help with plunger for kohler

[beagle]

We just installed a memoirs stately 1 piece toilet in my boys bathroom. I thought I did my homework on this site and got one with good flushing strength, but they have managed to clog it. My problem is that my 2 current plungers are not big enough to seal the hole--it has a round area, but towards the front of the toilet there is a rectangular shape too, and the combination of both areas is bigger than my plungers and we cannot get a seal. I called Kohler and they only recommend a korky for the Cimmeron (sp?) model. I googled korky and that is the plunger that i have. Help!

[Terry]

"Put the plunger in with water in bowl, and after a series of short, quick strokes, pull up slightly until everything sucks down. Usually people do big strokes up and down. Using that method, some blockages won't move."
Terry Love

The Kohler trapway is not as good as some.
I don't like the tight bend at the outlet.

[Southern Man]

I can rarely get a plunger to work. Buy a good quality toilet snake instead.

[Terry]

I can rarely get a plunger to work. Buy a good quality toilet snake instead.

Lot's of people say that, but if you use my method, it does work.

[beagle]

Thanks, Terry I did try that before I posted but I must not be doing it right because I don't get the pull back into the bowl like I think I'm supposed to. When dh gets home I'll have him try too.

[Southern Man]

Lot's of people say that, but if you use my method, it does work.

I'm sure it does, but like anything else it requires a little finesse, and in this case I ain't got it. I guess I'm afraid of breaking the seal just the wrong way and ending up with a face and roomful of poo.

[hj]

You cannot use the sterotypic plunger. You need the one with a sort of funnel on the end which sits down into the opening. And, if the stoppage is in the bowl you CANNOT damage the seal, and if it is after the bowl in the main line you will not build up enough pressure to damage the seal either. Having a closet auger, and KNOWING HOW TO USE it can be two different things with completely different results.

[Southern Man]

I was talking about breaking the seal between the plunger and the bowl, causing pressurized poo to go up instead of down.

The first time I heard the term "closet auger" I had a slightly different idea of what the thing was used for.

Yeah an auger requires a certain technique as well. After ruining at least two cheap ones with skinny coils and barrel shaped heads I finally bought a decent Rigid one with a beefy coil and a football shaped head. The coil is stiff enough to transfer the handle rotation to the head without buckling and the head screws itself smooth around tight bends. Anyone with older 1.5 gallon toilets that clog routinely can't live right without this tool.

[maddog]

I have a 12 year old 1.6g Mansfield that clogs constantly, so I've had a lot of experience with clogs that are in the toilet trap, but not below the toilet. Like HJ says, you need the plunger with the 'cup' that slips into the trap way. This will get a better seal and help prevent the splash-out. I've never had a clog that I could not remove with the "short/quick stroke" method - it does work. I've never needed an auger. Here's the kind of plunger that works:

[hj]

If you have NEVER needed a closet auger, you have either been EXTREMELY lucky, or do not have many clogged toilets. A plunger will not remove the wire from a deodorizer block, sunglasses, toy trains, cars, or pill bottles, etc.