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April 7, 2008

Rooter Becomes the Problem

Q: Ed, help!!! My toilet backed up and I tried to snake it out with a rooter. Guess what? The rooter is now stuck in my toilet bowl trap! What is my next move? Maximus (Florida)

A: Dear Maximus, I hope that is not your only toilet in the house because it looks like you are in a big jam with this one. You may want to call in a plumber on this, because you have two labor-intensive choices:

1) Suck up any water or debris in the tank and bowl with a wet-vac vacuum approved for water use. Then disconnect the tank from the bowl and the bowl from the floor flange. Then you can turn the bowl on its side and try to push the snake or auger from behind while you pull from the front. If you get the snake out, you can then reinstall the toilet and see if it works. Word of caution, the bowl can be damaged and you may have to replace the toilet anyway after all that work.

2) Remove and throw out the old toilet and install a new toilet. The second choice may actually cost you less money if the first choice doesn't work and the job has to be done twice!

Ed Del Grande, the author of Ed Del Grande's House Call, was born and raised in a family-owned plumbing business. With more than 25 years of experience in every aspect of construction, he holds current Master licenses in pipefitting, fire protection and plumbing. If you have a question for Ed, send him an e-mail at eddelgrande@hgtvpro.com.

Posted by Ed Del Grande at April 7, 2008 12:56 AM

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