WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Can You Fix the Shower Going Hot When a Toilet Flushes?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lorn vocal Bomb here with a classic episode from our

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<v Speaker 1>erstwhile host, Christian Sager. This one is one of those

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<v Speaker 1>everyday science questions that's easy to answer, but also easy

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<v Speaker 1>to prevent from happening in the first place. Why does

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<v Speaker 1>the shower get hot when someone in the house flushes

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<v Speaker 1>the toilet? Hey brain Stuff, Christian Sagar here, Have you

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<v Speaker 1>ever been taking a shower, you know, gently scrubbing your body,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe singing Boston's more than a feeling, when all of

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden, the water becomes scalding hot, potentially burning your

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<v Speaker 1>special downstairs area. I'm here to tell you that it's

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<v Speaker 1>not just you. But before I teach you how to

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<v Speaker 1>fix your plumbing so your shower no longer scorches your flesh,

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<v Speaker 1>please allow me to first explain how the modern commode works.

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<v Speaker 1>A common configuration of pipes in homes is what is

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<v Speaker 1>called a trunk and brand inch system. It's like a

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<v Speaker 1>tree with one large pipe, you know, the trunk that

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<v Speaker 1>has several smaller pipes branching off to things like your sink,

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<v Speaker 1>your laundry machine, your shower, or your toilet. If one

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<v Speaker 1>of these pipe trees, branches needs water. Like for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>when you flush your toilet, there's less water available for

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<v Speaker 1>the other branches on the tree. There are around three

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<v Speaker 1>gallons of water in that tank on the back of

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<v Speaker 1>your toilet, so when you pull the handle, it flushes

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<v Speaker 1>all that water to send whatever you've disposed of down

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<v Speaker 1>the sewer pipe. The tanks subsequently refills, taking water away

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<v Speaker 1>from the other branches. And here's the important part. Your

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<v Speaker 1>toilet only uses cold water. So the reason your shower

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<v Speaker 1>gets hot is because the flush toilet takes away the

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<v Speaker 1>cold water that was available in the system to mix

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<v Speaker 1>together with the hot water coming out of your shower head.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're like Goldilocks, you probably like your shower

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<v Speaker 1>not too hot and cold. But without cold water in

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<v Speaker 1>the mix, all that is left is nuclear hot lava

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<v Speaker 1>that will melt your epidermis off. And it's not just

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<v Speaker 1>your toilet that can contribute to this problem. Any appliance

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<v Speaker 1>using cold water can steal it from the shower washing machines, sprinklers,

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<v Speaker 1>even be days. There are several ways to fix this

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<v Speaker 1>water temperature problem, and I'm going to present you with

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<v Speaker 1>a few. The simplest method is to adjust the valve

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<v Speaker 1>under the toilet's tank. Most of the time these can

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<v Speaker 1>be tightened, so the toilet takes longer to fill. Unless

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<v Speaker 1>you're the kind of person who is constantly discharging bodily

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<v Speaker 1>waste and you know that's probably something you need to

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<v Speaker 1>have looked at, you probably don't need the tank to

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<v Speaker 1>be primed immediately. This will take less cold water away

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<v Speaker 1>from the shower. A similar simple solution is to place

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<v Speaker 1>an object like a brick or I don't know, a

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<v Speaker 1>human skull inside the tank so it doesn't use three

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<v Speaker 1>gallons every time you flush. There are more complex plumbing

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<v Speaker 1>fixes available as well, increasing your trunk's pipe diameter, installing

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<v Speaker 1>a new mixing valve, or renovating the whole system, but

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<v Speaker 1>all of those are going to cost you cash money,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's face it, if you wanted to spend that,

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<v Speaker 1>you wouldn't be listening to a podcast for home repair answers.

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<v Speaker 1>So bing bang boom, there's how your toilet works, why

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<v Speaker 1>flushing it makes the shower hot, and hey, a few

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<v Speaker 1>ways you can fix it. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Christian and produced by Tyler Plain For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other topics. Because it, how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio for

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