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jayspi's avatar
jayspi
Explorer
Jul 25, 2015

Help! Clogged toilet in 5th wheel

Hey everyone,

We have a clogged toilet in our 5th wheel. The pipe curves at about a 45 degree angle and then drops into the black tank. We're 99% sure that it's toilet paper clogging it (we were trying a new type) and unfortunately it was probably clogging for several days.

The hardware store only had drain augers, nothing for toilets. I managed to use a drain auger to push it to the bottom of the pipe but it's still clogged. The drain auger goes in at least 5-6 feet and then hits something so I'm sure I'm reaching the bottom of the pipe, but it's still clogged. No water draining at all.

The black tank itself dumps just fine.

I read in some other posts that some black tanks have a shelf at the bottom of the pipe, and I think that might be the case with us.

So far we've tried:

1) several pots of boiling water. That doesn't work, probably because the blockage is at the bottom and there's too much water on top (it's backfilled into the toilet)

2) the drain auger, as mentioned above.

3) a straight stick (before buying the drain auger) but of course all that did was push it about half way down the pipe

I think I need to find a way to get the blockage down that last part. It MUST be near the bottom. We're going to drive into the nearest town to buy some stuff, so I'm wondering what other things people would recommend? It's an hour drive so I don't want to waste it.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
  • you can buy a hand held auger it has 25ft of snake on it, the tool has a screw on the end like a pigs tale ,it,ll catch the clog and pull it back.at home depot or lowes, put in the hole and you twist the hand part. DON
  • newman fulltimer wrote:
    you need to backwash your tank from your drain


    You mean by running water into it while the drain is closed? I tried that for just a few minutes using the built in sprayer, but I was nervous about doing it for too long since I figured it must be building a lot of pressure from the air in the tank.
  • I forgot to add, I did search the forums. The most common suggestion was boiling water, hose and closet auger. We're going to pick up a closet auger in town, but I don't want to use a hose because there is already water backed up into the toilet.

    Coat hanger is a good suggestion! We only have plastic ones so we'll pick up a wire one and give it a go.
  • Metal Coat hanger with the end curved so it does not puncture anything. That will give you 3 feet or so and will handle the bend. The curved end will also allow you to pull some of it back if it is tightly compacted.

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