The upstairs toilet in my 2 story home always has very low (50%) water in the bowl when the winds are very high outside. I asked 2 plumbers & they both said it was due to the suction or vaccum caused by the wind & the roof venting. Sound logical?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 6
-
it would fluxuate with the wind speed it could be 30 or40 perenct at certain times
-
Yes, it does make sense. It's Bernoulli's Principle at work. Bernoulli's Principle states that in an ideal fluid (air would qualify), an increase in velocity occurs simultaneously with decrease in pressure or gravitational energy. To see how this works, try this: Take 2 straws and some plasticine. Stand the straws about an inch apart in the plasticine bases and then place some plasticine balls at the top to act as weights. Position your mouth directly above the gap between the 2 straws and blow downwards. You should see the straws lean together as you blow. You are creating an area of low pressure with the "wind" velocity and the straws lean together as the higher pressure air pushes in to fill the void. I guess a similar thing happens with the water in your toilet.
-
think of smoke coming out of a chimney when the wind blows over top it pulls the smoke out faster witch would be a suction
-
You may need to check the vents to see if there is a problem. Also, there is a pump that can easily be installed in the upstairs bathroom that will help to pull the water upstairs. You can ask the plumbing pro at your local home improvement store about it.
-
Total sense that the stink pipe in a wind can cause this to happen.
-
It is completely logical. The wind blowing over the top of the vent pipe creates a vacuum in the vent line which will draw the water in the bowl up the weir that acts as the water trap or vapor barrier that is built into all toilets.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC