U.S. Inspect - Professional Home Inspections: Bathrooms Toilets

Toilet

Toilet
There is actually some debate over who and when the modern flush toilet was invented, but generally it is mistakenly attributed to a plumber named Thomas Crapper in early nineteenth century England. The modern toilet has a two-fold purpose. The first well known purpose is to move the waste into the septic or sewer system. The second purpose is to prevent sewer gasses from entering the house. Due to the simple ingeniousness of the design, unless the toilet is physically damaged or incorrectly installed, it performs this function without fail.

Basic Designs
There are two basic designs used in residential dwellings--one-piece and two-piece. With the two-piece, the tank that stores the water to perform the actual flush function is separate from the the bowl, where the waste is deposited. The tank may either sit directly on the bowl or may be elevated above the bowl and connected by a pipe. In one-piece construction, the bowl and tank are cast as one single piece. Both types are usually made of vitreous china casting and operate the same.

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