Best Toilet Plunger UK

Toilet Plungers vs Sink Plungers

A sink plunger and a toilet plunger shouldn't be mixed up. A sink plunger looks like the one shown below.

It has a handle and a circular shaped rubber suction cap. That cap is designed to fit around a circular hole in a sink, bath or shower. When you do that, a seal is formed. When you plunge up and down, air is created inside the cup and then forced down into the sink. A few plunges often generates enough pressure to remove any clogs or blockages.

This type of plunger, known as a "cup plunger" will never work on a toilet. That's because the shape of the toilet bowl exit isn't circular and a seal can not be formed. It's just the wrong shape and you are wasting your time using one of these.

Identifying a Toilet Plunger

Toilet drains are curved in shape. Let's face it, none of us want to get that close to have a look, so trust me it is a curved shape. You need a plunger that can fit around this shape and create the best seal that you can get. There are only two plunger choices:

1. A flange plunger - Looks like a sink plunger, but when you look closely it also has a flange that allows it to fit around the toilet drain area of your toilet.
2. An accordion plunger - Sometimes known as a beehive plunger because of the shape. 

Either style will work, but in my experience, I have found the accordion style works better. That's simply because of the way they work.

• Flange type plunger - When the flanged cup makes the seal, it uses air to build up pressure and remove the clog or blockage
• Accordion type plunger - These draw water from the toilet bowl and then force that water back down the toilet drain to remove clogs. That has always worked much better for me.

Best Flange Style Plunger UK

The MR.SIGA neatly combines a flange style toilet plunger and toilet bowl brush and is extremely popular with UK buyers. You get the toilet brush, a powerful toilet plunger and a two-compartment holder. It does have a space saving stylish design and sanitary storage, keep your bathroom neat, clean and well organised.

Check Amazon UK - Price when reviewed £17.99 - 86% buyer satisfaction based on 67,000+ buyer reviews.

Best Accordion Style Plunger UK

For me this is by far and most effective toilet plunger on the market. It's the one that I bought, own and use as and when required. For me it has always worked like a charm.

Check Amazon UK - Price when reviewed £16.99 - 84% buyer satisfaction based on 28,000+ buyer reviews.

How to properly plunge a toilet?

1. If the water level in the toilet bowl looks low, add some water to make sure you cover the cup of the plunger. This helps create a tighter seal.
2. Put the plunger into the toilet at a 45° angle, and allow water to enter the plunger head - this will prevent splashing your arms and face and also prevent water from overflowing when the toilet bowl is full.
3. Tilt the plunger upwards until it is fully upright. This will allow the plunger to seal to the outlet hole.
4. Start doing push-pull movements to unclog the trap way. Remember, the power is in the pull movement. Continue pulsing without breaking the seal of the plunger to the toilet bowl hole. (Try 10 plunges)
5. Flush the toilet to make sure the clog has been cleared.
6.  If not unclogged, You may need to repeat a few times.

What happens if plunging doesn't work?

A toilet plunger will only work for simple clogs or blockages that happen from the toilet bowl hole to the waste pipe. If that blockage is too big, or further down the waste pipe, then a plunger is useless. Even the best plunger in the world can’t fix serious clogs or sewer line blockages.

In toilets most blockages are caused by a build up of pooh, toilet paper or other items that have been flushed down it. You never quite know what is lurking down there! 

You have 3 choices if plunging doesn't work:

1. Try using a liquid drain cleaner - This is the cheapest option but will only work if it is a build up of stuff. Something like "Mr Muscle Drain Unblocker," works really well for this type of clog. You pour it in and wait for 5-10 minutes and then flush the loo. Don't use a plunger after adding a drain cleaner, as these use chemicals and can get splash onto your skin if you plunge. In my opinion, these work better in kitchen sinks as they seem to be better at dissolving the build up of oils and fats. That said, many UK buyers say this product has helped clear blockages in their toilet. Typically they cost around £6 so worth a try. Read more about drain cleaners
2. Try using a drain snake - As I mentioned, you can't see what is causing the blockage. If the kids have put something down the loo, and plunging or a drain cleaner doesn't work, then the next best thing to try is a drain snake. In its simplest form, these are a long flexible wire that you push down the loo. Plumbers use these to try and shift a physical blockage. These cost around £20-£25 so still cheaper than getting a plumber. Read more about drain snakes.
3. Call a plumber - You already know this is not going to be a cheap option. There will be a minimum call out charge and then a charge for however long it take to fix. That can be unpredictable but costly. According to 2nd City Plumbing "Most plumbers in the UK charge a call out fee of £75 to £100 and then they might charge around £60-£75 per hour for any plumbing work." It can get costly but they will fix the problem.