When you have a toilet backup in your home, you can have a big mess in your home very fast. While you may be able to shut off the water supply and help control the flood in your home, most of the mess is coming from a blockage in your main sewer line that has to be addressed right away. You can't reach a clog deep in your system with a chemical drain cleaner or with a plunger. Once your toilet is backing up, this means that you have a clog that must be taken care of by a professional to get rid of the issue completely. Even if the clog is small, you should hire a toilet backup repair service.

If Water Is Flowing

Your first step when a toilet is backing up is to try and stop the water from flowing. Turn off the water that is going to the toilet to stop adding water to the mess. Once a backup occurs, water is actually coming back up through your plumbing system and it is impossible to turn off the flow of wastewater. You have to wait for the backed-up water to stop flowing, and you can help prevent a huge mess by grabbing any towels you can find and blocking the door to the bathroom as best as you can.

Try Plunging the Toilet

You might get lucky and be able to plunge your toilet that has started to back up. In general, the clog is probably deeper in the system and the plunger is not going to do a thing. If the backup is small, try using a plunger to see if you can get the clog to clear. If the water coming back into your home is more than what you just flushed, the problem is deeper and more systemic.

Call for Help Right Away

Once a toilet starts backing up, you are not going to be able to use the toilet again until a professional plumber comes and deals with the problem. You might have tree roots or another thing causing a main sewer line clog. Toilet backup services will be able to figure out what is going on and repair the problem. While you can start cleaning up the water before help arrives, remember that the water you are dealing with is wastewater, and you should be taking precautions when dealing with it.