5 genius ways to unclog your toilet without a plunger

Whether it's in your own house or someone else's, dealing with a clogged toilet is no one's idea of a good time. And when you realize there's no plunger available, things become even worse. What can you do to unclog a toilet without a plunger on hand?

Surprisingly, there are several ways to unclog a toilet that don't include a plunger. The next time you find yourself with a clog that just won't flush, try one of these tips to avoid flooding your bathroom.

1. Dish soap
Pour a generous amount of dish soap into your toilet, and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Come back with a bucketful of warm, not boiling, water and slowly pour it into the toilet. When your bucket is empty, flush the toilet again and watch the clog disappear. Get the full tutorial here.2. Bleach
If the toilet is in danger of overflowing, you'll need something that works faster than dish soap. In this situation, pour 2 to 3 cups of bleach into the toilet bowl, followed by 1 cup of powdered soap. Wait 10 minutes, and then flush the toilet to remove the clog.3. Shampoo
Although too much poo might have caused your clog in the first place, you can fix the situation with still more poo — shampoo, that is. Pour a generous amount into the toilet bowl along with a bucketful of very hot, but not boiling, water; let it sit for about 10 minutes. If the water level is lower after 10 minutes, repeat the process. If the water level isn't lower, wait another 10 minutes. As long as the water level continues to go down, keep adding the shampoo and hot water until you're able to flush the clog away.4. Hanger
If no other options have worked, try using a wire hanger to unclog your toilet. Uncoil the hanger until it's fairly straight, and poke it down into the drain hole. This will break up the clog and allow you to flush without worrying about the water running over.5. Plastic wrap
Completely cover your toilet bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and then flush the toilet. When the wrap starts to bubble upward, firmly press down on it. The pressure from the trapped air might force the clog through your pipes and out of your life.