Why You Shouldn’t Flush Your Toilet With Buckets of Water: A Maintenance Expert’s Warning

Why you shouldn’t flush the toilet by pouring water into it?

Saving water is good, but it needs to be done smartly and reasonably, avoiding unwanted consequences. Flushing the toilet by pouring wastewater into it can lead to the following consequences:

– Prone to unpleasant toilet odors

Using wastewater to flush the toilet can cause serious problems. According to a repair expert, the reason why old toilets can flush wastewater without any issues is due to their design.

Specifically, in the past, vertical toilets worked like a large funnel, while modern toilets use a siphon system (also known as a vortex toilet) with a water barrier.

When flushing normally, the water in the tank creates a water layer about 2-3 cm thick at the outlet, preventing foul odors from escaping from the sewer. However, if wastewater is used to pour into the toilet, this water layer will be broken, causing toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and methane to rise, creating an unpleasant smell in the toilet.

Therefore, using wastewater to flush a siphon toilet for a long time will not only reduce the efficiency of the toilet but also create an unpleasant smell, affecting the health of the user.

– Prone to damage the toilet’s flush valve

The siphon toilet’s flushing system works like a precise clock, with water speed and pressure carefully calculated. When a user manually pours water, the uneven force can lead to damage to the toilet’s flush valve over time.

– Spreads bacteria into the air

A recent study from Beijing Normal University (China) revealed the potential dangers of using toilets. According to the published experiment video, after flushing for 3 minutes, the amount of bacteria in the air at a distance of 1m increased by up to 400%. This is particularly concerning when users do not close the toilet lid before flushing, leading to the spread of bacteria into the air.

Experts warn that this is equivalent to “spreading bacteria like fireworks” every day in the toilet, which can cause gynecological diseases and respiratory infections. Therefore, people need to raise awareness about personal hygiene and take preventive measures to protect their health.

Simple but effective ways to save water when using the toilet

Using wastewater to flush the toilet can cause serious problems. So, how can we save water efficiently when using the toilet? You can refer to the following methods:

– Use the correct flush button on the toilet

According to experts’ instructions, users should use the small button for flushing when urinating and the large button for defecating. If you press both buttons at the same time, all the water in the tank will be flushed, which is more wasteful.

After a week of applying this method, my family did not change the frequency of flushing, but the water bill was reduced by up to 23%. This is clear evidence of smart and effective water saving.

– Put 2 mineral water bottles into the toilet tank

In the past, the older generation often put two bricks into the water tank to save water. Now, we can use two mineral water bottles as a substitute!

The method is very simple; you just need to take two full mineral water bottles and place them in the toilet tank. This method not only does not affect flushing but also helps reduce the amount of water used each time.

If the above methods are still not enough to satisfy your cost-saving needs, consider the following long-term solutions:

– Use a water-saving toilet

Choose products certified for water saving by government agencies. You can identify them by the symbol on the toilet. According to experts, a toilet that meets the level 1 water efficiency standard only consumes 4 liters of water per flush, saving up to 30% compared to conventional toilets.

– Use a squat toilet

Nowadays, squat toilets are designed with a water-filled drain pipe, almost eliminating foul odors. Using wastewater to flush a squat toilet is entirely feasible.

For bathrooms without a dry-wet separation, consider raising the bathroom floor by a few centimeters so that the flush water automatically flows into the toilet, thereby saving the cost of installing a drain pipe.