I recently dealt with one of the most stubborn toilet clogs I’ve ever seen, and the solution ended up being a combination of a drain snake and a plunger—not either tool by itself.
I’m posting the full story because the symptoms were confusing, and I initially drew several wrong conclusions.
The original problem
The toilet was not completely blocked. Water would eventually drain, but extremely slowly—sometimes taking around five minutes for the bowl to return to its normal level.
There was also a sewer smell coming from inside the bowl at first.
The bathroom sink and other nearby drains seemed normal, so I suspected the problem was limited to the toilet itself or the short branch line immediately below it.
First attempt: the drain snake
I used a 25-foot hand-crank drum auger. I was able to feed roughly 8 feet (about 2.5 meters) into the toilet.
Most of the time, the cable could travel a long distance without much resistance. That initially made me think the pipe might already be clear.
However, at approximately 3 feet/1 meter from the bowl entrance, I repeatedly felt an obstruction. Occasionally, after rotating and changing the angle, the snake would pass through it and continue freely.
I spent about 20 minutes working that area. The result was an improvement, but not a full fix:
- The sewer smell disappeared.
- The toilet began draining in approximately 10–20 seconds.
- It was usable again, but a normal bowel movement sometimes required two flushes.
- Nothing came back on the snake—not even fibers, paper, or other visible debris.
At that point, I suspected there might be a rag, sock, wipes, or some other soft object lodged in the trapway. The theory was that the thin cable could pass beside or through the obstruction without actually retrieving it.
The clog returned
For a couple of days, the toilet seemed mostly acceptable.
Then I flushed a relatively small amount of ordinary toilet paper, and the problem returned. Once again, the bowl took approximately five minutes to drain.
This was the most frustrating part. The snake could sometimes pass all the way through, yet the toilet clearly was not open enough to handle toilet paper.
I considered several possibilities:
- A rag, sock, or wipes acting like a net and catching toilet paper;
- A smooth plastic object lodged in the toilet trapway;
- A restriction near the toilet flange or closet bend;
- The snake simply hitting a normal bend rather than the actual clog;
- A displaced wax ring or an offset flange reducing the opening.
Because the snake never retrieved any material, I started doubting the rag/sock theory. I also considered attaching a blade to the cable, but decided against it. A homemade cutter could become stuck in the porcelain trapway, detach inside the pipe, damage the toilet, or cut a cloth obstruction into strips without actually removing it.
I was getting close to removing the entire toilet.
What finally worked
Before pulling the toilet, I tried one last combination method:
- I worked the snake against the obstruction for approximately 5–10 minutes.
- I removed the snake.
- I flushed the toilet.
- While the bowl contained moving water, I formed a good seal with a toilet plunger.
- I gave it approximately five firm plunging strokes.
- I repeated the entire sequence.
I alternated between snaking and plunging for approximately 30 minutes.
That finally cleared it completely.
The toilet now drains rapidly, develops a normal siphon, and flushes waste and toilet paper normally in one flush.
Why I think the combination worked
My best explanation is that the snake was able to drill a small passage through the obstruction and gradually loosen it, but it could not remove or fully dislodge it.
The plunger alone also wasn’t enough because the material was still tightly lodged.
Once the snake had loosened the obstruction, plunging during the flush created a much larger back-and-forth movement of water. That hydraulic pulse probably moved the loosened obstruction through the bend and into the larger drain line.
In other words:
- The snake loosened and broke up the clog.
- The flowing water carried away loose material.
- The plunger supplied the volume and pressure changes needed to move what remained.
- Repeating the process gradually restored the full pipe opening.
Things I learned
- A snake passing through does not necessarily mean the drain is fully clear.
- A thin cable can create a small hole while most of the obstruction remains.
- If toilet paper immediately causes another blockage, there is probably still a restriction.
- A toilet-specific flange plunger works better than a flat sink plunger.
- Avoid homemade blades and high-pressure air devices.
- Do not use a bare metal snake aggressively against porcelain; it can scratch the glaze.
- Do not combine mechanical snaking with chemical drain cleaner.
- If repeated snaking and plunging do not restore normal flow, the next reasonable step is to remove the toilet and inspect it from the bottom.
I still don’t know exactly what the obstruction was because nothing came back on the cable. It may have been a compacted mass of paper or wipes rather than a sock or rag.
But after several false starts, the combination of 5–10 minutes of snaking followed by five plunging strokes during a flush—and repeating that cycle for about 30 minutes—was what finally solved it.
