Do not keep flushing. Each flush adds more water to the bowl and can overflow. Wait for the water level to drop or stay steady.
Fill the bowl with a few inches of water if it has drained. Place a standard plunger over the drain hole so it seals completely. Push down and pull up ten times fast. Do this three or four times. Sometimes the suction breaks the clog loose.
A toilet auger is a flexible cable with a handle. Insert it into the drain and turn the handle while pushing gently. You may feel it catch something. Work it for a minute or two, then flush. This works on clogs in the first few feet of the trap.
If the bowl refills instead of draining, or if plunging does nothing, the clog is further down the line or the trap is broken. A plumber has power augers and cameras to find and clear it.
Most toilet clogs come from one of two places: the trap, which is the curved part right under the bowl, or the drain line itself. In Santa Cruz, we see a lot of 1950s and 60s homes with original cast iron pipe. The inside of that pipe gets rough over decades, and paper and debris catch on it. Newer homes with PVC have fewer clogs, but clogs still happen if too much paper goes down or if tree roots have gotten into the line outside.
A toilet that drains slowly but does not back up completely is usually a partial obstruction. The water eventually goes down, but it takes much longer than normal. A toilet that does not drain at all or fills up instead means something is fully blocked. Both need attention, but a complete blockage is more urgent because it spreads to other drains in the house if you keep flushing.
A plumber will use a camera to see inside the line and find out if the clog is hair and paper, a collapsed section of pipe, or roots. Once they know what they are dealing with, they can clear it with an auger or a pressure jet. If the pipe is broken, they can repair or replace that section. Most toilet clogs are fixed in an hour.
Describe what you're seeing to a real Santa Cruz plumber: call (831) 555-0115 or send the form. Free, no obligation.