Hydro Jetting in Riverdale, GA

Hydro jetting is sometimes the cure for a toilet that clogs every week or two, and sometimes it is beside the point. In a Riverdale home with one stubborn toilet, the first job is to work out whether the trouble lives in the toilet itself or in the pipe beyond it. The answer decides whether you need a tank adjustment, an auger, a different toilet or a thorough cleaning of the line.

Four places a toilet clog can sit

1. The trapway inside the porcelain, the curved channel built into the toilet.
2. The closet bend and flange, the fitting just under the floor where the toilet connects.
3. The branch drain that carries the toilet's waste to the main stack or building drain.
4. The main sewer line that serves the entire house.

Jetting is useful for the last two, occasionally the second, and never for the first.

Clues that point to the toilet itself

If only one toilet clogs, other fixtures drain normally and a plunger clears it every time, the problem is usually in the bowl or the trapway. Common causes are a weak flush from a low tank water level or a flapper that closes too soon, an early low-flow model that struggles with ordinary amounts of paper, mineral buildup around the rim holes, or an object lodged in the trapway. A toilet auger, an adjustment inside the tank, or sometimes a new toilet solves these. Pumping water into the pipe at high pressure would not.

Clues that point to the line

If water rises in the tub or shower when the toilet is flushed, a nearby sink gurgles, or a second toilet starts acting up too, the restriction is downstream in shared piping. Toilets are often the first fixture to reveal a main line problem because they send the biggest slug of water and solids at once. Clogs that return no matter how gently the toilet is used, or that worsen when the washer runs, also point past the toilet.

How the line behind a toilet gets cleaned

For a main line problem, the technician jets from the outdoor or indoor cleanout. For the branch serving one bathroom, it is sometimes necessary to lift the toilet off the flange and work from that opening, then reset it on a new wax ring. Paper buildup, wipes, scale in old cast iron and roots in the main all respond to jetting, though wipes and roots need the right nozzle. A sewer camera inspection shows what was there and whether a crack or sag helps it collect. If the pipe is damaged, the next step is drain repair on the branch or main sewer line repair on the main. Our Georgia hydro jetting overview explains how the equipment works.

Riverdale rules for repairs

Clearing the line is the kind of work Riverdale's code exempts from permits, but replacing a defective drain or waste pipe with new material counts as new work that needs a permit and inspection. The city's Building and Permitting Division handles those applications online.

Toilet clog questions from Riverdale

Will a new high-efficiency toilet clog more often?

Not as a rule. Many current models flush very well with less water, and performance varies more between models than between old and new. A long, flat or partly coated drain line can make any low-volume toilet struggle, though, so if a new toilet keeps clogging, the line beyond it deserves a look before the toilet is blamed.

Does the toilet have to be removed for hydro jetting?

Only when lifting it is the simplest way into that bathroom's branch. If the house has a usable cleanout, the main and often the branch can be cleaned from there and the toilet stays put. Lifting it means draining the tank and bowl, unbolting it and setting it back on a fresh wax ring, and the floor flange gets a look while it is off.

What should I do if the bowl is about to overflow?

Stop flushing and close the shutoff valve on the wall behind the toilet so the tank cannot refill. Plunge gently with a flange plunger, keeping the bowl from spilling. If water rises in the tub or shower while you do, stop, because the blockage is farther down, and avoid pouring chemical cleaners into the bowl.

Stop plunging the same toilet

Tired of reaching for the plunger every few days at your Riverdale home? Call Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448, tell us whether other drains react when the toilet clogs, and we will start from there.