How Do Toilets Work?
The water closet, the john, the porcelain throne–however you refer to it, the toilet is arguably one of the most important devices in any place of residence or business.
Regardless of the somewhat undesirable stigma surrounding them, toilets are an invention that make life easier and more sanitary for many people around the world. So, have you ever wondered how exactly toilets work? Read on to learn more about how a typical flush toilet functions.
What’s In a Toilet?
Most toilets consist of two main compartments:
- The toilet bowl: Covered by the toilet seat, the bowl drains out into the siphon.
- The tank: Placed against the wall and featuring the flush handle, the tank contains the fill valve, flush valve, overflow tube and rubber flapper.
How Does a Toilet Work?
When you flush a toilet, the following chain (no pun intended) of events take place:
- A chain raises the rubber flapper and releases fresh water from the tank into the bowl.
- Gravity pulls the dirty water through the S-trap and into the septic tank pipes.
- Once the toilet tank is empty, the flapper shuts and the filler valve activates.
- The tank fills with clean water, which travels up through the base of the valve, through the refill tube and then back down through the overflow tube.
- The bowl water rises at the same time as the water in the bottom of the tank. Once the fill line is reached, the valve shuts off and the flushing stops.
The flush is a relatively simple and fast process, but there are actually a lot of moving parts.
The Bowl Siphon
A toilet will flush even without a tank. All you need to make water go up the siphon is more water. The thing that makes a toilet flush in the first place is the curve of the siphon; the tank and handle simply make the whole process easier.
If you’re interested in experimenting:
Pour a cup of water into your toilet and notice how the water level doesn’t rise. This is because the added water sends the water level over the siphon, and the siphon sets a limit for how much water the bowl will store at any given time.
Now, try pouring approximately one gallon of water into the toilet.
This time, the bowl does a full-blown flush. This is because the siphon tube has filled up, which causes the siphon to suck all the water from the bowl.
As all of this occurs, the siphon air enters the tube and the flushing sound is created.
The Flush Mechanism
Since manually flushing a toilet would become tiresome, toilets are equipped with tanks.
The inside of the tank forms the most complex part of the toilet.
When the flush handle is pushed down, the chain gets tugged upwards, which in turn opens the valve. The opening of the valve allows water to pour into the bowl.
The water comes down from the inner-rim, and most of it goes out the siphon jet, taking all of the waste with it in the process.
The Refill Mechanism
Once the water has drained from the tank, the flush valve shuts so new water can be collected for the next flush. This is where the refill mechanism comes in.
The refill mechanism is equipped with a valve that activates the water supply. The whole process is signified by the float ball, which drops to half-mast when the tank empties and then rises up to the filler valve once the tank is completely refilled.
At the same time, water is also going down the overflow tube to refill the bowl.
The float ball and the overflow tube work together to keep the water level even. The float ball signals to the fill valve to start or stop loading water, while the overflow tube directs excess amounts of water to the right places.
Toilet Maintenance
The simplicity of a toilet is what makes it so long-lasting. Most toilets can last for decades with proper care.
If you run into issues with your toilet, give Lenox Plumbing a call. From simple repairs and maintenance to new installations, our experienced plumbers will get the job done.
