Will Vinegar Dissolve Toilet Paper?

Some household items that frequently cause toilet clogging include baby wipes, feminine products, and toilet paper. Many homeowners assume that all types of toilet paper dissolve easily when flushed down the toilet. In reality, flushing down too much toilet paper or certain toilet paper brands can clog your toilet’s drainage system and cause costly plumbing issues. Obviously, dealing with a clogged toilet is unpleasant and time-consuming. Fortunately, there are practicable ways of dissolving the toilet paper that is clogging your toilet by using readily available household products. But will vinegar dissolve toilet paper?

What Dissolves Toilet Paper the Fastest?

Just as clearing the clogged sinks in kitchens is possible, products such as vinegar or baking soda can also work wonders for clogged toilets. All you need to do is just put some baking soda, 4 cups of hot water, and a cup of white vinegar in the toilet bowl.

It might seem like toilet clogs are quite common, but other issues could arise from them. Likewise, if your toilet clogs frequently, it may indicate that your plumbing system is failing. In other instances, it can mean that you tried to flush items that weren’t supposed to be flushed. Apart from toilet paper, here are some of the causes of toilet clogs:

• Using excess toilet paper in your bathroom visits
• A clogged toilet trap
• Installing an older toilet model
• Blocked toilet vent
• Clogs in the sewer line

As soon as the plumbing is clogged, your house will become infected by bacteria and other harmful pathogens. It can also cause unpleasant odors to come out of drains and cause other serious problems. Clogs can cause people to have problems with their breathing, coughing, or other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs). So, to dissolve toilet paper clogs, consider these fast and effective methods:

Does Vinegar Dissolve Toilet Paper?

You can easily dissolve toilet paper and unclog your clogged toilet using vinegar, baking soda, and a cup of hot water. Just as it can work wonders for clogged kitchen sinks, using vinegar, baking soda, and hot water will do wonders for clogged toilets. You should add 2 cups of vinegar and 4 cups of water to the toilet. Then, you can sit back and relax while you wait for the solution to work.

When you mix the ingredients, the solution will start reacting with the water, and suddenly you will have fizzy water in your toilet. The solution will take around 25 minutes to clear the clog. Remember, vinegar and other cleaning agents in your home, such as baking soda, are safe for septic products.

How to Cleat a Clogged Toilet With Vinegar

After you give it all you have with different safe chemical products, closet augers, a plunger, or any other mitigation ideas you may have borrowed from friends and before you call a plumber, consider trying this great trick. Look in your pantry for some baking soda and vinegar to unclog your toilet. Here are the steps you should follow with this procedure:

• Check the level of the water in the bowl and, if needed, adjust the level of the water in the bowl.
• Ensure the toilet bowl is about halfway full before you start the unclogging process.
• If your water level is too low, you may have to add more hot water to get it to half full.
• If you pour a lot of boiling water into the bowl, you will have to remove some of it to avoid spillage and perhaps water damage in your bathroom.
• If you use too much vinegar, it might cause too much bubbling. The second part of this procedure is even more interesting.
• Pour some baking soda (approximately one cup) into your toilet bowl.
• Slowly pour the same amount of vinegar (white or apple cider vinegar) into the bowl. Pouring the vinegar too quickly may cause a vigorous reaction, creating a worse mess in your bathroom. In fact, you should use a lesser amount of vinegar if you notice too much fizz as you pour it into the bowl.
• Allow the vinegar’s fizz to sit for about 20 minutes.
• Flush the toilet and check to see if the vinegar unclogged your toilet.
• If the toilet unclogs successfully, the water level will go down.
• If you see bubbles as the toilet’s pressure changes, flush your toilet to confirm whether everything is working seamlessly. It’s important to shut off the water valve that is behind your toilet if your initial judgment was incorrect.
• If the clogging problem persists, start all over again from step one. You may have to repeat the entire process a couple of times, especially if you’re dealing with stubborn toilet clogs. In some situations, you might be compelled to let the vinegar fizz sit overnight or even combine the vinegar and baking soda method with plunging.

Other Ways to Dissolve Clogged Toilet Paper

If you are panicking about flushing the toilet because your water pipe is jammed, that is totally normal. But stay away from the flush lever! It’s easy to flush the toilet at the first sign of a clog, but if you repeatedly flush the toilet in a hurry, you’ll end up flooding your toilet. Thankfully, there are other ways to dissolve clogged toilet paper, even without a plunger or hiring the services of a professional plumber.

Just like you might have a clog in your kitchen sink, sometimes you might need help to flush your toilet completely. It’s common for waste to get stuck in the drain, and even toilet paper can cause trouble. Look below your sink, and you probably see a pipe with a little bend that helps you dispose of water and waste. That’s the p-trap, the u-bend behind the toilet that goes to the other end of your toilet. 

If plunging or using vinegar doesn’t work, try a few simple cleaning solutions to break up the clog. Dishwashing soap helps to lubricate your drains so that clogs don’t block them completely. Try using ordinary soap and water to unclog the toilet. Add 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap to the toilet bowl and allow the solution to sit for 10 minutes. Flush the toilet bowl to see if the soap clears the clog. The soap will loosen the clog, especially if it isn’t too stubborn. 

If dish soap doesn’t work, add hot water. Pour hot water into the toilet bowl from the tap spout until you reach waist level. This will help create pressure and hopefully loosen the clog. Don’t pour boiling water into your toilet bowl, as it’ll crack the porcelain. Hot tap water from the bathtub spout is the perfect temperature for draining your toilet. Flush the toilet to make sure that it is draining properly.

Use a Toilet Plunger

People generally resort to using plungers when they have a toilet clogged with foreign objects. If your toilet is clogged with toilet paper, you’ll want to use a strong plunger to break down the toilet paper clog forcefully. You’ll know that you emptied the toilet from the clog if you check the water level in the toilet bowl. If the water level drops below the clog, you’ve dislodged the clog.

Use Dish Soap and Hot Water

If the plunger method doesn’t work for you, or if you don’t have the plunger at hand, you can also pour hot water and dish soap into the toilet bowl. Start out by putting half a bottle of dish soap in the toilet bowl. Then, pour a half-gallon of hot water. Now, you will need to allow the mixture to sit for half an hour before you flush it down the toilet. You’ll be surprised how quickly it flushes.

Use Water Closet Augers

Using toilet water closet augers or toilet snakes is another easy and faster way of unclogging a toilet clogged with excess toilet paper. The plumbing snakes are perfect for handling stubborn toilet clogs. They are so efficient by reaching behind the walls and into the cabinets to unclog a drain if the clog is particularly bad. While it’s easy to find plumbing snakes online, it’s best to hire a qualified plumber to do this work for you. When hiring an expert plumber, you may spend little money because handling faulty pipes can be quite complex.

Use Safe Chemical Products

Many people dislike using chemicals because some can disrupt a septic tank’s natural balance. However, there shouldn’t be any problems as long as you use chemical products that are EPA-approved for use in septic systems. Be careful about using chemical drain cleaners’ instructions on the package. Some products require you to pour them into your toilet’s tank, while others are ideal for pouring into the toilet bowl. These types of cleaners are great for cleaning the drains and removing roots that might have gotten into your pipes.

Wrap Up

Dealing with a clogged toilet can be so frustrating. Interestingly, many homeowners and even commercial building owners have realized that even ordinary toilet paper can cause the costly toilet clogs they live with! Just by using the right approach, you’ll enjoy using your bathroom without encountering difficulties for years. You’ll learn that your toilet works more effectively if you always thoroughly clean it and meticulously maintain it.