Alright, we’re all thinking it, but we’re not saying it. What if the water doesn’t go down? You flush the toilet, and instead of that beautiful, satisfying whoosh, it rises too high. Your heart races. You’re standing there, negotiating with the plumbing gods, and it just stays there. A clogged toilet. Great.
Most people would grab the plunger, and I can honestly say it’s the most effective tool when available. However, that isn’t always the case. Yours might be missing, cracked, or just one of those sink-sized plungers that don’t work for a toilet anyway. Quick side note: yes, sink plungers and toilet plungers are different. Sink plungers are flat. Toilet plungers have that little flange on the bottom so they seal properly. If you only have the wrong one, sorry, it isn’t going to give you much help.
But here’s the cool part—you can sometimes fix the situation without using a plunger.
The Dish Soap Hack
You won’t need chemicals, fancy tools, or anything special. Just dish soap. The same liquid dish soap you keep next to your sink.
Step 1: Pour about half a cup into the toilet bowl. Don’t worry about how silly it looks—it’ll just slide right down. The soap will sink, coat the pipes, and cover whatever is stuck inside them. Then leave it for 25 to 30 minutes. Letting it sit gives the soap time to lubricate the clog.
Step 2: After it sits, fill a bucket with hot (but not boiling) water from the stove—boiling water can crack porcelain. You want hot tap water, then carefully pour it into the toilet bowl. Don’t dump it in too quickly and create another flood. Slow and steady works best.
This combo of dish soap and hot water usually loosens the clog just enough for gravity to take over and everything to slide through. When it clears, you’ll even hear a satisfying gurgle.
If It Doesn’t Work Right Away
Sometimes it won’t clear on the first try, and that’s completely normal. Try again with more soap, give it extra time, then add more hot water. With particularly stubborn clogs, it may take two hot water rounds. Still, that’s better than paying for an emergency plumber because of a mild problem.
Of course, there are clogs that won’t respond to this trick. Tree roots, random objects (looking at you, kids flushing toys), and severe obstructions won’t just dissolve. But for everyday clogs—too much toilet paper, slow drains—this treatment is surprisingly effective.
How It Works
Soap tends to be slippery. Kind of the point. Soap coats whatever is blocking the pipe and allows it to glide right through. Hot water breaks it down, softens it, and pushes it through. Together, its enough to get a clog flowing without using a harsh drain cleaner that can strip pipes.
Next time you deal with a clogged toilet without a plunger, or just don’t want to use a plunger, I would try dish soap and hot water. Cheap, easy, and worth a try. And, at the very least, you will have the satisfaction of trying, before you call the plumber!
Thanks to Build.com for sharing this helpful tip!
