Modern indoor plumbing is a necessity for the health and sanitation of every American household. And for many families, the bathroom toilet plumbing works perfectly 99 percent of the time, performing its essential function with a simple pull of the handle. However, when the water supply gets cut off, indoor plumbing doesn’t do its job, creating an unpleasant problem.
A toilet that won’t flush isn’t as dire a plumbing emergency as a flood, but it can create an embarrassing dilemma for the person who unwittingly uses the commode without realizing that the water is turned off. Fortunately, even when there is no water running into the home, there are still ways to get rid of the toilet’s contents. Whether you turned off the water because of a plumbing repair, or the municipal supply has been shut off because of a water main break or other problem, there is always a low-tech solution.
Remember, the toilet tank fills up right after a flush and remains that way until it is used again. Therefore, the tank should still be full in the event your water supply is cut off, so you should have one flush left before you have to start to worry. The wise homeowner saves that flush to use only in the event of an emergency. However, if someone accidentally uses up your final flush, all isn’t lost.
The secret of your bathroom toilet plumbing is that it doesn’t actually require pressure or even running water to function. You need access to water to fill the tank, of course, but from there the process works entirely through gravity — when you pull the handle, the tanks empties its contents into the bowl, pushing everything inside down the drain and out of your life.
If you have no water flowing into the tank via your plumbing, you can replicate its action in a very simple way. All you have to do is manually dump a bucket of water into the bowl, and you’ve got your flush. One reassuring part of using the bucket method is that it doesn’t matter what water you use, since it’s all going down the toilet anyway. If you have no water anywhere in your house, you can fill a bucket from a nearby stream or rain barrel, or perhaps ask a neighbor to lend you a hand. That being said, it’s a good idea to fill a bucket or two in advance if you anticipate having to turn the water off all day for a major plumbing repair.
The Cape Coral plumbers at Avis Plumbing and Air Conditioning are willing to take on even the dirtiest jobs to ensure that your family has functioning bathroom toilet plumbing. Whether it’s for routine service calls or an emergency, don’t hesitate to contact us for any help keeping things flowing around the home.
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