Clogged toilets and drain pipes can someone’s worst nightmare. It’s even worse when it happens in someone else’s house or in your workplace. When the panic attack subsides, you need to fix the problem and plumbers are just a click or call away. What we don’t know is that plumbers have their own tricks of the trade that they won’t share with customers for love or money. Here are a few factors to consider in such situations:

What not to flush
Most clogged drain pipes are caused by flushing stuff that’s never meant to be, such as dental floss, face or baby wipes, long hair, diapers, sanitary towels, etc. Make it one of your bathroom rules not to do so and chances are that you won’t need clogged toilet repair any time soon.

Pricing and rates
Most plumbers have a fixed call-out charge and higher emergency rates, no matter what the problem. You could end up paying about $150 for a 10-minute job. They also make their money on parts and in some cases, material costs could run to nearly 25% of the final bill. The trick is to hire a service company that provides guarantees on workmanship/materials and offers attractive maintenance-contracts.

Licensing and credentials
Picking a name from the Yellow Pages is a bad idea. Not all plumbers are licensed and unless you ask, they certainly won’t tell you. Independent plumbers may not have background checks done to verify their credentials. Ask for documents if it’s the first time you’re hiring one. Reputed builders, hardware-stores, and trusted personal recommendations are the safest bet. You need someone who’s trained, experienced, and familiar with new technologies, products, and building-code regulations. You could have an insurance problem if you hire an unlicensed technician.

Home-based Solutions
Plumbers know but won’t tell that there are dozens of things that you could do yourself for clogged toilet repair; for example, they can be unclogged with a plunger, loosening the pipes, pouring boiling water and dish-wash soap.

Never on a Monday
Mondays are when weekend DIY disasters have to be fixed ASAP. These are the busiest days for plumbers but they’re not going to say they’re too busy when you call. Don’t pay emergency call-out rates if it’s not too inconvenient and you can wait another day or two.