Has the water been turned off in your home for some reason? Do you need to flush the toilet during that time but don’t know how you’re going to manage it? Well, look no further than this handy article that will take your through each step of the different solutions available to you. Flushing a toilet with no water can be a nightmarish situation, although a plumber can help with this problem if you don’t want to handle it yourself.
Nobody wants to deal with a gross toilet after the water has come back on. You want to flush it as often as you’re able while the water is out. If you’re in this waterless situation, keep reading to discover six tips on how to flush a toilet with no water left in the tank:
1. Check to make sure that the tank is empty
Even if the water has been turned off, you may still have enough water left for a full flush without having to go onto the other tips on this list. When you flush the toilet under normal circumstances, the tank will automatically fill up as soon as the toilet has been flushed. So even if you don’t have any water, you may still be able to flush the toilet with the water that re-filled the tank from the last flush before the water was turned off.
Simply lift the tank lid to check. If there’s still water in there, great! Go ahead and flush the toilet as you normally would. If the tank is dry, then you’ll have to go on to the other tips on this list.
2. Pour water directly into the toilet bowl
Your mileage may vary with this tip, as it doesn’t work with all toilets. If you’re desperate enough, this tip could be worth a shot. Measure out a gallon of water and then pour it into the toilet bowl – not the tank (at least not for this tip), but the bowl. Pour the water slowly and steadily at first but then increase the speed and pressure. There’s a chance that the added water pressure will send the contents of your toilet through the pipes as it should. However, this is not a fail-proof method so use it with caution.
3. Conserve and recycle water
When your water has been turned off, for whatever reason, it’s a good idea to conserve and recycle your available water as much as possible. This is especially true if high winds or a storm have taken out your water and electricity and you have suddenly become responsible for getting your home and/or family through this tough time.
You can (usually) go to the store and buy gallons of water for drinking or even some washing, but it’s important that you re-use water as much as possible. And part of that means saving water so that you can use it to flush your toilet when necessary. After all, having a build up of noxious fumes from leftover waste can be harmful to your health.
4. Fill the tank manually
One of the most common methods for flushing your toilet with no water is by filling the tank manually. This is a very simple and easy method of flushing your toilet. Simply pour water into your toilet’s tank (leftover water from washing dishes or taking a bath is great for this) and then flush the toilet as you normally would. It’s that simple! However, this method of flushing does use up quite a bit of water, so if you are trying to conserve water as much as possible, you may want to wait a bit.
One way you can save water while still using the toilet tank to flush the toilet is by gently placing a brick into the toilet tank. The brick will take up space in the toilet, meaning that less water will be needed to fill it up. But the toilet should still flush the exact same way (as long as the brick isn’t interfering with any of the mechanisms, of course).
5. Don’t fill the tank too full
Another important tip to remember is that, when filling up the toilet tank in order to flush it, you shouldn’t fill the tank too full. This can create a whole new set of problems for you to deal with. So stay safe and keep the water level below the rod that keeps the balloon where it should be. You can also experiment with using a little less water for each flush (if the water outage lasts a long time) and see how low you can get it while still being able to flush the toilet.
6. Don’t worry about flushing every time
If there’s no water in your house, you should definitely not flush the toilet each time you use it. It’s far better to follow the old adage: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” Yes, it might be gross to use a toilet that hasn’t been flushed. But it will save you water in the long run. And that’s a good thing.
