How to Clean a Toilet Vent
Toilet vents can get clogged and just like any other pipe in your house, they need to be cleaned out. The obvious solution is trying to snake it, but this can get complicated. There are no couplings or joints to get into, and if your vent stays plugged, your toilet won't flush very well--if at all. Fortunately, there is another entrance that is often overlooked. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Put on some rubber-soled shoes. You will be going up on the roof, and rubber-soled shoes are the best for gripping the roof while walking around on it.
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2
Find your toilet vent. You will climb up the ladder taking your pipe snake with you. On the roof, about where your bathroom is in the house, you will see a pipe sticking out. These pipes used to be metal, but now they are almost exclusively made of white PVC pipe. This is your toilet vent.
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3
Insert the snake into the vent. Turn and twist the snake, just as you would do if you were inserting it into a water pipe. By turning it, when it reaches an obstruction, it will literally bore right through it, cleaning it out. Play out as much of the snake as you can, and eventually you'll hit bottom. When that occurs, you have broken through the plugged part.
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4
Wind up the pipe snake. You are done. Go back to the ladder, climb down and put everything away.
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Tips & Warnings
If possible, avoid walking on the roof if there is no one else around, in case of an accident.
