How To Plunge A Toilet, Part 2

Now that you’ve taken some preliminary cautions, you’re ready to start plunging.

If you haven’t read How To Plunge a Toilet, Part 1 yet, you should. It could save you lots of frustration throughout the plunging process. Read Part 1 here.

STEP FOUR: Proper plunger placement.

Creating a good seal along the toilet bowl is key to a successful plunge. Make sure you’ve got the plunger’s flange inserted all the way into the toilet bowl’s flushway and maintain solid contact between the bottom of the plunger and the bowl. 

Depending on the toilet bowl’s contents, it’s not always possible to see what you’re doing. In such case you’ll have to work by feel. The good news is that it’s extremely easy to find the sweet spot with the toilet plunger flange, even in the worst visibility conditions.

Also worth noting: This may seem obvious, but take care when first inserting the plunger into the toilet bowl, especially one that’s over full. Toilets have a tendency to splash easily, and the goal is to keep the dirty toilet water in the toilet, not on the floor (or worse, on you!).

STEP FIVE: Power plunging.

Now that you’ve got a solid seal established between the plunger and the toilet bowl, it’s time to start having some toilet plunging fun. For the first plunge, slowly shove the plunger handle down towards the mouth of the toilet. This gets the air out of the plunger, as evident by the rising bubbles – and by doing this slowly, the contents of the toilet are less likely to bubble over the rim.

Now you’re ready to attack the clog. Using a forceful motion, drive the handle of the plunger towards the mouth of the toilet. Allow the plunger to regain its original shape, then repeat.

Try to use controlled motions. The goal is to avoid splashing dirty toilet water everywhere.

You’ll probably do this several times before the clog breaks up. You might even feel a slight suction. This is a good sign, it means the clog is moving through the toilet’s drain system (and creating a vacuum force along the way).

You might also notice a change in sounds. When shallow-sounding “Swishes” turn into deeper “Swooshes,” it’s a sign that the clog is moving through.

STEP SIX: Flushing through.

If the water level in the toilet bowl was abnormally high (and not draining at all), you probably won’t need to flush until the clog passes through. But in the event that the water level drops below the normal water mark, you’ll need to flush.

Why? Because toilet plungers work by either forcing water towards the clog (down stroke) or by pulling the clog back towards the bowl via a water vacuum (up stroke). Since water doesn’t compress like air does, the plunger actually creates very powerful dynamic forces… but only when completely submerged. If the water level is insufficient, the plunger will push air instead, which produces a much weaker force.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED: Dealing with Plunging Problems, continue to Part 3.