How To Protect Your Toilet against Snake
It is no longer news that there had been lots of incidence of snake coming out of Toilet and the most recent of it is the woman in Abuja who was killed by a snake bike from her Toilet while defecating.
The snake was said to appear inside the Toilet just when her defecates are dropping into the Toilet. This only happens in rare occasions. However, it is neither impossible nor unheard-off that snake appeared in the Toilet rather this recent incident is one of it.
How can snake enter your Toilet?
This has been the question in everyone’s mind. Many social media users find it difficult to believe that snake could actually enter Toilet due to the piping arrangements linking the Toilet and soak-away pit. Though it may look impossible, but the evidence has proven otherwise. Snake can actually enter the Toilet but let us discuss the possibility of such occurrence.
Snake can enter the Toilet through the following ways:
Broken Soak Pit
If your soak pit has broken sections that provided lots of holes, the likelihood snake entering through any of the holes is high. Many people argued the possibility of snake surviving inside soak pit due to the concentrated volume of biogas in the soak pit.
Well, here is my explanation in that regard; normally soak pi has a venting pie that enables the escape of the gas through a PVC piping arrangements.
Now, if the soak pit has holes around it, it means that the biogas will still escape through those holes. This will significantly decrease the volume of the gas in the soak pit thereby increasing the chance of any animal surviving in it.
Note that snake entering soak pit does not mean living in the soak pit. Rather it enters to find food such as rats that usually enter the soak pit as well or other reptiles that it can eat as food.
If any of reptiles run into the inlet pipes connected to the soak pit when the snake pursue it, the snake will likely follow the reptile until it catches it and maybe in that process, the road that leads to your Toilet becomes preferable to the snake.
Opening in soak pit piping outlet
The soak it has outlet often linked a chamber. The outlet is usually at the upper section of the soak pit and can be in any of the side depending on the location of chamber. If direct PVC piping is used then there wouldn’t be any chamber in the piping.
Whichever be the case, if an opening exist through the soak pit just very close to the PVC pipe inlet or Chamber channel inlet, there is likelihood that small snake can find way into the piping. From there, getting into the toilet wouldn’t be a difficult task.
Overfilled soak pit
If you have an overfilled soak pit small snake move through the surface into any of the connected piping inlets. This may be rare but can still be possible. Normally there is a presence of biogas in the soak pit which could be very difficult for snake to survive but that doesn’t mean snake cannot move in and pass through it in few minute quick crawling to its targeted destination.
So if soak pi is overfilled it helps some of the biogas to escape increasing the chance of snake survival while moving on its surface or even swim if the soak pit is watery enough.
A Broken PVC PIPE
Your soak pit may be in perfect condition without any hole in it as well as your chambers. However, sometimes we neglect small opening coming from broken PVC pipe especially if the pipe is not serving any important area in the house or the broken part doesn’t interfere with the normal operations of the toilet system.
The broken part of any PVC in your toilets and even kitchen piping could become the only access way for small snakes to enter into your toilet. The will be very possible if the pipe is horizontally positioned on the ground level.
Opening in a Chamber
Chamber is one of the most neglected unit in toilet piping. Sometimes we look towards other directions without checking the chambers.
They play vital roles in toilet piping but sometimes, small opening can occur due to long use or improper sealing. Such opening becomes an easy access for small snakes to move into the toilet piping.
Space provided through wrong piping
This is rare but very possible. Some plumbers can be very careless and inconsiderate during piping. Such could lead to deliberate or undeliberate small openings in fixed PVC joints, joints connecting PVC pipes and the chambers, etc.
Such could even lead to minor leakages when using the toilet and bathroom. So if you usually notice water leakage while using your toilet or bathroom look out for the source of the leakage and seal it.
Fall from a broken ceiling
Sometimes the snake may actually fall down from the ceiling of the bathroom if conditions permits it. For instance, a broken ceiling could become an access road to any snake that finds its way to the roof of your house.
This occurrence is rare and can only happen if the conditions of the house permits it. For instance, if the house is a bungalow and close to a bush with improper roofing/ceiling arrangement. If the top of the bathroom or toilet has small opening, the snake that finds its way into the roof can actually fall down from the ceiling.
If this becomes the case, the likelihood of the snake falling into the toilet is less than 50% depending on the location of the opening within the toilet ceiling.
So to prevent such occurrence ensure that your toilet ceiling has no opening as well as the entire ceiling. There is need to ensure proper roofing and keep trees away from your ceiling.
Broken water drainage
Your bathroom has a water drainage on the floor. Sometimes the drainage cap may break leading to opening that could allow snake entrance through the underground piping to the soak pit.
Conditions that can enable snake to enter into toilet
The following conditions will make it possible for snake to enter your toilet:
Living upstairs
If you are living in upstairs and bungalows with very high foundation it will not be easy for any snake to enter into your toilet. The reason is based on the fact that snakes cannot move on vertically positioned PVC pipes due to the smoothness of the pipe to create the friction it needs to overcome the gravitational force needed in climbing the pipe.
So even if the snake enters through any opening, it will not be possible for it to climb the pipes leading to toilet and bathroom or even the kitchen due to the height and the vertical position of the PVC pipe.
Proper Piping to the Toilet
Another impossible way snake could enter your toilet, bathroom, or even kitchen is when you have proper piping arrangements. Good fittings of elbows, joints, and other areas.
This includes good sealing of the soak pit and its venting pipe. The venting pipes should be covered it openings PVC cap.
Well-cemented chamber
As earlier mentioned, your chamber and soak pit should be well-cemented. After every work on the chamber, spend good time to inspect if it is properly sealed with cement such that no hole is found in it.
Sometimes even a properly cemented chamber can get broken unknown to the user. This could happen when external incidents such as other works around the area, playing children, or even fallen heavy object could break the chamber.
A good sign of broken chamber is smelling of human feces (shit) each time you flush your toilet after using it.
To ensure the chambers remain sealed always, you will need to be observant of any smell and always take some time to go to your backyard and inspect your toilet chambers as well as the entire piping in your house leading to the soak pit.
Good Ceiling
In the case of snake falling from the ceiling, the easily solution is ensuring proper roofing and ceiling of your house. If you are living in a rented apartment always cut down trees close to your building especially the roofs.
Safety Precautions To Ensure No Snake Stays In Your Toilet Pipelines Or In Your Toilet
Assuming that the snake actually finds its way into the Toilet through pipe, you can easily kill the snake without breaking your toilet seat. Even if you cannot kill the snake, you can force the snake to go back to its source of entrance.
Here are three main ways you can achieve it:
Flush your toilet regularly with Hot water with salt (Hot Brine)
You can make it a habit to use a bucket of hot water (at least 60 degrees Celsius), add about ten tea spoonful of salt into the hot water, and then use it to flush your toilet every week.
It is highly recommended to do this if you have been away from home for a long time and no one has used the toilet for weeks. Before using the toilet again flush it with more than one bucket of hot water mixed with high volume of salt, this will chase away any reptile relaxing in the PVC pipe, chamber, or your Toilet.
Fuel mixed with salt
This is the best option if you intend to kill the snake instantly. It will not only kill the snake, it can kill any other reptile in the pipeline.
Fuel has been a longtime enemy of snake. In other words, snakes usually avoid fuel because of its potential to kill and/or unleash serious harm to the snake skin.
Kerosene with Salt
Another option is to use kerosene and salt. This can work if you don’t have access to fuel or hot water. The mixture of kerosene and salt will unleash harm to the snake or any reptile in the pipe and toilet.
The mixture may not kill the snake instantly but it could force it to run back out of the toilet piping line. Not just the snake but every other reptile in the toilet.
Conclusion
The above ideas will certainly eliminate the possibility of entering into your toilet. Feel free to give us feedback through the comment section.
