Many basic life skills are not taught to American teenagers before they graduate from high school. A lot of us go off to college and into the real world without knowing how to understand a bank loan, pay taxes, change a tire, or unclog a sink.

This is leaving American youth and even older generations looking to social media for advice on how to learn the basics, such as unclogging a toilet with or without a plunger.

The scoop

Widely popular TikTok user Babs (@brunchwithbabs) posted a how-to video alongside her husband, offering advice on how to unclog a toilet safely and efficiently.

@brunchwithbabs 🚽ADULTING 101: HOW TO UNCLOG A TOILET - THE RIGHT WAY🚽 🚽If the water looks high, cut off the water at the supply while you work. There should be a silver handle that can shut off the water supply near the bottom of the toilet. Remember, if you turn off the water, and you need more water to help clear the toilet clog, use a bucket to add water to the toilet. The plunger must be submerged in order to have enough water pressure to clear the blockage. 🚽Don't have a plunger or you want to "try the easy way"? Just add a bit of dish soap around the hole in the toilet. Add some hot water and let sit for about 20 minutes. Then flush. The soap and hot water should lubricate the clog enough to clear it. 🚽If the soap doesn't clear the blockage, turn to the good old plunger. Toilet plungers have a flange on the bottom - sink plungers do not. The flange should fit snuggly in toilet bowl hole. Push slowly at first and then increase speed until you hear the blockage release. Push 12 times. Flush 🚽Turn the water on and clean the plunger and you are good to go. #advice #parentsoftiktok #grandparents #howto ♬ original sound - Babs

"Don't have a plunger or you want to 'try the easy way?' Just add a bit of dish soap around the hole in the toilet. Add some hot water and let sit for about 20 minutes. Then flush. The soap and hot water should lubricate the clog enough to clear it," the original poster wrote in the caption.

If your water is too high, the video also instructs you to cut off the water supply while you work, which is the silver handle at the bottom of your toilet. If you clear too much water, you can always add more with a bucket.

Additionally, they inform their viewers that if they choose to use a plunger, it should be a flanged one, as flat plungers are made for sinks.

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How it's helping

Unclogging a toilet can be stressful, especially for younger folks, new homeowners, or those without much upper-body strength to plunge. This instruction will encourage viewers to feel more confident in their own home repair skills.

These tips can also save viewers money, as they will not need to buy extra tools, own duplicate plungers, make the mistake of using a pricey chemical declogger — which is only safe to use on sinks, not porcelain toilets — or call in an expensive professional.

Overall, when homeowners and renters learn to repair the items they have rather than replace them every time they have an issue, they will save many items from being shipped to a landfill prematurely.

Upgrading to a smarter home with better insulation, an induction stove, and solar power can also guarantee a house is more resilient to both repairs and weather.