How does your toilet work?

Have you ever stopped to think about how your toilet actually works? Toilets are designed to wash away waste with every flush but standard water pipes with normal pressure aren't powerful enough to activate the required siphon action, this is why the tank is needed. It takes about 30 to 60 seconds for two gallons of water to fill a tank of the toilet between flushes and with a press of the handle, all of that water is dumped into the bowl in seconds. The combined rate and amount of water released creates the siphon effect needed for proper toilet function with every flush. Any Hour Services offers some insight into the workings of residential plumbing in Utah.

What's Inside the Tank?

The handle arm is the pivoting component inside the tank that's connected to the handle and the chain attaches the handle arm to the flapper. The flapper is a rubber seal that plugs the drain between flushes and the flash valve holds the flapper open while water pours into the bowl. Toilets have either a filler float or float ball that trigger the valve to turn on the water when the tank is empty and to turn it off when the tank is full. If the float ball becomes detached an overflow tube acts as a fail-safe, directing extra water into the bowl to prevent flooding.

The toilet is an incredible invention that we often take for granted. However, if any of the parts inside the tank fail, you'll suddenly realize what a commodity a toilet really is. If you are experiencing a clogged toilet, broken handle/lever, partial or weak flushing, phantom flushing, constant water running in tank or any other toilet problems contact a Utah toilet repair, toilet replacement and toilet installation expert today!

Jun 9th 2017

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