Every home has at least one toilet ,if not more. People don’t usually talk much about toilets because of the activities associated with them. But the toilet is a very amazing thing, and even more amazing is how it actually works. Let us see the process of how a toilet works.

The Systems Comprising A Toilet

To completely understand how toilets work, you need to first be familiar with its different systems. These are: the bowl and siphon, the flushing mechanism, and the refill action. Let us examine each of these systems one by one.

1. The bowl and siphon: The bowl of a toilet has a mechanism attached to it which is a pipe known as the siphon. When enough quantity of water (more than 1 gallon) is poured into the toilet bowl at a fast speed (in about 4-5 seconds), the extra water fills the siphon pipe and starts the siphoning action by which all the water and the waste is ‘sucked’ into the siphon tube, down the sewer pipe, and the toilet is emptied. Once the water goes down the sewer, air enters the siphon tube and the siphoning action is stopped. The ‘flushing’ or ‘gurgling’ sound that is associated with toilets is a result of this air.
2. The flushing mechanism: So how do you get this required amount of water into the bowl? This happens with the flushing mechanism. The tank holds the required quantity of water in it. The lever on the tank is attached to a chain, which in turn is connected to the flush valve. When you depress the lever, the chain is pulled and the flush valve is lifted out of its place, exposing the drain hole. The water from the tank enters the bowl through this drain hole. Some of the water comes from the rim of the bowl whereas a major portion of the water goes directly to a larger hole at the bottom of the bowl. This is the siphon jet which directs all the water into the siphon tube, thus creating the flush action.
3. Tank refill action: The refill mechanism of a toilet is controlled by a refill valve which has a ball float at its top end. When the toilet is flushed, the water level in the tank starts to fall and so does the ball float. This prompts the refill valve to open up and water enters the tank from the supply lines. When the level of the water in the tank rises, so does the ball float. Once the float reaches its top level, it automatically prompts the refill valve to shut and water flow into the tank stops. If due to some problem the refill valve does not shut off, the extra water does not flood the bathroom but runs down into the toilet bowl through an overflow tube.

From the above, you can see how toilets work. Toilets work with a combination of the flushing mechanism, the siphoning action, and the refill action. If any of these systems develops a problem, then the toilet will not work efficiently and the entire toilet system may malfunction.

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