Mostly, your toilet sits there doing its job. It’s only when you have problems that you start to think about it. A clogged toilet really gets you thinking about it, especially when Nature is insistently calling.
Fear not, there’s hope.
Your first weapon of choice should be the venerable plunger. Looks simple enough. But do you really know how to use it? The plunger works by increasing water pressure and forcing whatever’s blocking the way out of the way. To really get good pressure, you don’t want air getting between the plunger and the clog, so you need to have enough water in the bowl — enough to cover the bottom of the plunger as you’re ferociously bringing it up and down. But not so much that you splash water over the floor.
Insert the plunger into the bowl at a slight angle, to dislodge air in the bottom of it. Seat it over the drain hole and plunge firmly down and up about six or seven times. Usually, this should do the trick and you can answer Nature.
But if it’s still plugged, it’s time for the auger or snake. Loosen the handle and slide it back away from the business (corkscrew) end. Slide the business end down into the drain. When you hit a bend or an obstruction, which you will almost immediately, you need to turn the handle to navigate the bend. Slide the handle down near the toilet bowl. Tighten it, and turn the handle. As you feed it in more, you’ll need to slide the handle back. With any luck, one of these obstructions will be the clog, and you’ll dig through it. When you’ve gone as far as you can (end of the snake), pull it out, and try flushing.