Blocked toilet. Who should pay?

[Letmegonowihavehadenough]

I am going through a divorce and live in the family home at present which is currently on the market. He moved out. My toilet is blocked and we cannot use it for this reason. My stbxh won’t go halves to get the problem fixed saying it’s my fault for blocking it. Over the years it has occasionally got blocked and we have been able to unblock it. My dad has a long thing that goes far into the toilet but it can’t be unblocked and I have tried products including bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar along with other branded unblockers. Nothing except poo/wee and toilet paper had been put down it. I can’t afford to pay to get it unblocked by myself and it has been like this since November. AIBU to think my stbxh should pay half?

Have you got a pressure washer? This unblocked my drains. The previous tenant had been putting oil down them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pressure-Cleaning-Unblocker-Rotating-Karcher/dp/B09PD6Y9SS/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2M0CPP9781NMN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.409qB-iBssqHyq984KMSfxVab098m_d00FepEO86peYGeHldwfKiQEAmLloF6fkc6jRuUQ2uQXA9qbLy6ucdAK4xcxYYtC-1y2Pj1k4xieEKjSIIwmMm6Em_G4a-_vFcbqUDXUQmt-nOb5z_QLXS_cnuuHqg0dWRDvDaC2HgPYfP4XMVdC8RjfPUXQVd70tdpFCMdjiWk8hoijSji8UlIw.ASA9-CapA4S6nQS6LZuE7AONRgm2pgoSaD9jcDt7-qE&dib_tag=se&keywords=pressure+washer+drain+unblocker+jet+hose&qid=1710102867&sprefix=drain+unblocker+jet%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-3

I was today years old when I realised what STBXH stood for.

All this time I’ve thought it was Stupid Bastard Ex Husband 😂

Hope OP leaves a supply of bags behind

See if any of your neighbours have a set of drain rods and get the manholes opened up outside your house.

Caustic soda should sort it out. Always works after a few times

use a mop. It's the last resort but it works. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=using+a+mop+to+unblock+toilet#kpvalbx=_IRvuZcXQCZaI9u8PpbWF8A4_22

And you should pay for it if you can't get it done with this method. Sorry darling. A mop is a fiver. I would try that before going the hundred and thousands route.

Sorry this sounds completely unbelievable. Also 50:50 is the starting point for a divorce if you've both put in half. Nonsense.

I suspect that in many cases, this could also fit the bill!

November !!! Get this sorted today. Take action. It is pretty simple. You will always find a neighbor to help you check the manhole outside the house. Keep us posted you are not alone.

I don’t know if it will help in your case, but I found this fabulous advice from someone on here I think
if your toilet blocks, use hot water to unblock it
A bucket of very hot water, does the trick.
Be careful not to make the toilet overflow, and it make take a couple of attempts.
But hot water works.
And we have spent over a week trying to unblock with cold water before, for days and days on end. ( many. Many times before over the years )
Hot water.

I don’t think a lot of posters have read that you’ve done all the things they’re suggesting.

I would consider-

• contacting the water board and saying you think there’s a blockage in the public part of foul sewerage pipes servicing your house. You might want to suggest it’s very recent or they’re bound to ask questions. Even if it’s not the case, they might send a plumber to inspect… and they might sort it. Stranger things have happened.
• asking to borrow some money from family for a plumber
• appealing on local Facebook groups for anyone who might be able to help. You might want to say you have kids and can’t stretch to getting a plumber in right now

Also, go to the food bank, and go to your GP if you’ve not been already. You can’t continue not eating and feeling like you are. These problems are temporary and they will be resolved.

You are the one living there, you are the one who blocked it and so you should be the one to pay for it.

You wouldn’t expect him to ask you to pay for half if he blocked his toilet, as you’re not living in the same house as him.

If you have kids then you can ask him nicely to pay for some, so your kids don’t suffer but you should not demand it or expect it as he has no obligation to do so.

The best unblocker I can recommend is getting a mop and tying a plastic bag around the head, then plunging it as much as you can.
Its always worked well for me.

I thought it was too!! 😄

What does it mean?

I thought it was Soon To Be Ex Husband

Did people miss the post where she said she's suicidal and not eaten in 3 days as no money?

Try and be kinder. This woman is struggling here.

Put a post on Facebook op, anonymous in a local group asking for help with it and explain you've no money. A kind person might pop over with some professional rods.

OP please contact your sewerage company (very likely the same firm as your water company). At the point the pipes join the public sewer (even if they are in your garden) they become their responsibility and you won’t have to pay for any repair or unblocking.

Given you’ve been trying to sort this for months with no joy, it’s very likely that there is a blockage in the public part of the sewer beyond your own soil pipe.

It’s not well publicised by the water companies but the changes happened back in 2011. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/water-customers-no-longer-liable-for-sewerage-repairs

Can your parents lend you money to fix the toilet?

Get an empty 2 litre pop/water bottle.
leave the lid on and cut the base off .
Holding it by the lid end - use it as a plunger . Works every time as it pushes a large amount of air into the toilet .

I had a similar drain issue which was draining slowly and backing up into shower, tried EVERY trick in the book of things down the toilet, including a 7 metre drain snake thing. In a last ditch attempt I removed the manhole cover in garden and there was a mass of solid toilet paper where the pipe leaves the house.

I used the garden hose to soak it then at same time poked at it with a long sharp prong to chip away at it and it eventually came loose. It was the most satisfying and disgusting thing I’ve ever seen as it came out all at once!

Who will want to buy a house with no working toilet?

Why on earth aren't your parents helping you? Do they not have money for food or a plumber either? Go and live at their place anyway, at least they have a working toilet.

I just don't believe you. I think you're making it all up. No one lives in a house without a working toilet.

Get yourself to the local foodbank. Get so e food inside you. Then think about other things.