Have you ever experienced a situation where the water in your toilet bowl keeps rising after you’ve flushed it? In the chaos of the moment, you may feel panic rising within you as well. What should you do? How do you stop this? Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is if your toilet is already overflowing and water is doomed to spread all over your bathroom floor, there’s not much you can do. However, you can be prepared to handle the aftermath.
Follow these helpful tips from your Loveland Plumbing & Drain professionals.
1. Shut Off the Toilet’s Water Valve:
To stop a toilet from overflowing more, first, locate the toilet’s shut-off valve located behind the toilet. If you are not familiar with this valve, no worries. Usually, it is a football-like shaped knob; you can turn this clockwise to shut off the water supply. Just remember to avoid flushing the toilet again before the issue is completely resolved.
2. Secure the Flapper:
After turning off the water supply to the toilet, check inside the back of the tank for a rubber seal positioned over the tank drain. This rubber seal keeps water from flowing into the toilet unless the flush lever is pulled. The rubber seal should be attached to a metal lever or chain that connects to the flush handle. To ensure the water is sealed off, gently press down on the rubber seal as an extra means to ensure it is indeed properly sealed.
3. Secure the Float:
To further stop water from filling the tank, find the float cup (or float ball) inside the toilet tank. The purpose of the float cup is to control the water level in the tank. You can prevent it from moving as an additional way to stop the water from refilling the tank.
4. Remove the Excess Water:
Finally! Congratulations on successfully stopping the flow of water! At this point, there should be no more risks of the overflow continuing. However, we are not quite done yet! The next step is to clean up the area. To start, you should remove any excess water from the toilet bowl. You’ll need to get down to the nitty gritty since the toilet isn’t draining at the moment. This step is crucial to prevent any future overflow once the toilet is operational again.
First off, if there is any waste or debris in the water, please be careful when cleaning it up. Safety and hygiene should always come first. It is recommended that you wear gloves if you have some available. So, start by picking up any solids or waste and place them carefully in a trash bag. If you don’t have one, you can use a bucket or container to remove the water from the bowl and drain it into the sink or bathtub. Be careful and take your time while doing this; you don’t want toilet water splattering everywhere.
With that out of the way, it’s now time to consider your flooring. You want to get these cleaned up as fast as possible so that no water damage occurs. If you have a wet vacuum, you can use it now to clean up the excess water. For solid flooring, use whatever materials are available, like old towels, rags, paper towels, or mops, to wipe up the spill. In case the overflowed water has reached a carpeted area, cover it with towels and place a heavy object on top to absorb the liquid, and then clean the area as necessary. On top of that, don’t forget to disinfect the impacted areas, such as the flooring and all areas in the bathroom that came into contact with the toilet water.
5. Remove the Blockage:
After you’ve finished cleaning, it’s now time to take care of the pesky clog! Place the plunger over the toilet drain located at the bottom of the bowl, making sure the plunger is submerged in water, and then use the plunger to clear the clog. If the toilet does not drain or if the problem persists, it may indicate a more serious plumbing issue that requires professional assistance. If you’ve already attempted to clear the clog numerous times, but it’s still not clearing, feel free to contact us for help. If your toilet is, in fact, functioning again, that’s fantastic! Just remember to return everything back to its original place, return the tank cover, and turn the water valve back on too!
Are you in need of a local, reliable plumbing company? Call Loveland Plumbing & Drain today at (513) 644-0556 or schedule an appointment now by clicking here!