Why would a toilet be clogged one night and the next day, it flushes with no problem?

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sophiemarie

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Hello!
My toilet got clogged last night. I used a plunger on it and it came up in my shower. I cleaned up the shower last night and assumed I'd have to get a plumber out ASAP.
But when I got off work today, I just flushed the toilet and it flushed with no problems?
Thanks in advance!
 
sophiemarie said:
Hello!
My toilet got clogged last night. I used a plunger on it and it came up in my shower. I cleaned up the shower last night and assumed I'd have to get a plumber out ASAP.
But when I got off work today, I just flushed the toilet and it flushed with no problems?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
It’ll probably back up again.
 
It's possible that whatever was causing the clog had more time to break down and clear out. Use of more water may have assisted with that.
 
--<<It’ll probably back up again.>>--
That's what I was afraid of and thought maybe I should be cautious.

I hope the water took care of it. That would be great. Thank you, everyone!! 😘
 
If it backed up in your shower that means the 3” or 4” main line or branch drain was clogged.

Typically that doesn’t go away on its own unless someone has been flushing a lot of toilet paper and that toilet paper filled the pipe up.

Toilet paper can break down but if theres a reason why it’s getting caught up, then it’ll happen again.

Plunging the toilet in this scenario can blow the waxseal out that seals the toilet to the pipe.
 
Oh no. Thanks for that comment. I guess if it starts draining slowly, I better call a plumber before it gets worse.
Thanks for your post, Twowaxhack!
 
There is one thing you can try, there are canvas or rubber balloons you put into the drain take the shower head off,there is a 1/2" ips thread on the shower arm there is a 1/2' by male hose connection you thread the hose thread the hose on the shower arm
And thread it into the balloon put the balloon in the drain, then turn the valve on to hot be careful the balloon doesn't pop out
Then let the water flow,kinking it every once and a while to see if the shower backs up
 
That sounds over my head, but I will see if my brother can try that. Thanks, Geofd!
 
Putting a blow bag in the shower drain with the main branch clogged is going to fill the toilet bowl up and overflow it. I’m not sure if that’s what you meant do…….

You could try removing the toilet and putting your blow bag there but depending on where the clog is you run the risk of overflowing a drain between your blow bag and the clog.
 
O.P. has not responded back. My stepdaughter's house had this problem in Oregon had a similar problem and she had to pay the plumber several thousand dollars to fix it. I believe they had to replace sections of the drain pipe. Auguring through the cleanout port did not work.

My wife freaked out the first time our shower had a backup, with 2 gallons sitting on the floor. She had a double freakout when the volume doubled. Even our plumber sees this problem in his own house. Now, I've seen advertisements for anti-backflow devices that can be inserted in a 2 inch shower drain. Even Grainger carries this. However, do they work to minimize the mess in the shower? As a guy, I just react to this being "another fine mess" and proceed to suction out the water and clean up.
 
Geofd said:
There is one thing you can try, there are canvas or rubber balloons you put into the drain take the shower head off,there is a 1/2" ips thread on the shower arm there is a 1/2' by male hose connection you thread the hose thread the hose on the shower arm
And thread it into the balloon put the balloon in the drain, then turn the valve on to hot be careful the balloon doesn't pop out
Then let the water flow,kinking it every once and a while to see if the shower back
Click to expand...

Geofd said:
There is one thing you can try, there are canvas or rubber balloons you put into the drain take the shower head off,there is a 1/2" ips thread on the shower arm there is a 1/2' by male hose connection you thread the hose thread the hose on the shower arm
And thread it into the balloon put the balloon in the drain, then turn the valve on to hot be careful the balloon doesn't pop out
Then let the water flow,kinking it every once and a while to see if the shower backs up
Click to expand...
If you're talking about a blowbag, your wrong for this application. If there are vents or any other open drains it will flood their house, if they're not careful and will do absolutely nothing. Blow bags are if you get it directly in the drain and only have the blockage from that point on without an tie-ins. I have seen trained techs cause a lot of damage with these. Be careful when you advise on using them.
 
In a perfect world, sometime in the idyllic future, all houses will be equipped with transparent drain pipes with ample cleanouts and sensors that would help a robot keep the home in tip top shape. Hiding inside every current day ABS or PVC pipe are gremlins who build up dams from waste water. They create several hundred gallons of standing water, and for what? To feed rodents who can chew into the weakest part of the system for H2O. Who has read or watched The Expanse series?
 
Exact issue I had with my main drain last year, flush the toilet and water would start to come up in the tub. Next day it would be fine but if you ran the dishwasher, washer, or took a long enough shower then problem came back. It ended up being a clog before the line came through the basement floor, other words it was outside the house. It had old cast iron pipe and no clean out, I cut it all out except where it exited the floor, I used an adapter and ran pvc the rest of the way. I also put a clean out right before it exits the house, as well as another up stream. I went out and bought a machine and was able to clear the clog, pulled out lots of fun stuff. If anyone ends up clearing their own drains, remember water is your friend!
 
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