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

    • Psythik@lemmy.world
      cake
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      4 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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        4 months ago

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

          • Hagdos@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            4 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
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              4 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.

            • monogram@feddit.nl
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              4 months ago

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

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    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.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.worksOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      4 months ago

      Bidet is the way.

      There’s a lot of intriguing family history in your story. SIL scared to buy a plunger. MIL took a golf cart. Interesting group.

      • NineMileTower@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        Bro, that ain’t the half of it. My father-in-law built an entire western town in his backyard and when he was done he built a Jurassic Park with dinosaurs essentially made of trash. Here is a shitty picture of the saloon with a bar in it. I’ll see if I can find some of the dinosaur pics too.

    • TayamExplorer@discuss.online
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      4 months ago

      Hey I have this very specific problem whenever I use this thin-USE BIDETS, USE BIDETS OR YOU WILL REGRET IT FOREVER, IT USES LESS TOILET PAPER AND WHY AREN’T YOU USING THEM YET THEY’RE PERFECT AND GREAT AND…

      How you sound right now.

  • Sink plungers without the flange work better on sinks, in my experience. So it’s nice to have one of each.

    There are different builds for drainage snakes for sinks and toilets as well.

    One way to be a better neighbor is to get a good drain snake and lend it out as needed.

  • Smurfe@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    4 months ago

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

  • Asifall@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    4 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
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    Wow, jackpot upvotes!

    Thanks.

    I was just as excited as everyone here is when I found out what the flange is for.

    Oh snip snaps cumulative upvotes jackpot!

    • guy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      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
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        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

    • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        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.

        • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          4 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
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            4 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.

  • iamjackflack@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    4 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
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      4 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
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        4 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
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          4 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.