Low cost Plumbing Tools Will Save You Plumber Visits: COVID-19
During this time of isolation, I decided to provide a list of important tools that can be purchased from Amazon or other online stores.
My priority list and order of presentation is:
- Easy to use
- Most frequently needed
- Low cost
The first item is a toilet plunger. Placed next to each toilet, most people will quickly grab and plunge at the site of a soon to overflow toilet!
Until recently, I strongly recommended the MP1600 
toilet plunger. That plunger is one of the few that has the extremely important long nose. The MP1600 is not as safe as the Flexible Head Siphon Piston
plunger if a toilet is about to overflow. A normal hollow plunger uses air to push or pull out the blockage. In an emergency, it is often important to not blow air into an overflowing toilet.
In case of an emergency, the Flexible Head Siphon Piston
plunger is the best I could find. At the moment a toilet is about to overflow, most plungers will blow air into the toilet and dramatically increase the speed and amount of overflowing to the floor. Even with a properly shaped plunger like the MP1600, air is forced into the toilet and this air can either quickly unstop or quickly force an over-flow.
The “dredging” type plunger I mentioned above, will clear the blockage more often and will not blow air into the toilet. This type of plunger uses water already in the toilet to push like a piston. It will usually, quickly unstop the toilet. Dredging plungers are much safer, effective and easier to clean.
The MP1600
remains the best when there is no danger of an overflow. In non-emergency situations, it is best to focus on pulling and not pushing. If you can do it safely, removing or breaking up a blockage is better than pushing it through. Even better, when time allows, a Closet Auger
(AKA Toilet Auger) is even better.
Please copy and paste, put me on FB or whatever and return for more tools and articles. Thanks.
