Plenty of us understand the frustration and panic of dealing with a clogged toilet. Maybe you’ve already tried plunging it, or maybe you simply don’t want to hunch over the bowl.
Surely there must be an easier way! You’ve probably heard of Drano, which is supposed to be a miracle cure-all for drain clogs.
So can you put Drano down the toilet?
Unfortunately, no. You definitely shouldn’t do this.
What Happens When You Put Drano In Your Toilet?
You might have heard that Drano isn’t good to use in your pipes. But if you’re frustrated enough, maybe that doesn’t matter to you.
Maybe a little corrosion and damage is nothing as long as that darned clog is fixed.
Unfortunately, there’s no real guarantee that Drano will have a positive effect on your toilet clog. Even if the cleaner actually worked without causing damage, it wasn’t built for use in your toilet.
It was built for use in your sink.
The cleaning chemicals in Drano are supposed to work on the materials you might find in your sink. In addition, it’s much easier for Drano to penetrate your sink’s plumbing.
The toilet plumbing is much different. If you pour Drano into your toilet bowl, it might become too watered down to reach the clog at all.
So then you have a clogged toilet… that’s full of dangerous chemicals.
If you try to plunge the toilet, you could splash Drano into your eyes or onto your hands. If you use a different chemical cleaner, you could create poisonous gas, severely damage your pipes, or even create an explosive combination.
And if you often clean your toilet using bleach, then Drano could be deadly. That’s because Drano uses ammonia to work with clogs.
When ammonia and bleach are mixed together, they create deadly mustard gas. Even if you survive an episode with that, you could end up with serious injuries and poisoning.
Drano might also damage your toilet plumbing even more than it would damage your sink. The powerful chemical dissolves materials using oxidization.
This chemical reaction creates heat. While this can pose a small problem in your sink drain, it poses a much bigger problem in your toilet drain.
Since the Drano works more slowly on the toilet clog than the sink clog, it will generate more heat. This heat could crack your toilet’s porcelain or soften your pipes.
At worst, this can lead to warping and leaking of your pipes. You might have to get the piping fully replaced.
Which Drano Is Safe For Toilets?
No type of Drano is safe to use in toilets. The product is specifically built for sink clogs, and it can still cause damage even in your sink.
Even if there are Drano products that say they can be used in the toilet, they shouldn’t be.
Harsh chemicals like Drano can wreak havoc on your sewer or septic system. They have a serious environmental impact, they damage your pipes, and they can be dangerous to use.
You don’t need harsh chemical cleaners to unclog your toilet. There are plenty of simple DIY solutions that you can use at home instead.
Drano Alternatives To Unclog A Toilet?
There are quite a few different alternatives to using Drano for a toilet clog. Some of them might depend on the location and the type of clog.
Do you want to dissolve the clog?
Then you might want to use a combination of vinegar and baking soda. Mix a cup of baking soda with 2 cups of water until you have a thick liquid.
Pour this down your drain. Then follow it up with 2 cups of vinegar.
You’ll see the solution working when there are bubbles around the drain. Leave it for around a half-hour, then try flushing the toilet.
This will break down the clog and help to loosen debris in the pipes. It also has an overall cleansing effect that can be more effective than Drano.
Another tried-and-true method is to use boiling water and soap. This won’t necessarily dissolve the entire clog, but it will soften the material.
If you’re dealing with organic matter, sometimes that’s all you need to flush the clog.
Just pour several quarts of hot water down the drain, along with a liberal helping of your dish soap. Leave them to work for a half-hour.
If you’re willing to use tools, then a flange plunger will often do the trick. Flange plungers conform to the unique shape of your toilet drain.
This allows them to get a better seal than all-purpose plungers. If you’re having trouble getting an airtight seal with a traditional plunger, you might want to invest in a flange option.
When the clog is deeper in your piping, you might benefit from a plumbing snake. This is a tool with a long wire that you can feed deep into the pipes.
It’s flexible enough to move around the bends and curves. When you meet resistance, you’ll simply push and pull the wire until the clog is dislodged.
Finally, you can call a plumber for clogs that you can’t seem to get rid of. That’s a much better solution than Drano — and your plumber will thank you for not making their job harder!
Conclusion
You shouldn’t pour Drano down your toilet. In fact, you probably shouldn’t pour Drano down any of your pipes.
Though this chemical cleaner has been around for almost a century, it tends to do more harm than good. And it isn’t guaranteed to unclog your toilet.
It’s a better idea to work with alternatives. For example, boiling water and soap can be used to soften a clog.
You can also use a combination of vinegar and baking soda to cleanse your pipes and dislodge a clog. Tools like plungers and plumbing snakes are great for manually eliminating clogs.
When all else fails, you can call a plumber for help. They’ll have more heavy-duty tools, and they can also tell you if there are other issues with your piping system.