Toilet Flooding
Toilet flooding? As much as we’d not like to think about it, this is a common source of water damage in any home or building…the reasons why will remain in our imaginations. But what do do?
Luckily, this is a simple fix. First, if you find a toilet overflowing, something often overlooked is the risk of slipping…make sure have good footing. This is way more common than you think. There are two quick handles for this:
1. Most toilets will have a water shutoff valve located in the wall behind the toilet, to the left or right of the toilet. Turn the knob quickly to stop the water getting fed into the toilet.
2. In the rare event that the valve is not accessible or there is no water shutoff valve, lift off the back of the toilet – the lid. Look into the water tank (the water is clean in there so don’t worry) and find the rubber circular flap…and then push it down. This flap when raised is where the water drains from the tank into your toilet bowl. That should do it.
One of these two methods will handle most every forms of toilet overflow so you can handle the blockage causing the water to damage your home. If you have a basement toilet that will not drain, it is possible that you may have an ejector pump (a sewage pump that pumps your waste water to a higher pipe for release to your main sewer line) that has quit. In this event you’ll have to get the pump repaired or replaced.
And don’t flush big wads of paper towels kids!
