Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Storing the Plunger in Semi-Plain Sight

plunger with striped handle and green base
Plunger from Alice Supply Co.

Trust me (because, unfortunately, I know) it is mortifying to experience a clogged toilet as a guest at, say, your boyfriend's parents' house and then to find no plunger anywhere. Much worse than being visually reminded of reality by a plunger is to be unprepared when reality inevitably strikes. —Graefix, on Apartment Therapy

Most of us (at least in the U.S.) own a plunger — and sometimes storing it can be a challenge, especially if you want to keep it close at hand in the bathroom. My last post provided one idea; let me give you a few more.




The most common storage option I'm seeing is something along the lines of this one from Simple Human: a plunger that comes with a "housing to neatly hide the plunger out of sight." You can find similar products from OXO, and there's also the Waxman Hide-a-Plunger. Some products will hold both a plunger and a toilet brush, like this one from Polder. While many of these come with a plunger, Interdesign has a plunger house that comes without a plunger; it's a good option if you already have a good plunger, and don't really want a new one that might not work as well for you.


housing for a plunger

If you're willing to wait a bit, the Nautilus plunger from Quirky, which comes with a base, is going into production.


birdhouse-shaped boxes store a plunger

And take a look at Plungees, "the pretty plunger in a box." There are a number of designs: metallic, mirrored, and more. And then there's the custom line, which includes these birdhouse designs. The birdhouses are pricey, at $199 each, but some of the other designs are much less costly. Note: I was seeing problems with the online shopping cart, so you might want to just call the vendor if you're interested in any of these.


tall lidded storage for a plunger

There are other designs, too — like these taller receptacles from Taymor, where the plunger is attached to the lid. There's a stainless steel version and coated oil rubbed bronze version, both of which get mixed reviews on Amazon.com.


tall storage container, with lid, for a plunger

A somewhat-similar product is the Sani-Plunge: an 18-inch tall receptacle that holds the plunger that comes with it. In this product, the lid is not attached to the plunger.


plunger in-wall storage cabinet

The Hy-Dit takes a totally different approach; it's an in-wall toilet plunger storage cabinet. You can buy it many places, including Amazon.com.

Don't want to buy a plunger-specific product? You could also use something like a decorative planter, as Crystal Ray suggests.


plunger that comes out of toilet use with no water or other mess

And if you want to minimize the yuckiness factor, you could consider the Rubbermaid Clean and Dry Plunger; see the review from Unclutterer.

3 comments:

SueBK said...

Isn't funny the "cultural" difference of seemingly very similar countries? I have never owned a plunger; I don't remember my parents ever owning a plunger. A very vague recollection of there being a need for one at some point in my childhood (not because of my childhood). I can't say I've even seen them in the shops. If I had to buy one, I'm guessing the hardware store, but I really would be guessing.
Makes me very curious as to why the USA would need them more than Australia. I'm sure there's some simple scientific explanation.

Michael Tannery said...

When I lived in the Philippines, we didn't really have them. Only became necessary when I started living in the U.S. Must be some plumbing thing. It's also entertaining how much discussion can go into toilet plungers, and I mean that in a good way. :)

Jeri Dansky said...

Susan and Michael: In the Unclutterer post I linked to, some commenters mentioned not needing a plunger in Australia, New Zealand and Britain. I think it had something to do with toilet design. Thanks for the additional data points!

So this was one post where all the products I linked to are readily available in the U.S. — where they are needed!