# Does a 'courtesy flush' actually achieve anything? (TMI, Possibly) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202 "2003-09-12T14:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/1 "2003-09-12T14:25:14Z")
Does the so-called ‘courtesy flush’ achieve any genuine reduction in odour? - I’d have thought not, after all, aren’t the noxious gaseous emissions emanating largely from the… ummm… customer’s orifice directly, rather than the… \ ‘matter’ in question, furthermore, once the _movement_ (or, for some people, _symphony_) is actually submerged, wouldn’t this prevent the emiision of unpleasant fumes to a significant extent? If **Lieu** isn’t the first respondent to this question, I’ll be sorely vexed. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/2 "2003-09-12T14:30:44Z")
I thought the courtesy is not in regards to smell, but sound. Some people don’t like to hear the sounds of “butt music”, natural as it may be. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/3 "2003-09-12T14:50:08Z")
Ah! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/4 "2003-09-12T15:15:06Z")
I’d imagine courtesy would apple to any of the five senses, although if that of Touch is included, that person is seriously fucked up. Butt as to that of Smell, even a submerged steamer is gonna stink to high heaven. The best you could hope for is that the water is really, really cold where it might protect it like some fecal shipwreck. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/5 "2003-09-12T15:19:03Z")
Apple? Apple? I can’t believe I typed apple during a turd discussion. Apply is what I meant regarding the ummm… fruits of your labor. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/6 "2003-09-12T15:26:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > **I’d imagine courtesy would apple to any of the five senses, although if that of Touch is included, that person is seriously fucked up.** There is another sense that is slightly _more_ disturbing if involved, I’d say. > [@](#): > > \*\*fecal shipwreck. \*\* Band name, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/7 "2003-09-12T15:56:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > **There is another sense that is slightly _more_ disturbing if involved, I’d say.** Yeah, I realized that shortly after posting as I took a **sip** of my soda. The irony? It was a Mountain Doo. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/8 "2003-09-12T16:04:55Z")
And what mechanism, exactly, would you invoke to allow fumes to escape through the water? Remember, the U-bend was invented precisely to trap noxious sewer gases where they belong. Of course, if you’ve been saving up a real Yule log, some of it may poke up above the waterline. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/9 "2003-09-12T16:06:56Z")
By the way, isn’t a “mange tout” a person who peddles skin diseases? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/10 "2003-09-12T16:28:18Z")
I don’t think pointing to the u-bend proves that foul fumes from a submerged turd-in-the-bowl won’t reach your nose – it’s an altogether different situation. A submerged poop’s gasses, being lighter than water, make their merry way into the atmosphere in no time at all. Hell, I’ve seen some of mine sitting there doing an, um, _passable_ impression of an alka-seltzer tablet. (Of course, I’ve also seen mine putting off heavy white vapour like a freakin’ fog machine, which I’ve never heard anyone else, not even **lieu** , admit to.) More to the point, most turds don’t head straight for the bottom of the bowl like little Jimmy Hoffas. Unless you’re in a drought-stricken area, a courtesy flush in a public loo makes an appreciable contribution to the common good. Don’t kid yourself otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Hauky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@Hauky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hauky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/11 "2003-09-12T16:32:21Z")
Anybody care to define what a courtesy flush is? My guess so far is a flush while the product in question is airborne, so to speak, so that it doesn’t splash down and sit there a while, rotting away and attracting flies. However, that’s a _very_ wild guess. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/12 "2003-09-12T16:41:32Z")
_Smoke on the water A fire in the eye…_ ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/13 "2003-09-12T16:55:59Z")
Oh goody, another opportunity to show [link deleted] You may now continue your day. E3 ---
**Author:** ![NFlanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@NFlanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NFlanders)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/14 "2003-09-12T18:53:30Z")
**Hauky** : A courtesy flush is when you flush the toilet during a lull in the, ahem, movement. Some selfish bastards (like every single one of my co-workers) wait until they are completely done before even thinking about flushing the toilet. Result? The steaming pile of poo (half submerged in the bowl) stinks up the entire bathroom. Flush people! For all our sakes. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/15 "2003-09-12T19:07:25Z")
I’ll be honest – I’ve never heard of this. I’m under the impression that people flush once – when they’re finished. Seems like a waste of water. Plus, it doesn’t strike me as being very effective in reducing smell. The smells escape during the process, not after. ---
**Author:** ![NFlanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@NFlanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NFlanders)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/16 "2003-09-12T20:05:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > \*\*… it doesn’t strike me as being very effective in reducing smell. The smells escape during the process, not after. \*\* This is a common misconception. As a rebuttal (no pun intended) let me ask you this: when is the last time a fart stunk up your room/house/bathroom for more than a minute? On the other side, someone “drops a bomb” in the work bathroom atleast once a week or so. I mean, the entire bathroom has been unbearable for entire days at a time. Is all this stink from gas? I think not. Also, think about. You have feces floating in a shallow pool of water. Do you think that it doesn’t emit odors? If that were the case, we would never have a need to flush. Wow, I am posting about poop. I really need to reasses my priorities. ---
**Author:** ![NFlanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@NFlanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NFlanders)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/17 "2003-09-12T20:08:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NFlanders \* > \*\*I really need to reasses my priorities. \*\* Freudian slip. ---
**Author:** ![menudomucho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@menudomucho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/menudomucho)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/18 "2003-09-12T23:49:01Z")
Most people I’ve in been around in public restrooms are generally courteous and try to remain quiet as possible. Some aren’t so kind. I thought that such flushes were to mask sound rather than odor. Frankly, I am less grossed out by odor than the chord progression of a virtual brass quintet. Bowel sounds etch themselves into my memory for a few minutes, the odor loses its effect when I leave the room. Humor comes when everyone is sitting in the stalls and trying to be courteous. You can tell that no one wants to make a sound, and they assume the same. So you basically sit there trying to quitely finish your business or just give up and try again later. Nik ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-courtesy-flush-actually-achieve-anything-tmi-possibly/201202/19 "2003-09-13T01:02:03Z")
I’ve installed water closets which had electronic sensors that flushed automatically, and they had a “courtesy flush” override button, so they must do some good.