The #1 Item You Need for House Guests

It was so entertaining to read these comments and your advice is so spot on! Here’s my plunger story: A few years ago my husband had just taken over running a major Air Force command and I was having all the director’s wives over to our house for an organizational, let’s get to know each other meeting. The night before my husband had used the toilet plunger in a downstairs bathroom and without telling me had set it out on the front porch to dry. We use a side door to enter and leave the house and normally only used the front door for guests so it wasn’t until after the meeting was over that I discovered that toilet plunger in all it’s glory, proudly greeting all my guests right by the front door! And without even a bow to dress it up! I suppose all my guests were wondering if it was a new take on outdoor decorating….

A toilet auger works better than a plunger and is less messy. We have an old house and have learned how to unclog toilets and clear drains. However, a toilet auger is not attractive so you don’t want to leave it in the bathroom. Might be a good idea to use one before guests show up.

AMEN!

Hahaha, I saw this recommeded at Tami Marie’s and she’s right, this is funny. And oh so true!

Hehehe I will be sure to remember this!!

Couldn’t AGREE MORE! And nobody, I mean nobody ever has them! I was at a wedding shower at my aunt’s house whom I never see, and decided to #2 because when you gotta go, ya gotta go some times! ANYWAYS, I HAD TO ASK FOR A PLUNGER! THEEEEEN I had to plunge maybe 100 times w/ no success THEN my aunt had to go in and see my stuff floating around. The toilet must have already been clogged prior to that because I can usually unclog any of my toilet situations w/ a plunger. ANYWAYS, SO EMBARRASSING!

This happened recently when my wife’s father blocked our toilet. I gave him the plunger but that didn’t help. Eventually I had to unplug it myself. Believe me, fishing your rubber gloved hand past your father-in-law’s poop is a wonderful way to breakdown those remaining boundaries.

SO true. One time my boyfriend and I were at a hotel and one of us clogged the toilet.. So awkward having to go down and ask the reception desk for a plunger! Air freshener is also important, definitely embarrassing to “go” at someone’s house and there is nothing to freshen up the bathroom after..

TOO TRUE. My husband and I were visiting NYC and staying at a coworker’s house who was out of town. Not a plunger to be found. I bought one in a Harlem grocery store, tried to discreetly haul it back to Brooklyn, and threw it out when we departed!

We just had a guest that clogged our toilet so bad we had to call the plumbers to snake the line. Poor thing was so embarrassed…maybe we should just have a snake with written instructions next to our toilet. Our plumbing is wretched.

1. plunger
2. POO POURRI! Much nicer than “Just a Drop”…

OMG, is there something wrong with toilets in NYC? I have never had to use that thing (I wouldn’t even know how), nor do I even know anyone who owns a plunger

LOL!! Such good advice. I can’t believe I don’t have one. Yikes. I’m gonna get on that next trip to the store…

Oh this is too funny.
We actually had this situation crop up with former house guests and we had to find the plunger for them….so embarrassing. Good for you to think ahead.

Hilarious! And totally NOT what I was expecting when I scrolled down past the cute guest bedroom photo. Lol. Awesome. And so true!

xx
V @ Life+1

Yes.. our plunger resides in the bathroom most often used by guests. I also collect toiletries from travels and keep them in a basket in the guest bath. Making sure there is extra toilet paper.. also vital! Basically, you don’t want your guests to have to ask you about toilet/personal hygiene issues. My parents also used to have a dorm fridge in the guest room stocked with a selection of water, juice, sodas and beer. The guest could easily get themselves a drink without worry or bother to the host. If you are a guest, you can sometimes feel bad… like you are imposing on the host when you have to keep asking for things.

so amazingly accurate!

These comments are hilarious! I never would have thought to leave one out for guests. I wouldn’t care if someone asked me (or I asked someone for one), but I can imagine it being mortifying for some people.

So true. And thanks too to Designade for the other tip, didn’t knew there were different kinds of plungers :)

Wow. I have never needed one in my entire life!

My husband must’ve been the houseguest that inspired this LOL! He’s had to ask before, and because he’s shy and I have no shame, he sends me in his stead!

I also always have this thing called one drop deodoriser for guests in case they’ve got to drop some kids off at the pool and don’t want to let everyone know hehe It works remarkably well, and I carry it when I travel!

MATCHES. or air freshener. it’s the wooorst to try to sidle out of a bathroom that smells!

Guests or not..Plunger is No.1 item PERIOD. It is hilarious how my father, visiting us from India, asked me if i can take him to Home Depot for some back home shopping and he buys a plunger…HE claims that after visiting many countries his conclusion is,that Americans make best plungers :P.
It is a story that is going to be passed on for generation in our family…What did your father get from USA ..A plunger!

After living for a few years in a house with 1905 plumbing, I couldn’t agree more in regards to the plunger.

Matches, however, I have a story. My brother stayed at our apartment in Vienna, Austria. We always left matches and little candles by the toilet. I would quickly light them and blow them out when guests came. Well, he was staying there alone and apparently had a bathroom issue at midnight (jet lag and all) and lit a tea light candle, went to sleep and forgot about it. The toilet tank in our apartment was plastic and caught fire, the doors are so thick that he didn’t realize the toilet room was on fire for a long time. Apparently, the toilet tank burned down and once it hit the water it burned out (luckily) but not before ruining our apartment with smoke, flames and water. I’m just glad his bedroom door was closed as he probably could have died from smoke inhalation. Dealing with a fire and smoke damage sucks. Needless to say, we don’t supply matches in the bathroom anymore. We still can’t figure out why the heck he lit a candle when he was alone in the apartment, who cares if it stinks! But to this day, he claims it was just him.

Haha! So true! And I’m the one who tends to clog the toilet! I think someone needs to come up with a prettier plunger that can be ‘displayed’ and looks less gross.

SO TRUE! ;)