Plunger Etiquette

Forewarning: Now would be a good time for you to put down any food you may have in your hand.

I have a confession to make:
Until earlier today, I had never used a plunger.

It's sad, but true. Ok, mostly true. When I was in middle school I remember "helping" my dad unplug the drain in the bathroom a couple times. This mostly consisted of me sort of holding on to the plunger, and him doing all of the work. I also vaguely remember getting diluted toothpaste-water in my hair on several occasions.

I. Was. Not. Amused.

Today, however, my inexperience came back to haunt me. The toilet in my apartment decided not to flush completely, causing me to stand in the bathroom staring at the toilet Scooby-Doo style ("Ruh-roh....") for several minutes.

After the first flush the contents of said toilet literally stayed put, and the bowl was filled nearly to the brim with water. Reflexively I stepped back from the toilet because A. Gross and B. There is no way I'd ever be able to wear those socks again no matter how many times I washed them.

After doing this I realized that I had no plan for an over flowing toilet except screams of "OH SHIT!!!!" that, while strangely appropriate for the situation, would solve absolutely nothing.

The water started draining, and after it had gone down to below normal levels, I flushed again.
Guess what happened! Nothing! Woooooo!

What did happen? FAIL.

Decided to flush one more time, while praying that it wouldn't overflow. (See above for results this time. Heh.)

So. What now? I anxiously glanced at the plunger we keep next to the toilet and decided to wash my hands. Mere proximity to the plunger made me feel dirty. Next, I consulted with my roommate. She advised using the plunger.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

I thought about asking said roommate exactly how to use plunger, but then decided against it and instead to try and make the impression that, erm, I KNOW SHIT and am not a complete idiot (pun very much intended).

Honestly I think I've already sort of blocked this from my memory, but a few minutes later, after using the plunger, I flushed the toilet again and it did what toilets are frickin supposed to do.

Crisis Averted.

But then I didn't know what to do with the plunger. We keep it sitting in a bag next to the toilet, but I felt weird just setting it back. Should I wash it? Or at least rinse it off? If I do wash/rinse it, should I let it dry before it returns to its place in the bathroom??

These questions led to further holes in my knowledge. How long should we keep the plunger? When we someday replace it, is it recyclable, or do you just throw it away? Is there a plunger relocation program where those less fortunate get our old plungers? Could it actually kill a demonic bunny????

In the end I just rinsed it off.

So you tell me, Internets, was it a damning faux pas, or a completely acceptable practice? Perhaps I'm just an idiot? Would Emily Post approve of my behavior? Aside from writing about poo on the internet?