1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: Lorn vocal Bomb here with a classic episode from our 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: erstwhile host, Christian Sager. This one is one of those 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: everyday science questions that's easy to answer, but also easy 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: to prevent from happening in the first place. Why does 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: the shower get hot when someone in the house flushes 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: the toilet? Hey brain Stuff, Christian Sagar here, Have you 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: ever been taking a shower, you know, gently scrubbing your body, 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: maybe singing Boston's more than a feeling, when all of 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 1: a sudden, the water becomes scalding hot, potentially burning your 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: special downstairs area. I'm here to tell you that it's 12 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: not just you. But before I teach you how to 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: fix your plumbing so your shower no longer scorches your flesh, 14 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: please allow me to first explain how the modern commode works. 15 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: A common configuration of pipes in homes is what is 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: called a trunk and brand inch system. It's like a 17 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: tree with one large pipe, you know, the trunk that 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: has several smaller pipes branching off to things like your sink, 19 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,199 Speaker 1: your laundry machine, your shower, or your toilet. If one 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: of these pipe trees, branches needs water. Like for instance, 21 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: when you flush your toilet, there's less water available for 22 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: the other branches on the tree. There are around three 23 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: gallons of water in that tank on the back of 24 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: your toilet, so when you pull the handle, it flushes 25 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: all that water to send whatever you've disposed of down 26 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:38,039 Speaker 1: the sewer pipe. The tanks subsequently refills, taking water away 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: from the other branches. And here's the important part. Your 28 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 1: toilet only uses cold water. So the reason your shower 29 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: gets hot is because the flush toilet takes away the 30 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: cold water that was available in the system to mix 31 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: together with the hot water coming out of your shower head. 32 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: And if you're like Goldilocks, you probably like your shower 33 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: not too hot and cold. But without cold water in 34 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: the mix, all that is left is nuclear hot lava 35 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: that will melt your epidermis off. And it's not just 36 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: your toilet that can contribute to this problem. Any appliance 37 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 1: using cold water can steal it from the shower washing machines, sprinklers, 38 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: even be days. There are several ways to fix this 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: water temperature problem, and I'm going to present you with 40 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: a few. The simplest method is to adjust the valve 41 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: under the toilet's tank. Most of the time these can 42 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: be tightened, so the toilet takes longer to fill. Unless 43 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 1: you're the kind of person who is constantly discharging bodily 44 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: waste and you know that's probably something you need to 45 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,079 Speaker 1: have looked at, you probably don't need the tank to 46 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: be primed immediately. This will take less cold water away 47 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: from the shower. A similar simple solution is to place 48 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: an object like a brick or I don't know, a 49 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: human skull inside the tank so it doesn't use three 50 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: gallons every time you flush. There are more complex plumbing 51 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: fixes available as well, increasing your trunk's pipe diameter, installing 52 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: a new mixing valve, or renovating the whole system, but 53 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: all of those are going to cost you cash money, 54 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 1: and let's face it, if you wanted to spend that, 55 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: you wouldn't be listening to a podcast for home repair answers. 56 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,519 Speaker 1: So bing bang boom, there's how your toilet works, why 57 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: flushing it makes the shower hot, and hey, a few 58 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: ways you can fix it. Today's episode was written by 59 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: Christian and produced by Tyler Plain For more on this 60 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: and lots of other topics. Because it, how stuff works 61 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio for 62 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: more podcasts for my heart Radio because at the heart 63 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 64 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: favorite shows.