When a toilet is working optimally, wastewater should be directed right into the sewer line, and the sewer line delivers the waste to the sewer main.  If your toilet starts backing up into the shower or backup in your home, this means that the sewer main is likely blocked.  The wastewater is being blocked somehow and this means it cannot be carried away as it is supposed to be, so it has no choice but to come back up the drain in the other direction.  Toilets are set higher than tubs and showers, and this is why it is more likely to come back up through those drains than back up through your shower.

So what causes toilets to back up into the tub?  There are a few things that make this happen, but the main ones are:

• Oils, grease and fat that you have poured down the drain.  Since water cannot clear them away, they consolidate and become blockages within the sewer pipes.
• Hair.  Once hair becomes combined with other kinds of debris, it can cause major blockages.
• Hard water.  This can cause build ups of hard minerals that can cause huge blockages in the drain pipes and issues further down the line.

So how can these issues be remedied?  There are a few options you have, and the one you choose is going to depend on the severity of the blockage that is occurring.

• For smaller clogs, plunging might be enough to ease them up and get rid of them. Ensure that the plunger is placed firmly over the toilet hole and that there is nowhere for air to escape.  It may take up to 20 plunges for the clog to break up properly.
• For bigger clogs, you will need to snake the drain in order to clear it out properly.  You can get these online or you can hire a plumber to snake your drain for you.

As with any kind of plumbing issue, the best thing to do is always to hire a trained professional to fix the problem for you.  This is going to ensure that the problem actually gets fixed and that you can prevent future issues from happening later down the line.

Experts come at a higher upfront cost, but in the long term they are more likely to save you money.  When issues are left too long or not dealt with properly, they can cause much bigger issues later on. These issues are going to be more expensive to solve than the original problem, so you will be worse off later.  The best thing you can do is to hire someone to do the job well the first time.