I used sink plungers in toilets pretty much my whole life until i scrolled across a similar diagram one day and discovered the truth.

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I use a bidet and that cuts down on TP usage, but sometimes you get a big ol’ honker of a log ploppin’ out and that sucker just says, “Not today.” That’s when the trusty turd wrangler is your best friend.

    One time I was at my mother-in-laws and clogged that some bitch. I couldn’t find a plunger. Turns out my sister-in-law took it when she went away to college, because she was too scared to buy one. I tried to text my wife, but I had no service. So I left it there and went and told my wife. My mother-in-law took a golf cart to the neighbor’s house and explained the situation and they let her borrow theirs. Meanwhile, I’m fucking mortified that the neighbors now think I have fiber intake issues.

    Always keep a plunger in a bathroom with a toilet.

    • Psythik@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Which brings up a good point; why would anyone need a plunger for a sink? If it gets clogged, nothing will help you short of a drain snake. And if your kitchen sink is getting clogged, it’s time to invest in a garbage disposal.

      • Soggy@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Plungers certainly do help with sinks. Loosens up a partial clog easily in my experience.

          • Hagdos@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Soda and vinegar is an odd combination. Soda is a base, making water alkali. Vinegar is an acid, making water acidic. Together, they make water neutral again, with a lot of pretty bubbles.

            Either one can work really well depending on the stuff you need to get rid of. But adding one to the other just weakens it.

            • NormalPerson@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              I do this for a living. If you really wanna save yourself some money, depending on your plumbing(usually PVC, older houses might have cast iron), just put a bit of a cleaning agent and run hot water into your drain for 10-20 minutes weekly. The hot water alone every week will do more for your pipes in the long run.

              If you’re doing this regularly you won’t have to run the water as long, maybe 5 minutes weekly. This helps to dissolve build up from stuff like grease and soap scum which catches other food debris and leads to clogs. Preventive maintenance is best, spend a little time and money now to save a lot of time and money later.

            • Pinklink@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              Mixing them together causes an exothermic reaction that releases a lot of CO2. Both the heat and the releasing of gas bubbles can also help to break up things. Also it’s unlikely that all will mix with all, so you get some pockets of basic and some pockets of alkaline, who knows what you’re trying to break up but some of either might help. The method they learned is kind of throwing everything at it cus something will work. You aren’t wrong, both methods have validity

              • Hagdos@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Hmm, it seems to me most of those bubbles will happen not where you need them. Maybe if you throw in the base first and the acid later (or the other way around)

            • monogram@feddit.nl
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              3 months ago

              Especially when it regurgitates back up in your other sink mixed with hair and grime

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          So weird. It always seems to pump air through the overflow and do no good. By the time you figure out how to plug the overflow, you might as well have taken off the trap and emptied it in the trash …… especially with PVC traps where it all just comes apart without tools

          • Soggy@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            I just put my hand over the hole, takes two seconds. And I don’t have to clear out under the sink and get a bucket. (And it’s only very rarely necessary)

      • gnu@lemmy.zip
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        3 months ago

        I’ve found a plunger useful for a sink occasionally, a bit of back and forth plunging can loosen up a hairball or break a layer of fat/soap scum. On the other hand I’ve never needed to use a plunger on a toilet - I don’t know how much of this is exaggeration on the internet but Australian toilets don’t seem to have anywhere near the amount of issues the American designs do.

      • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        yeah but I feel…

        always had the left style ‘sink’ plungers growing up. they unclogged the shitter just fine.

        Absolutely never, ever tried using a plunger on the sink. I guess our family didn’t clog the sinks so much? what’s clogging these sinks that they justify a plunger?

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          3 months ago

          If you clean a fish and toss a couple scales, bones and fish skin down the sink, it will clog.

          in the states, where houses have garbage disposals, I don’t think sink clogs are much of a problem anymore.

          but most countries don’t have garbage disposals, and the original plunger design was invented 250 years ago, before much of modern plumbing and pipe design and everything, so it was useful to have any kind of plunger around.

          you can make those couple plungers work for the toilet in a lot of situations, but for the toilet specifically a toilet. plunger is going to make your job way easier without any mess and splashing

          • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            yeah I have a disposal that will eat bones. never clogged the sink.

            Was the og design for shitters or sinks?

            Never had splash issues, I generally plunge pretty cautiously.

            • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              3 months ago

              og was for drains in general at the time it was invented in the late 1700s, we didn’t even have flush toilets or anything more than cesspools, so there was no need to unclog blockages in household toilets.

              The first one was wielded more like a hammer, so it really was just to knock shit loose from whatever hole it was in, apparently.

              I definitely felt the same way about toilet plungers as you do until I used one.

              until I… took the plunge?

  • Smurfe@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Most plungers are both. Pull down the cone for the commode or push it up inside for the sink.

    • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
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      4 months ago

      Nope, same and never heard others talking about it in real life. I’m guessing there is some design issues in the American toilets that is not a problem in Europe. Or it’s the large portions of low quality food?

      • samus12345@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        American plumbing is shit (pun intended) compared to Europe’s. Source: I lived in Germany for 10 years and never once needed a plunger, while I’ve needed them regularly in the US.

          • samus12345@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Indeed, it was very noticeable to me when I moved back here and had to actually consider how much toilet paper there was before flushing. German toilets took whatever I put in there!

          • samus12345@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Yup, and I had shit shelf toilets pretty much the whole time since it was the 80s and 90s. They probably would have been harder to plunge, so good thing they never needed it!

        • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          I think it has to do with the fact that most European toilets put the reservoir up high either on or in the wall, and gravity helps blast the dook down the drain. I have one of those up high ones with the chain flush in my house (US), and that toilet never clogs.

          • ms.lane@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Australia- never needed a plunger and unless your house is 70+ years old, the cistern and pan are always close coupled.

            That said, for a Toilet the sewer connection is 100mm DWV and we use washdown toilets (as most of the world does) vs. American siphon toilets, which use an absolutely massive amount of water and a tiny little trapway to create a siphon that sucks the waste down - that tiny little trap is what gets clogged.

            I think Americans would probably sooner move the Metric system than change to a better pan design.

    • guy@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Are you American though? Here in the UK, nobody really owns a plunger and they don’t need to, the plumbing is different, it doesn’t clog. Do need to own a toilet brush though, to wipe off the skidmarks, which is more rare in the US.

      • Mr_Blott@feddit.uk
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        4 months ago

        It’s not just the UK that nobody needs a plunger, it’s every modern country except the US. Their plumbing is a century out of date and they eat ultra-processed junk

        A recipe for dis-ass-ter

        • Damage@feddit.it
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          3 months ago

          It’s kinda weird that the country where everything is MOOOAR they don’t have gigantic shit pipes

        • Metz@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Plungers are extremely common in germany. To be precise i can’t remember ever being in a bathroom without one.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      4 months ago

      What’s different between the beehive flange and the toilet plunger flange? they look the same.

      or perhaps I should ask what shape is your toilet?

      • Winged_Hussar@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        (USA) - I had the same issue as the user above due to a high efficiency toilet. The opening is more rectangular/ elongated than a normal toilet’s circular opening.

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Here’s the toilet, though the pics aren’t helpful.

        https://www.build.com/product/summary/618486

        The exit hole is recessed backwards and squareish, with a wide channel. The flange doesn’t sit properly inside it, and the circumference of the bell is too small. With the beehive the circumference is wider, and it just sort of smothers the whole area, and pumps the water through its center hole, which has nowhere to go but into the exit. Like, it’s not anything precise, it would probably work great in a “normal” toilet just as well because it just fills whatever space there is.

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Basically, it’s shaped weird and won’t make a seal. It’s a WaterSense toilet that flushes very efficiently with 1.28 gallons, with an unusual configuration of input/output under the water. Almost like a channel from front(ish) to back. If you try to use a plunger like those pictured, part of the channel isn’t covered, so you just push water back out into the bowl. Good thing I was trying it with a clean new toilet! The wide deep beehive shape lays rubber all into the space, pushing the water down into the exit hole.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      4 months ago

      They’re too Giger.

      the regular toilet plungers also have a flange and work every time without implanting xenomorphs in your chest cavity.

    • Golfnbrew@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I agree, although the plastic will crack /split along one of the folds eventually, rendering it unusable

      Still, that style is my goto

    • pedz@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      They sell these in dollar stores here.

      I didn’t have to unclog a sink for years and didn’t own a plunger. I was looking for a “classic one” but they only had these and I wasn’t sure. I gave it a try anyway and to my surprise, it was very efficient.

      Never tried on a toilet and I suspect it would work fine too, but I tried it on my bathtub drain and unfortunately it fails to make a seal.

  • RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Wait…that’s a flange? I always thought those were just pulled out by accident, like turned inside out. I also always just ignored it because it never hinders anything.

  • Senseless@feddit.org
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    3 months ago

    Instructions unclear, plunger stuck on the ceiling, shit water all over my feet and on the walls.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      4 months ago

      The toilet plunger doesn’t splash, but toilet augers whip back and forth while you crank them, causing splashing, plus scrape up the toilet bowl.

      Augers are way more work than a toilet plunger.

    • limonfiesta@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Every home should have an auger, but a plunger will work quicker, easier, and cleaner, 99 out of 100 times.

      • doughless@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Yeah, I’ve had to help a neighbor with that 1 time out of 100. The plunger was just causing the water to slam against the turd that had created a perfect seal and splash back outside the toilet. It probably took at least 5 uses with the auger to finally clear out enough crap to finally break it apart enough to let it flush.

        Fortunately, the second time I helped them with a nearly identical situation, the plunger worked. But it still took a few forceful plunges in quick succession. I was worried I might have to use the auger again.

  • Asifall@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Growing up my mom didn’t understand this and always insisted that the sink plungers were the only kind that worked (she also called them toilet plungers) and that toilet plungers (the fancy kind) were some kind of trick. Took until I was in college that I learned you shouldn’t have to break a sweat unclogging your toilet.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      3 months ago

      Yup, started with the cup and derived into the flange.

      Thanks for linking the US patent!

  • iamjackflack@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    This is wrong. Some toilets use the normal “sink” plunger because the exit opening is too large for the “toilet” marked style. You get either or whatever fits your toilet. It’s not specifically for sink only.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      3 months ago

      Not at all.

      “You get either or whatever fits your toilet. It’s not specifically for sink only.”

      Incorrect.

      The cup plunger is designed to fit over drains on flat surfaces, while flanged plungers are designed to fit inside the outtake valves of toilets.

      “Some toilets use the normal “sink” plunger because the exit opening is too large for the “toilet” marked style”.

      This is also wrong because:

      1. The flange is as wide as a cup plunger for sinks anyway, so a sink plunger won’t work if a toilet outtake is too wide for a toilet plunger, and
      2. the toilet plunger is made to fit inside the outtake of the toilet, not over the mouth of the drain like a cup plunger.

      they are completely different designs and have different use-cases that you will only give you and others more trouble and mess for by not knowing and spreading misinformation.

      • iamjackflack@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I am not wrong. There are toilet designs where the flange style literally doesn’t cover the exit chute. I have one. I have to use a “sink” style type. The flange style is small and does not form any type of seal due to the shape and size. It’s literally impossible that it is the correct solution. Everything I said is 100% correct.

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          3 months ago

          you are wrong.

          “There are toilet designs where the flange style literally doesn’t cover the exit chute.”

          The flange is not designed to cover the exit chute, but rather to fit inside the outtake.

          This is also apparently due to your specifically atypical plunger.

          “The flange style is small and does not form any type of seal due to the shape and size”

          since flange and cup plungers are the same diameter, you are clearly having an anomalous problem that you should not be drawing broad conclusions from.

          cup plungers and flange plungers are specifically designed to address different problems, to be used in different manners(the cup covers a uniform drain on a flat surface while the flange creates a seal within the sloped and curved toilet outtake by fitting inside the outtake) and are not interchangeable.

          Your premises are flawed and your conclusions are incorrect.

          • iamjackflack@lemm.ee
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            3 months ago

            Literally don’t give a shit what you say. I am not wrong. On this specific toilet, the flange style literally doesn’t seal and CANNOT perform a push / pull to unclog a drain due to the exit profile and shaping.

            You are not right no matter how smart you think you are.

            • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              3 months ago

              You are arguing that a baseball cap works equally as well as putting a sneaker on your head.

              It doesn’t, because while a sneaker is designed and meant to cover your foot, a baseball cap is designed and intended to cover your head.

              A sneaker makes an ineffective ballcap and a ballcap makes an ineffective shoe.

              Two separate items with separate designs and use-cases.

              • iamjackflack@lemm.ee
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                3 months ago

                I think you are failing to understand the design / curvature / multiple radius features of the exit point and that the flange style literally cannot form any remotely close to passable seal to do its job. Idk what to tell you but your not right no matter how you think you can phrase it.