How does a toilet flush?
There are many toilet designs; however, most function simply through the natural forces of gravity and a change in pressure. Typically, a toilet will consist of a tank that acts as a storage reservoir for water. Controlling the flow of water to and from the tank is accomplished by using a fill valve and a flush valve. The tank is either mounted to, or made an integral part of, the toilet bowl. At the rear of the bowl there is an outlet which leads to a large diameter curved pipe, or trapway, which carries waste material to the sanitary drainpipe. When the toilet is not in use, a small amount of water remains in the toilet bowl because the pressure inside the bowl and the pressure inside the trapway are equal. Depressing a trip lever activates the flush cycle by opening the flush valve flapper and allowing water to feed from the tank to the bowl. Water will travel by force of gravity from the tank to the bowl through a variety of specially engineered passages. The surge of water to the
