this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2025
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I mean, it always seems like it is pulling water into the cup and pushing it down the pipe at great speed to unclog it, but maybe I’ve been using a plunger wrong. I don’t really get enough of a seal around the edge to create a pulling force.
You don't have to get a seal. You just push it in. Then quickly pull it out, push it in, pull it out, push it in, ... until the water drains freely again. The pushing-pulling iteration creates enough negative pressure to get the job done quickly without a seal. But don't wear your best clothes.
I always did it wrong, until a plumber showed me how to do it.
(Side note, this is for a european/german toilet. Might be different in the US, US toilets are just insane.)
Interesting. I usually do a hard push in, but release it more slowly so that the water doesn’t slosh back and get on the floor. The primary force is applied through the down push.
Is it really doing it wrong if it still works though?
If it works, it works, I guess. It didn't at our case (clogged too badly, the previous inhabitant did some, weird shit), hence the plumber.
I did it like you did and then the shit water came up the bathtub several cms high. Later attempts changed nothing. Was a disaster. But the plumber went wild and it worked.
That is pretty odd that your black water and grey water pipes are connected. I thought they were usually separate so that your shower didn’t smell like shit.
That is completly normal in Germany (and most of the rest of this world). Only very few buildings have separate grey water lines.
A"siphon" or "trap" is why this doesn't cause a smell problem.
Normally a separate grey water line is only used, if the grey water can be used on the property. A separate public grey water collection system is almost unheard of, except in some scientific project related developments (there has been some research into this, but it hasn't proven to be a reasonable solution, for now at least).
I might have to add that I am a civil engineer specialiced in urban water management. :)