# toliet and radio dont mix **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251 "2016-06-01T19:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brotherb2013](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@brotherb2013](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brotherb2013)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/1 "2016-06-01T19:34:28Z")
our family would like know why the radio in the bathroom becomes staticy(a lot of interference) when they flush the toilet? im the son of the family and I don’t have an answer for this unusual question:cool: ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/2 "2016-06-02T13:29:38Z")
This really is a wild guess on my part and may not even be possible. You can usually hear a high pitched sound as the water valve opens to refill the tank. Maybe its possible that, similar to a dog whistle only much higher, the valve also has a resonant frequency in the radio frequency range. Again, this is just a guess. 2nd guess only works if you use a pressure regulator like a well pump etc. Flushing sets off the regulator and the regulator doesn’t have a filtered power supply. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/3 "2016-06-02T14:26:16Z")
I wonder if you have plastic pipework, lots of water flowing in plastic pipes might be enough to cause electrostatic friction ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/4 "2016-06-02T14:30:17Z")
It would be extraordinarily difficult to make a mechanical system that has a resonant frequency in the gigahertz. What kind of water supply does the house use? Is it on a pump? Flushing the toilet might cause the pump to work harder, which might have an effect on the electrical system in the house (especially if your electricity comes from far away, which often correlates with having pumped water). ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/5 "2016-06-02T15:34:00Z")
Does the static start immediately when you pull the lever? Or only after the water has started flowing out of the toilet bowl? And how soon does the static stop? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/6 "2016-06-02T18:01:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It would be extraordinarily difficult to make a mechanical system that has a resonant frequency in the gigahertz… Am radio is 530 to 1600khz. The interference wouldn’t need to be in the gHz range. But your overall point may be correct. An accidental mechanical vibration at that +500khz level doesn’t seem very probable either. That’s why I stated that a mechanical system was a wild guess in my first reply ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/7 "2016-06-02T18:49:21Z")
OP didn’t specify whether if it’s AM radio or FM, or something else (satellite? DAB?) AM radio is the most prone to audible electromagnetic interference. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/8 "2016-06-04T18:28:12Z")
Could it have something to do with an electrical ground on a cold water pipe? I can’t quite figure out how that would work, but I suspect it would involve a Rube Goldberg-ian arrangement of bad wiring decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/9 "2016-06-04T18:39:16Z")
More details on what sort of radio this is would be helpful (given all the 21st century possibilities). Another potentially informative test: open the toilet tank and hold the float up with your hand while you flush the toilet. This way the tank will drain and the toilet will flush, but the tank will not refill. This would remove all upstream systems (water pumps, for instance) from the equation. Does the radio become static-y in this scenario? ---
**Author:** ![ziplock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d2c977/32.png) [@ziplock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ziplock)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/10 "2016-06-04T22:26:23Z")
I’ve never heard of a family who listens to the radio while in the bathroom, but uhhh, hey I’ll dig up an ol’ radio of mine and see if it does it too sometime in the very nearby future. Might just be a you problem though. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/11 "2016-06-04T22:32:15Z")
Try lifting the radio out of the toilet bowl before you flush. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/12 "2016-06-05T02:55:09Z")
Sounds like the radio’s probably just playing something off “Metal Machine Music” whenever you flush. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toliet-and-radio-dont-mix/756251/13 "2016-06-05T03:28:37Z")
Probably radio interference caused by the bug that Homeland Security planted. Of course if you report it or try to remove it, then . . . well some things are best not discussed.