Any advice appreciated
We're in a rented Council property and we have an issue with our toilet and I'm wondering if it's something that the Council will fix or if we need to call a plumber… My partner used one of those circle toilet blocks that you put in the top of your toilet… Pretty soon afterwards it started breaking off in clumps that fell into the toilet bowl… Then our toilet bece clogged and even toilet paper wasn't going down the toilet.... Along with this the level of the water in the toilet bowl has risen and when you flush the water rises and lots of water also streams out into the bowl. My partner tried plunging it but still toilet paper won't flush and the water just rises up and streams out every time you flush... I hope people can understand, I'm not really explaining it very well... I don't know if it's something I can just call the Council out for or if I'll have to pay for a professional to come and fix this??? Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Comments
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the council will absolutely come out to fix it. You just need to call your council tenant repairs line.
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Hello @Lea1987, you should contact your councils house maintenance line as helen mentions. They should be able to send someone out to fix the issue.
We actually had this exact same issue but in a private house, we decided to pay for a plumber to come out (dealing with that landlord was a pain). It was because of one of those toilet blocks. The plumber said they cause it very often and advised against ever using them. We've avoided them since.
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@Lea1987 If you stop flushing the toilet and keep using the plunger eventually it will go.
It might take a few days or longer which is not ideal, but your council may not fix the problem.
However, it would have been better to contact your council, before asking on here as no one knows what council you are with, and they all have different criteria.
So my council, will be different to your council and so on.
Toilet un blocker the powder and tablets do not work as they should, but stop putting more and more paper into your toilet.
Set a timer for every hour and plunge and keep plunging, eventually it will go.
However, this is the first to me hearing about toilet blocks breaking up and clogging a toilet.
[Comment moderated - unsuitable advice].
It will cost you a few pounds, but better than possibly paying for a plumber, you can also have a look at youtube for videos on how to unclog the toilet.
I did buy a snake, but that was useless, the plunger worked after a while.
Happy (use your imagination here)
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I'm with South Kesteven District Council. My partner plunged it but several times to clear it and we thought the issue was fixed. But then if you even put so much as a 1 tiny piece of toilet paper and try to flush it it will still be in the toilet for hours after. I probably didn't explain myself very well. After it was plunged and we thought it was OK I then noticed that if you went to the loo and flushed the toilet that the amount of water in the toilet bowl is like double what it should be and as well water is just streaming out into the toilet as well (only when flushing). I'm going to give them a ring and see what they say.
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This sounds like two separate problems, although the same cause.
The broken block has probably clogged the holes around the top edge of the toilet pan.
It's not just the weight of the water that flushes tissue but also the fact that it gets directed to the front in order to push everything back down the soil pipe.
So in addition to plunging, it will probably need the whole cistern removing to clear out the debris between cistern & pan, plus some sort of pressure flushing or backflushing through the small pan holes to clear those out. Definitely a plumbers job rather than DIY!
Must admit, this is the first time I've heard of one of those blocks causing a blockage in the soil pipe. Without getting too graphic, those pipes are designed for a certain size of solid objects. So the blockage may be further along the soil pipe than you're expecting.
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I've had issues with the blocks causing issues. I think it depends on the type you get possibly! I would definitely be contacting council services to see if they can get a plumber over.
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Definitely give the council a ring, I’m sure their repair department will sort it(they will of seen it many times before)
Against previous advice under no circumstances put toilet cleaner and bleach in the toilet! The combination can cause a chemical reaction which fumes are hazardous to your health, it’s completely unsafe
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Ah, when I hear "bleach" and "toilet cleaner" I think they are the same thing. But then why suggest using them together then?
You should avoid mixing cleaning chemicals just incase they react, they can be very hazardous as @Luchia mentions. A good thing to bring up Luchia, thank you
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Pretty much any commercial toilet cleaner mixed with bleach will cause a release of chlorine gas which as you can imagine at best you will get a nasty cough(and possibly damage to the lining of the lungs) and at worse can be fatal
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One thing to also add on to no mixing of chemicals is that if you have put any chemicals down your toilet/pipes recently and decide to call someone out, be sure to tell the person what you've used. Certain products can cause some nasty chemical burns.
They should be in the know about what to do with it and can protect themselves should they need to get hands on with the pipes.
Hope you can get it sorted 😊
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Thank you so much for all your comments. I called the Council Repairs department and the lady I spoke to said they will send someone out on the 3rd October. Is it just me or does this seem like an unreasonable amount of time??? They said if they get a cancellation they'll let me know and come sooner.
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Given the way councils budgets have been squeezed it's unfortunately not surprising to me. It's a sad state of affairs.
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It might be worth checking if they have an emergency repairs call out service as they aren’t allowed to leave you without a functioning toilet and it’s classed as an emergency
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Funny enough I was nearly in hospital when I first got our bungalow, The council had put bleach down the toilet to keep it clean(No idea why as it was a brand new wet room) and before we moved in I popped some toilet cleaner down to make it smell nice ready for moving in day…..it took only seconds for the chlorine gas to begin, I had a horrible cough and burnt throat for several weeks after
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If this is your only toilet and the flush is still an issue than 3rd October is way to long to wait! It should be treated as an emergency. When I had problems with my toilet that also wouldn't flush properly, I called them and they came the following morning.
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Agreed. It depends on whether this is your only toilet or not. If it is your only toilet, they can't really expect you to hold it all in for a month! 😐️
I had a blocked toilet last year and a few hours of that was more then enough. Unfortunately I tried to explain that the problem was outside but just kept getting fobbed off and told to wait for assistance or try a plunger. Unfortunately the stress of the situation meant I had to keep using the toilet in it's state of blockage as I couldn't get anywhere else. Ended up in an awful state.
It turned out to be a major blockage in the main drain under the road outside, and once that was shifted, the vacuum in the pipework pulled everything down from my own toilet luckily, leaving just a few sheets of paper which went with the next flush. I was genuinely surprised at how much got pulled through the pipework, which is why I'm now a bit surprised to hear the cleaner blocks can get stuck in there.
I do have an older style toilet with a large pan though. Some of the modern toilets seem to have tiny pans on them. Not sure if it's meant to save water or save space but either way, I don't think they could handle my conditions!
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Yes this is our only toilet. They asked me on the telephone if this is the only toilet we have and I told her that it was. She asked if we have access to anyone else's toilet and I told her that we don't... I told her we can't really be expected to use our neighbours toilets, and we're in a first floor flat and I am disabled and struggle to get downstairs and out of our house, so how would I be able to get downstairs and to my neighbours to use their toilets. We do have neighbours downstairs and upstairs but I struggle to even get down the stairs. I am also diabetic which means I'm up several times a night to pee and my partner has IBS… Still they are saying that unless a cancellation comes up they can't come till 3rd October.
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It might be best to call them back and state it’s an emergency, Tell them you are unable to flush the toilet and that waste is sat in the bowl(this is a biohazard and health risk) under no circumstances can they leave you with a non functioning toilet for a month.
Also check if your council has an emergency service(usually called out of hours repair).
Legally the can’t leave you without a toilet for over a month
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Yes, as it's your only toilet, I think you need to try and push to get it sorted asap. May even be worth contacting your water company in case they can help with the drainage side.
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