{"id":1746,"date":"2021-12-06T11:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:53:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:53:01","slug":"how-deal-overflowing-toilet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/how-deal-overflowing-toilet\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deal With an Overflowing Toilet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/toilet-with-button-flush-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"toilet-with-button-flush\" class=\"wp-image-1129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/toilet-with-button-flush-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/toilet-with-button-flush.jpg 401w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although there are more serious plumbing emergencies that can strike a house, <\/span>the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/toilet-overflowing-what-do-i-do\/\"> overflowing toilet plumbing emergency<\/a> is the one that causes the most sudden and panicked response.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We don\u2019t blame people for getting a bit freaked out when something like this happens.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have good news, which is that it isn\u2019t as difficult to deal with an overflowing toilet as it might seem. You may need to call for a professional <\/span><a href=\"\/service-areas\/essex-vt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plumber in Essex, VT<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help with repairs, but with some quick thinking and a few steps, you can stop the immediate emergency and give yourself time to breathe. You can always trust our plumbers to be ready to help with whatever plumbing trouble you have, no matter the time of the day or night.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anyway, on to what <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can do about that overflowing toilet.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>How do you handle an overflowing toilet safely?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Turn off the water immediately:<\/strong> Shut off the valve behind the toilet to stop more water from filling the bowl.<\/li><li><strong>Stop flushing:<\/strong> Flushing again can worsen the overflow and increase water damage.<\/li><li><strong>Contain the water:<\/strong> Use towels to limit spreading and protect nearby flooring.<\/li><li><strong>Try plunging once water levels drop:<\/strong> If the clog does not clear quickly, contact an emergency plumbing company.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Call a 24 hour plumbing company if sewage backs up:<\/strong> Ongoing overflow or multiple drain backups require professional plumbing services right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h3><b>First, turn off the valve on the feed tube<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You want to stop more water from going into the toilet, and the best way to do that is to shut off the valve on the feed tube. The feed tube runs from the wall behind the toilet into the tank, and it has a simple valve on it. Twist the valve 90\u00b0 to help<a href=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/why-wont-toilet-stop-running\/\"> stop a running toilet<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><b>Open the tank and secure the flapper valve<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next, take the lid off the tank. Be cautious with it, because the porcelain lid is one of the most expensive parts of a toilet to replace, so you don\u2019t want to break it. Set it down on the floor. Now you have access to the tank. Reach down into the tank and press onto the flapper valve at the tank bottom. You want to make sure it seals so water won\u2019t continue to flow down into the tank.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><b>If you don\u2019t have a valve on the feed line\u2026<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re jumping back to the first step because you may have an older toilet without a valve on the feed line. If this is the case, you\u2019re now in a place where you can stop water flow without it. Lift up on the float in the tank that registers the level of the water. When you lift it high enough, it will cut off the water flow. You may need to rig up something to keep it raised, such as a thin rod.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><b>Absorb as much water from the floor as you can<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have a wet-dry vac, now is the time to use it! This is what it was built for. If you don\u2019t, get old towels or newspapers and spread them down on the floor to absorb the water that has overflowed from the toilet. You want to absorb as much as possible to prevent the water (which may be filled with bacteria) from seeping down into the floor,\u00a0especially if water is<a href=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/toilet-leaking-around-base-trouble\/\"> leaking around the toilet base<\/a>. Trying to mop it up rather than absorb it can often make the problem worse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><b>Try to unclog the toilet<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now you can attempt to unclog the toilet using a basic plunger. If this doesn\u2019t work, please don\u2019t attempt to use drain cleaners, as these can harm the drainpipe.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><b>Call our plumbers<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the problem hasn\u2019t been solved, now it\u2019s time to give our experts a call!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"\/contact\/schedule-service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Call Red Rock Mechanical, LLC when you have emergency plumbing troubles.<\/b><\/a><b> We serve Northwest Vermont and Northeast New York.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have good news, which is that it isn\u2019t as difficult to deal with an overflowing toilet as it might seem. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[140,111,56,63],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1746"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2417,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746\/revisions\/2417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}