Urgent commode help needed

[Ken_CT]

Thatguy,
The brush end is probably stuck inside the toilet. If you remove the toilet it will still be inside it and it probably can't be reach. You will need a closet auger (see attached). Maybe you can rent one, if not they are cheaper than a plumbers hourly rate. You use it without removing the toilet first. Pull the handle out to retract the snake into the body, stick it into the trap of the toilet and rotate and push the handle down into the body. If you can catch the brush simply pull it out, if it goes through into the drain, it very likely will cause no problem. If you have taken off the bowl, before re-installing it make sure the floor flange is secured to the floor before re-installing. Make sure the johni-bolts you use have brass nuts, not the die-cast junk or you will run into the same removal problems you have now in the future. And if you hacksaw the bolts so the china caps fit, make sure to cut them all the way through- do not cut and bend them to break them off. Sounds like the installer did that, distorting the threads and making it so the nut won't come off easily. Most Johni bolts now have a groove in them where they can be snapped. But most importantly- have fun and watch you language .

 

[gordon21]

10 replies in 57 minutes. Were the TBN members responsive enough????

When you say urgent, we are there for you.

 

[randy41]

you could always use the woods.

 

[IH3444]

If the hacksaw is a hassle, just git out your harbor freight 4 inch grinder and grind those puppies off. Git'er done. But seriously.....what were you thinking flushing a toliet wand down the crapper.........

 

[goaliedad]

some good suggestions- but what ever you do, be careful you don't damage the toilet. I would think about a dremel tool to cut the nut off. The drill idea concerns me- hard to get at the bolt. The grinder is kind of aggresive for me.

You're committed to pulling the stool now. slow and easy.

Good luck!

 

[Bird]

what ever you do, be careful you don't damage the toiletwhat ever you do, be careful you don't damage the toilet

Several years ago, a friend and neighbor called to ask if I could help him because his little grandson had flushed a hairbrush down the toilet and it was stuck. Getting the toilet up and outside wasn't too bad, but that darned hairbrush was securely wedged in the trap in the toilet and wouldn't come out. So with me holding the toilet and him trying to pull the brush out, and the toilet being damp, he pulled it out of my hands and when it hit the ground, it shattered into many pieces. But the brush was still securely wedged in one of those pieces. So a brand spanking new toilet was easy to install.

 

[dooleysm]

I guess the good news is, he's got one to practice on, so he'll be the TBN expert at such things by the time he finishes both!

 

[DieselPower]

I have had the hard to get off mounting bolts before. They are rather easy to remove with two simple tools. Putty knife and a hacksaw blade. The putty knife is used as a shield to prevent scratching the surface. Place the putty knife blade nest to the bolt, saw the bolt off keeping the hacksaw blade on the putty knife blade. Once it is cut off and the toilet is removed just remove the remaining piece with a pair of visegrips. I had a friend who was a lifelong plumber show me this trick once.

 

[Tig]

We had the same thing happen to a tooth brush. I hooked it with a coat hanger and flipped it back out. Rinsed it off and the wife never had to know. Just kidding about the last detail. Try the coat hanger, nothing to loose.

 

[N80]

My son flushed a hairbrush when he was a baby. Got the toilet off no problem, but as mentioned, brush was firmly wedged in the outflow channel. It was way up in there and there was nothing to hook or grab. So, I got a metal rod and tried tapping it out. Well, the wall thickness of the channel is not the same as that of the bowl (duh) and I knocked a hole right in it.

Toilet was a total loss. I wanted to recoup some of my loss by putting it on the porch and planting flowers in it, but my wife wouldn't let me.