Gah! Why?! Why does my toilet overflow instead of stop filling when it's plugged?

[GreenPartyVoter]

What do I do?

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

1. Close the water shut off valve

Get a small pan or bucket or something and pan out some of the water ,at least half of it in the bowl. Same tank. Than you need a good plunger, not those old fashion rubber cup kind. You plunge until all the water goes down the pipes. Than turn that water back on . Fill the tank/bowl. Shut water off again than flush. If it flushes correctly, turn shut off valve back on and leave it on.

Beyond that my guess would be is beyond you.

Good luck.

[Warpy]

2. I feel your pain, I have an ultra low flow desert toilet

that clogs frequently. What I've done is partially close the shutoff valve so that it refills slowly and that has managed to forestall floods.

I also keep a gallon pail next to the toilet to fill and help flush large amounts of, er, stuff that looks like it might clog the works.

When the bucket doesn't work, I use the plunger. The trick to that is to have the water level reasonably low and to plunge very slowly unless you like taking shit showers.

Usually only two or three slow thrusts with the plunger will dislodge whatever is clogging the works. Deal breakers are plastic or metal items that went down the hopper when you weren't looking. Those take professional help.