A Saskatoon plumber is willing to do the dirty work needed to change the way people deal with clogged toilets.
For more than a century, homeowners have dealt with plugged pipes. Bob Ginther said his new triangular plunger is the best solution around.
“It’s shaped more like your average toilet bowl,” Ginther said, comparing it to traditional, circular plunger heads. He said it provides better suction and spring than its predecessors.
He got into the plumbing business roughly ten years ago.
“I knew I could make good money and I had the stomach to do the job,” Ginther said.
“I just dove in.”
He quickly encountered customers who felt drained after using ineffective plungers, so he did a patent search in late 2014. There was nothing like his idea. Rolling up his sleeves, he started developing one model after another, honing the thickness and flexibility of his Tri-Plunger.
Using eco-friendly materials from China, he started producing the Tri-Plunger for retail, keeping different versions in the garage of his Confederation Park neighbourhood home.
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“I’d definitely get them made in Canada if I could, but it’s going to cost me way more,” he said.
Since late May, Ginther said he’s sold 250 plungers through two Saskatoon Co-op Home Centres. Each Tri-Plunger retails for $15.
Geoff Mandeville is the hardware manager at the Greystone Home Centre. He said he’s never seen a plunger with the same style and function.
“It actually has been fit to work in a standard toilet, as opposed to a round plunger that doesn’t fit any toilet, really,” Mandeville said.
He described Ginther as a “passionate guy” who is “committed to his product.”
The inventor said he is on the verge of finalizing a deal with Canadian Tire. One day, he hopes to see it go international through companies like Amazon, Walmart, or Home Depot.
Eventually, he hopes to become flush with cash. After all, he has sunk $120,000 into the Tri-Plunger since 2014. A profit would mean a lot to his single-income family.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis), and I want to make her life just as comfortable as can be. That’s what I want to do,” he said.
Should the plunger lead to a fortune, Ginther said he plans to fund MS research and help find a cure.
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