it is scrubbed clean). Scrubbing Bubbles came out with a new cleaner that advertises to keep items clean for 4 days. I found that the area around my faucets do not crust up if I use it about twice a week. Also that little area around the sink drain that would lime up in a day or so is staying crust free. I tried it inside the bowl of toilet and found stuff does not stick nearly as much. 

(Polish may not be the correct word but it is all I can use to describe how this works.)

*PLUMBERS* – do you see any problem with using this kind of cleanser/polish inside the bowl?


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## bubbler (Oct 18, 2010)

So you have a toilet you don't use much... buy a couple of 5 gal jugs from the supermarket, dump them in the toilet... now your bowl is filled with fresh, non-hard, water. Every few months dump another 5-gal down... the bottles are only a few bucks each.


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## plumber666 (Oct 7, 2010)

PS, We're plumbers, not janitors.


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## diy_sharp (Dec 25, 2020)

Vinegar usually eats through rubber and some plastics. I don't think a balloon would work. If you try it, you might anchor the balloon with a string so it doesn't melt and run down the drain.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

Turn off the water, flush it and shop vac the tank dry. Then fill the tank with vinegar and flush it.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Here are hanging cleaners. I don't use them because I want my pets to have a source of water if anything happens, but, I think they work.
* Lysol*.
*Soft Scrub*.
*Scrubbing Bubbles*.

Willert Home Products.
Bowl Fresh.
Kaboom.
FLUSH N SPARKLE.
Big D. Vacplus. STANLEY HOME PRODUCTS. See more.
*hanging toilet bowl cleaner - Amazon.com*


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Presumably in the last nine years the problem has been resolved...


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

huesmann said:


> Presumably in the last nine years the problem has been resolved...


LOL, almost got me! I was formulating my answers when I saw this, and then noticed the date of the OP.

There ought to be some sort of warning when an old thread is resurrected.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

They should also reprogram or delete the recommended reading section. It presents old threads to people which exacerbates the comments on old threads.

Personally, id like to see an absolute lock to prevent new comments on theads older than X amount of time. If someone wants to refer to an older thread, they can always link to it.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

There's a date. . . . 🤣 Also, notice the members you've never heard of in recent years.

Actually, I think the answers are useful, especially for how to keep a toilet clean. I've cleaned a number of recalcitrant ( I like that word!) toilet stains that have apparently existed for years prior to my being in a house. If you just work on it patiently, daily, with something like Lysol or Clorox toilet cleaner, it goes away. Bad water is another issue to be dealt with.

I've included the COVID warning, not funny, but, sadly humorous; I wonder when it will go away -



lysol toilet cleaner - Google Shopping


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## A Squared (Dec 19, 2005)

Nik333 said:


> Here's hanging cleaners. I don't use them because I want my pets to have a source of water if anything happens, but, I think they work.
> * Lysol*.
> *Soft Scrub*.
> *Scrubbing Bubbles*.
> ...



I had similar problems with extreme mineral build up in toilets. (not any more, water supply was switched from a community well to municipal water, whcih is much better) I found that the Lysol cleaner for lime and rust build up works really well. Get the stuff in the black bottle. It's very viscous so it clings to the sides while it dissolves build-up. I would turn off the water to the tank, flush, then let it sit for a bit so all the water was done seeping down the sides of the bowl, then squirt the cleaner around the bowl and let it sit.


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## A Squared (Dec 19, 2005)

Nik333 said:


> There's a date. . . . 🤣 Also, notice the members you've never heard of in recent years.
> 
> Actually, I think the answers are useful,


Yeah, if one person is wondering how to do something, thn probably other people are wondering, or will be wondering the same thing. It ain't like there's only one person on the planet who has ever had a prpblem removing mineral deposits from their toilet bowl. I know that when I'm looking for an answer to something I search the archives, I've often found useful information in very old threads.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

I swear the prices for the toilet cleaner hangers were ridiculously high, yesterday! They've changed overnight.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Oso954 said:


> They should also reprogram or delete the recommended reading section. It presents old threads to people which exacerbates the comments on old threads.
> 
> Personally, id like to see an absolute lock to prevent new comments on theads older than X amount of time. If someone wants to refer to an older thread, they can always link to it.


Another forum I read has a function where if the last post in the thread is more than X days old, it puts up warning, "This thread is more than X days old, are you sure you want to post in it?" or something like that.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

huesmann said:


> Another forum I read has a function where if the last post in the thread is more than X days old, it puts up warning, "This thread is more than X days old, are you sure you want to post in it?" or something like that.


It used to say that here.


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