VIDEO: Brown Friday Toilet Disaster? Try These 3 Quick Fixes Before Calling a Plumber

This holiday season, something of vital importance for homeowners to know is that the days after Thanksgiving are more than just coming down off your tryptophan trip and futzing around the house in your stretchy pants — it’s also the No. 1 weekend for emergency plumbing calls! No, seriously, they call it … gulp! … Brown Friday. (Google it.)

Between your Uncle Bob’s marathon newspaper sessions and roving bands of rugrats causing toilet paper dams in the drain, all these squatters, er … holiday guests are gonna take a toll on your toilet. No need to lose your sh… shirt. Before you pay peak-period plumber prices for an emergency holiday-weeked callout, try one or more of the following three methods for unclogging your commode, each of which we demonstrate in the video above.

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Method No. 1: Take the Plunge!

1. If possible, opt for a proper toilet plunger with a black cup and a flexible rubber flap inside.

2. Shut the stop valve to prevent overflowing.

3. Put the cup over the drain and rotate it slightly to create a seal.

4. Push the handle up and down firmly a few times.

5. Flush the toilet to see if the plunging worked. If not, repeat.

Method No. 2: Warm and Fizzy!

1. Heat a gallon or so of water close to, but not quite, boiling.

2. As the water’s heating, add a cup of baking soda and 2 cups of vinegar to the bowl and let it fizz.

3. Do a piping-hot pour-over and ... bubble, bubble toilet trouble be gone!

Method No. 3: Lube the Loo!

1. Add a half-cup of dish soap to your toilet to lubricate the bowl and pipes.

2. Now let it sit there for a while — like your Uncle Bob.

3. Again, add your hot-but-not-boiling water and the clog should slide on through.

It’s like Metamucil for your American Standard!

Be sure to watch the video above — and if you find it educational and/or entertaining, don’t forget to like, save and share, and subscribe to the HomeServe YouTube channel for new helpful how-to home maintenance videos weekly.

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