Hey Ray: Toilets and windy days
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - We have another viewer question to answer!
June asks, "Why is it, when it's real windy, the water level is so low in the toilet bowl"?
Let me answer the first question that may pop into your mind...YES, this IS a real thing!
When it is exceptionally windy outside, there are impacts to your toilet inside! You may notice the bowl seems to have less water when it is windy. You may also notice the water sloshing around, even though the wind is outside of your home.
To get your toilet to work on a normal day, just know that there is a lot of science packed into that porcelain!
To understand what is happening, you first need to know that the operation of your toilet is dependent on more than just what you see in the bathroom.
Obviously, there is a pipe that empties into a sewer or septic tank, but there is another pipe that likely pops out of your roof. That is called "the vent stack".
Without the vent stack, your toilet wouldn't flush. It would be like putting your thumb on the end of a straw that is in your drink. The liquid stays inside.
The same would happen to your toilet.
So, that stack allows air pressure to push down on the water when you flush, allowing it to get pushed out to the sewer.
Now, when it is really windy, and air blows across that stack, a tiny area of low pressure is created above it.
Remember, low pressure is rising air, so a little air rises out of the pipe because of those winds allowing the water level in the toilet to drop.
If that tiny area of low pressure is fluctuating a lot, the water will slosh around.
So, the next time it is really windy outside, you might see low or choppy water on Lake Lavatory!
