The Toilet Is Not A Litter Box~How To Clear Kitty Litter From The Toilet

So you have discovered that trying to flush cat litter down the toilet wasn't such a great idea, huh?

Cat litter expands as it gets wet, that is why it is able to absorb your cats urine. So it is no wonder that when poured into a toilet full of water, it clogged. Luckily, there are some things you can try before calling in the plumber.

Depending on the amount of litter attempted to be flushed and the extremity of the clog, try the obvious solutions first.

Plunger

Use your plunger to try to loosen the clog. It might take some real effort as most litters contain clay and can really clump together, but give it your all. If you see no signs of progress after 10-20 plunges, move on.

Boiling Water

Boil some water on the stove (a teapot is easier to pour)and dump it directly into the toilet. Sometimes this will break off a piece of the clump and the rest will go down the pipe.

Dish Soap

Many people swear that Dawn dish soap will resolve this issue.

• Turn off the water source on the toilet
• Dispense three squirts of Dawn dish soap into the hole of the toilet
• Allow to sit for approximately 15 min
• Pour boiling water into toilet
• Plunge with plunger

If those three attempts were failures, it is time to get serious.

A wet/dry shop vacuum is very helpful with all kinds of drain clogs and just might do the trick with the cat litter.

• Set the vacuum to liquid
• Remove the dry filter prior to use
• Place the hose into the siphon (hole of) of the toilet
• Turn on unit

If you get results from using the wet vac, make sure to empty the basin of the unit and clean the hose. Otherwise, within a day or so it will not only grow bacteria but will start to smell.

Snake

Time to pull out the snake! Also known as an Auger, this tool has a hand crank and a long sleeve handle with an auger bit at the end to break through a clogs. The auger bit is connected to the crank handle that you ultimately control to eventually unclog that toilet.

1. Push the cable (don’t worry it’s flexible and will curve with the shape of the pipe) into the drain and crank the snake clockwise.
2. Once you cannot feed the cable any further, give it a push.
3. The snake may feel as if it broke up the litter, if so, pull back and look if the water is draining down or if litter is coming out. If so, use your plunger again until fully clear.If not, do these steps again but this time, push the snake and then turn the crank back and force until it breaks up the litter
4. If litter is in the toilet, clear it out and dispose of it elsewhere. You don't want it down the toilet again.
5. If the toilet appears to be unplugged, flush toilet.

If for some reason these suggestions did not work, it may be time to call the plumber. It'll be an expensive lesson as the average cost of a plumber is $75.00 an hour, but I'm willing to bet it won't happen again!