On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:27:02 +0100, Stephen wrote:

Hello,

I have heard you should not use a shallow bath trap if your bath
drains into the soil stack because winds blowing across the top of the
stack can suck the water out of the trap. Can the same happen to
toilets? I know if sounds daft but I went to a house that has stood
empty for a couple of months and the toilet pan was completely dry.
How else could the toilet have emptied? There was no sign that the pan
was cracked and I doubt it has been hot enough to evaporate?

A combination, perhaps, of evaporation and wind. In very windy conditions
I've seen mine go down by an inch or so as the water is rocked by the
changes in pressure. I'd assume that the lower the water gets, the less
will be slopped over, but if the level gets low enough the air could get
through and that would speed evaporation.
After 7 weeks in the Winter - house at about 12C - the water in the loo was
only a bit above the bend.

The other strange thing was that the water had been turned off and
when it was turned back on all the taps spluttered as though the pipes
had been full of air and the combi boiler needed the loop turning on
to repressurise it. How had the pipes emptied?

And when the water came through the taps for a few seconds it was a
golden brown. What caused the colour? Whilst it was a copper colour,
surely copper is not very reactive? I am not aware of any roadworks
causing dirty water in the street.

Thanks in advance.


--
Peter.
The head of a pin will hold more angels if
it's been flattened with an angel-grinder.