Quick Guide: How to Clean Your Plunger

by Tom Morse July 18, 2021

How do you clean your plunger? Is a rinse in clean toilet water enough? What about a spray with a disinfectant or other bathroom cleaning product? What should one do to effectively kill the germs on the plunger? We're commonly asked these questions, so we're going to answer them here.

If you want or need a refresher on how to unclog your toilet, and what type of plunger to use see our blog on How to Unclog a Toilet.

But first, without getting too technical, you my want to understand the difference between cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing. If not, just skip to the next section on Cleaning Your Toilet Plunger.

CLEANING removes dirt, grime, debris, and germs from surfaces or objects. You may clean with water, or detergent and water, but this doesn't necessarily kill the germs. However, you likely remove some of the germs and bacteria so the surface is less hazardous.
DISINFECTING uses chemicals (such as bleach, alcohol and specific formulations) to kill germs on surfaces. Disinfectants typically need to remain in contact with the surface for a certain period of time in order to effectively kill the germs.
SANITIZING is the process of reducing the number of germs to a safe level. This may be done by cleaning alone, or by cleaning and disinfecting. "Safe Level" depends on the type of germ. Some germs may be very plentiful and still be safe, whereas others, such as norovirus illness (commonly referred to as the "stomach flu" or "stomach bug"), only require a few virus particles to make other people sick⁽¹⁾

So, to be most effective at eliminating harmful germs, bacteria and viruses, you should both CLEAN and SANITIZE your plunger after each use.

^{(1) https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/index.html}

Cleaning Your Toilet Plunger

We'll spare you the really graphic images, because everyone has seen plungers with dried toilet paper and feces (poop) stuck to the outside surface. Disgusting! And who knows what the INSIDE of the plunger looks like! Actually, I know, because it's part of my job....and it's not pretty!

Here's the quickest and easiest way to remove that disgusting grunge...

Plunge to release the clog
Flush the toilet to clear all remaining grunge from the toilet bowl
When the bowl has refilled, stick the plunger cup into the clear water and agitate it to remove the grunge stuck to the rubber force cup and handle. Use a toilet brush to aid in grunge removal, if needed.
Flush the toilet again to clear the toilet bowl.

So now the plunger is "clean," but what does that really mean? Does it mean it's germ and bacteria-free? Absolutely not! Remember, cleaning simply means that you've removed the dirt, grunge and potentially some germs from the surface, but you likely didn't remove them all. Remember Norovirus? It can survive being dried out and can live on surfaces for up to 2 weeks! ⁽²⁾That's why you need to disinfect your plunger after cleaning it.

^{(2) https://nortonhealthcare.com/news/how-long-does-norovirus-live-on-surfaces/}

Disinfecting Your Toilet Plunger

So here's the thing, many of the common and popular disinfectants on the market do NOT kill and are NOT effective against Norovirus. And since someone can be a carrier of Norovirus and not have any symptoms, you may not even know that your plunger is contaminated. The CDC recommends using "a chlorine bleach solution with a concentration of 1,000 to 5,000 ppm (5 to 25 tablespoons of household bleach [5% to 8%] per gallon of water)"⁽³⁾ to effectively kill Norovirus.

Here's the most effective way to disinfect your plunger:

Add about a cup of chlorine bleach to the toilet bowl
Submerge the force cup (rubber cup) into the toilet, ensuring that all portions of the cup and handle that were wet during plunging are covered by the bleach/water solution
Allow the plunger to soak at least 5 mins. This contact time is necessary in order to effectively kill the virus
Flush the toilet and allow the plunger to dry before storing for next use
Clean up any drips or grunge on the floor using a bleach-based solution and ensure to maintain the 5-minute contact time.

^{(3) https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/prevention.html}

Just a few of the viruses that are transmitted through fecal-to-oral route, which occurs when someone with these viruses on their hands touches their lips or mouth and ingests them.

Isn't There an Easier Way?

Let's face it, plunging a toilet is disgusting, and cleaning the plunger after use can be just as disgusting.  Nobody likes performing either task.  Isn't there an easier or better way?  What are the alternatives to a plunger?  Chemical-based clog removers or "toilet uncloggers"  are an option.  However, many of these chemicals are harsh, caustic, or have a terrible odor.  On top of that, they are expensive and take a long time to work...when all you want to do it get rid of the  smelly cesspool of germs in your toilet as quickly as possible.
The UltraSanitary Plunger is an alternative to standard toilet plungers and chemical-based toilet uncloggers.  It's patented design uses a Grunge Guard to eliminate the need to rinse, clean, disinfect, or sanitize. It saves you time, it saves you money, and it saves you the hassle and frustration of disinfecting your plunger.  It gives you peace of mind.  Get the job done quickly and easily, and go about your day.  It's that easy.  
 

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