In my daily life, I always have the habit of pouring used dirty water into the toilet bowl to flush it, thinking that it can treat wastewater and save water resources, killing two birds with one stone.
However, the other day, when the housekeeping aunt was cleaning my house, she hurriedly stopped me from doing so.
"Can't do that!" Auntie admonished me solemnly.
She explained that while it may seem like saving water, it can actually bring some unexpected "side effects" that may be unacceptable to most people.
01. Insufficient water volume leads to the inability to produce sufficient siphon force
I was a little surprised when I heard my aunt's warning. Because as far back as I can remember, when I was a child, my mother used to flush the toilet in a similar way.
However, my aunt patiently explained to me that the toilet design now is very different from what it used to be.
"In the past, toilets had a flush design, but now siphon toilets are commonly used." She explained.
The pipes of a flush toilet are straight and rely entirely on the flush of the water to clean the toilet, so there is no problem with pouring water directly. Siphon toilets, on the other hand, require the power of siphon to effectively clean the toilet.
One of the key elements that create siphon power is to ensure that the water is able to completely fill the curved pipes inside the toilet.
If there is not enough water, it will not be able to generate enough siphon power. This means that the water will flow slowly along one side of the pipe, and the result is "not flushed".
02. Problems caused by insufficient water seal height
If it just doesn't flush, I might be able to accept it, after all, there is no real dirt in the toilet, I just use dirty water for a second cleaning.
But the aunt further pointed out that the lack of siphon power caused by insufficient water can also lead to another important problem: the water seal height is not enough.
Under normal circumstances, a certain amount of water will be retained at the bottom of the toilet, forming a water seal.
By pressing the flush button, we can observe how the water seal is formed. The water seal will first disappear and then reappear as the siphon force disappears. This is closely related to the plumbing design inside the toilet.
Under the action of the siphon force, the water will enter a specific area and return to the trap after the siphon force is gone, forming a water seal.
However, if the water is poured directly and the amount of water is insufficient, even if a certain siphon force is generated, this force will suck all the water away along the pipe, resulting in not enough water returning and forming a water seal.
Lack of adequate water seal can lead to a series of problems, such as odor reflux and mosquito breeding.
Aunties told me that when cleaning toilets, they were asked in training to press the flush button again after they had finished cleaning to ensure proper water seal height was restored.
03. Insufficient cleaning of the inner wall of the toilet
So, is pouring water directly really effective at cleaning the toilet?
My aunt explicitly told me that although this method can accurately clean the dirt on the inner walls, if it is only for "flushing the toilet", it is far less effective than pressing the flush button directly.
She asked me to observe the toilet spouts, some of which were porous and some of which were rotary.
Either way, the purpose is to allow the water to rotate through the inner wall of the toilet. This swirling stream of water washes into every corner of the inner wall, ensuring that there are no dead spots to clean.
However, pouring water directly cannot achieve such an effect.
The water basically only washes up to the point where it is poured, and some corners of the inner wall may not even get wet at all. Over time, these uncleaned areas are prone to bacterial growth.
04. How to save toilet water more effectively?
I took the opportunity to ask my aunt about practical ways to save water in the toilet. She told me that there aren't many ways to do it, and she thinks: "The toilet tank has a capacity of 5.5 litres, so you don't waste much water." ”
However, for people like me who want to conserve water even further, she suggests three ways to do this:
- Adjust the water level in the toilet tank
The position of the buckle can be lowered by opening the toilet tank, finding the higher part of the water piece, and gently pressing the plastic buckle on the side.
The lower the snap position, the lower the water level in the tank.
This method is equivalent to reducing the capacity of the tank, which reduces the amount of water used in a single flush.
However, after adjustment, be sure to flush the water once to ensure that the water seal height reaches more than 55 mm, so as to avoid the odor reversing due to too little water.
- For toilet tanks with two buttons, one large and one small, it is not recommended to adjust the water level
In daily use, there is an option to use the small button for flushing. When the small button is pressed, only half of the water in the tank is discharged, thus saving water.
Keep the large button as a backup so that you can use the high water level for flushing if the toilet is slightly clogged or when you need to brush the toilet.
- Clean the toilet pipes regularly
Pipe unclogging agent is usually poured into the toilet bowl, followed by a pot of boiling water. Pipe unclogging agents dissolve dirt that adheres to the inner walls of toilet pipes, ensuring that pipes are unobstructed.
Of course, if you want to save money, the aunt also mentioned that white vinegar and baking soda can also achieve a similar effect.
Siphon toilets have very high requirements for pipes, and many users report that the suction power of their toilets is not as strong as when they bought a new one, which is often caused by a slight blockage of the pipes.
Therefore, regular cleaning of pipes and maintaining suction power can reduce the number of flushes, which in turn saves water.
Summary:
In our daily lives, we may choose to flush the toilet with dirty water because of the original intention of saving water, but this practice can actually bring many hidden dangers.