It always seems to happen late on a Thursday night, or the first thing Sunday afternoon.

One of your kids comes to you with an annoyed look on his face.

“Dad, the toilet is stuck again,” he informs you. “Should I flush it?”

Ah, toilet repair. This is what separates the men from the boys, and the men from the plumbers.

Sometimes toilet repair is simple. Sometimes toilet repair is difficult. But no matter how easy or difficult, toilet repair is always icky. With kids, the problem is almost always too much stuff in the toilet and a very late flush.

Or a rubber duck.

Or a computer game.

Or Dolly.

Most dads employ the halftime rule: if the clogged toilet cannot be fixed during halftime in the football game, the plumber gets a call.

Some things exceed the halftime rule: faucet repair, shower faucet repair, a hot water heater leaking. Most dads also don’t want to take on a toilet replacement. There are things any manly dad likes to do himself to show the family he is large and in charge and can accomplish great feats…and there are the things when discretion is the better part of valor and the time has come to look up a quick response plumbing services provider.

But toilet repair? Let’s give it a shot and find the plunger in the basement…but let’s also remember the halftime rule…