How to Unclog a Toilet With a Trash Bag
Toilets are funny things. When we have easy access to a clean, working one, we don’t think too much about them. But when we get stuck somewhere without it, toilets quickly become an obsession, and when one in your house goes down, it becomes the most important thing in your life right now. You just didn’t experience what scientists would call “growing panic” until you flushed the toilet and watched in horror as the water level … rose. And if you are using someone else’s toilet when it clogs and clogs, this escalating panic can quickly turn into a panic attack.
As horrible as the clogged toilet is, humanity, in its collective wisdom, has developed many tools to deal with the situation, from your trusty old piston to the poop knife . But what if you don’t actually have any of these items? What if you find yourself watching gray water slowly fill the toilet and you, presumably an adult, don’t have any of the basic tools to handle it?
First, don’t panic. In fact, toilets are surprisingly simple devices that rely on the fundamental forces of the universe to dispose of your waste. You, at the top of the food chain with your abnormally large mammalian brain, can use the same powers to solve this problem. While there are several methods of cleaning a toilet without a plunger, most require either hot water (which can get dirty quickly) or at least a tool to drain into the toilet. But there is one way to unclog the toilet using what you definitely have on hand: a trash bag.
How to unclog a toilet with a trash bag
Your toilet is not fancy. Sure, maybe you have one of these microchip and bidet toilets, or one of those Japanese toilets that sing soothing songs to you while you tense and grumble. But it’s still a pretty simple device that uses water pressure and gravity to remove your waste. All the piston does is a weapon at that pressure, using Boyle’s Law , which deals with the expansion and contraction of gas – essentially, it sets up a seal and then forces compressed air into your pipes to dislodge the shame that has accumulated there.
If you are missing a piston because you somehow missed this day in the adult class, don’t despair. All you have to do is find another way to create this pressure. You can actually buy a product for this , but you can easily do it yourself using a trash bag or plastic wrap. In fact, a plastic wrap like the Saran Wrap is best because it will grip the sides well, but as a last resort, any old trash bag will do. This is how it works:
- Wrap the plastic around the edge of the toilet. Make the seal as tight as possible. It is best to use tight-fitting wrap, but if all you have is a trash bag, just tighten it and either tie to seal it or use duct tape to secure it tightly to the bowl. Use multiple layers to keep it thick and able to withstand a certain amount of force.
- When you have a snug fit, press the center of the head over the bowl in a deep motion. Don’t push too hard (you can wear gloves for this, in case your efforts to secure the plastic fail and you … uh … sink into the mess below). Repeat this several times.
- Flush the toilet.
You may need to do this several times, but the pressure should eventually displace whatever is blocking your pipes. You can see it in action if you like – it really works!
Now that you’ve escaped disaster (not to mention the big plumber bill), it’s time to sit and ponder the series of life decisions that brought you here – with a clogged toilet and no bath.