# What's the deal with multiple toilet flushings? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437 "2007-09-25T16:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/21 "2007-09-25T20:47:08Z")
Was the OP in Japan recently? Women there flush the toilet constantly so that noone can hear their ‘movements’. That is until the [sound princess](http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=qw1096879141756B215) Quote from link “‘Women in Japan have traditionally flushed several times to cover up their noises, so the Sound Princess is saving water and cutting down on public building operators’ utility bills.'” ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/22 "2007-09-25T21:30:12Z")
I love the way **wheresgeorge** did a much better job of stating my point when I called shenanigans on the courtesy flush: _no odor comes from underwater shit!_ Go ahead, try sticking your face under the water to smell it if you don’t believe me. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/23 "2007-09-25T21:36:14Z")
The toilet where I work is just inadequate. Sometimes, even if you’re just peeing, the flush doesn’t take care of all the toilet paper. And no one likes seeing a wad of used toilet paper in the bowl when they go to use the toilet, so you flush again. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/24 "2007-09-25T21:36:40Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] You flush whilst sitting down? [/QUOTE] I hate that. The boys get splashed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/25 "2007-09-25T23:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=anamnesis] _no odor comes from underwater shit!_ [/QUOTE] Never having the kind of intestinal distress that results in voluminous clouds of putrid gas being emitted at the same time as the solid waste: priceless For everyone else, there’s the courtesy flush. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/26 "2007-09-25T23:23:48Z")
You people who flush fewer than three times must be doing something disgusting. I flush once after defecating, then once to wash each foot. ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/27 "2007-09-25T23:31:07Z")
I’m still not clear on how flushing a toilet has any effect on reducing or eliminating the gas floating around above a small body of water. Gas travels up and disperses out into the air, it doesn’t get sucked down into water. Unless turds are emitting little fizzy carbonated stink bubbles that slowly float up to the top of the water, I fail to see how any smell would be eliminated by flushing. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/28 "2007-09-25T23:37:21Z")
[QUOTE=Obligate Carnivore] Maybe they’re those people who get ‘performance anxiety’ about peeing/pooping in public or the ones who can’t do it in total silence? They do multiple flushes to make a sound to cover their bodily noises? [/QUOTE] This may be the answer. Too many men have been made into shrinking violets and made to be ashamed of their backfiring. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/29 "2007-09-25T23:41:41Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Never having the kind of intestinal distress that results in voluminous clouds of putrid gas being emitted at the same time as the solid waste: priceless For everyone else, there’s the courtesy flush. [/QUOTE] how does flushing eliminate or mitigate putrid gas? Oh, and my most frequent extra flushes comes after a particularly large load, when some gets left behind after the first flush. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/30 "2007-09-25T23:56:37Z")
Call me uptight, but I flush to cover up the noise. Not of #1, but of #2. Sometimes I can push out several loaves with one loud, long flush, but other times I have to flush more than once. And as long as we’re sharing, I tend to get really grossed out by the people who brush their teeth in the restroom. I could never enjoy the practice of good oral hygiene with the sound of plopping mere feet away. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/31 "2007-09-26T00:41:30Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Was the OP in Japan recently? Women there flush the toilet constantly so that noone can hear their ‘movements’. That is until the [sound princess](http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=qw1096879141756B215) [/QUOTE] The problem with this is, now any time I hear the sound of running water I need to… uh, excuse me I’ll be right back. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/32 "2007-09-26T03:34:50Z")
[QUOTE=Taber] how does flushing eliminate or mitigate putrid gas? [/QUOTE] I’on’now. Makes it all swirly or sump’in. Helps, tho. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/33 "2007-09-26T05:08:54Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] Courtesy flush is bullshit. No odor comes from shit actually underwater. Try leaving a toilet full of feces for a while, then come back to it. No smell. The concept of a courtesy flush is for uptight assholes who can’t face the fact that THEY MAKE SHIT, and it comes RIGHT OUT OF THEIR BODIES! Ewwwwwwwww! Joe [/QUOTE] This is a bunch of… well, you know. Maybe it’s not as noticeable with regular poo, but as an extreme example, take next-day-beer-remains poo. Granted, lots of the smell comes from the expellation, but you’re really going to tell me that leaving a brown soup in your bowl is exactly the same as if it were filled with pristine mountain spring water? Remind me not to ask to use the bathroom at your place. BTW, while browsing the dope I just entered a bill on wheresgeorge. Then I replied to your post before I noticed this coincidence. If my other webpage begins turning brown, I’m heading to find a priest and some holy water. ---
**Author:** ![Zambini57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4491bb/32.png) [@Zambini57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zambini57)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/34 "2007-09-26T12:14:13Z")
I’m not sure about smell not being able to travel through water. I saw a TV show once where an apple was placed at the bottom of a container of water. (It was set up so the apple would not float and could not be seen)) A pig was released into the area and he was able to smell it. He stuck his head into the water and got it. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/35 "2007-09-26T13:12:15Z")
Man, what are you all on? Water is a _carrier_ for odors! Furthermore, the courtesy flush isn’t just to get rid of the smell that the rest of the people in the bathroom are gagging on, _even if_ you think there’s some sort of water seal going on. The courtesy flush is also so that you don’t clog up the pipes with fecal impaction + toilet paper plugging. _Moreover_ even if you’re some mutant whose sense of smell _isn’t_ better at detecting odors carried by moisture, most bathrooms today – particularly public and in businesses – have low-flow, low-water toilets. There’s not enough water in the bowl to cover the turd _until_ you flush. Unless you’re dropping rabbit pellets, in which case they’re probably all floating _and_ you need to eat some bran. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/36 "2007-09-26T20:09:01Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] You flush whilst sitting down? [/QUOTE] No, I just described the action in an awkward manner. I flush while standing. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/37 "2007-09-26T20:15:32Z")
[QUOTE=auntie em] Call me uptight, but I flush to cover up the noise. Not of #1, but of #2. Sometimes I can push out several loaves with one loud, long flush, but other times I have to flush more than once. [/quote] It takes all kinds. No reason to be embarrassed. We all make awful noises. Human beings are horrifying creatures. [QUOTE=auntie em] And as long as we’re sharing, I tend to get really grossed out by the people who brush their teeth in the restroom. I could never enjoy the practice of good oral hygiene with the sound of plopping mere feet away. [/QUOTE] I used to know a guy who could take a sandwich into the stall and eat while shitting. Makes me wanna puke right now. I could NEVER brush my teeth while someone were shitting in the bathroom. I couldn’t help but imagine that I were brushing with poo. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/38 "2007-09-26T20:35:43Z")
To quote a graffito in my old dorm at NC State, “Flush twice - it’s a long way to Chapel Hill.” ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/39 "2007-09-26T21:23:12Z")
When flushing pot down the drain, always flush at least twice. Like in regular sinks, there is a trap which holds water to prevent sewer gases from back up into the toilet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437/40 "2007-09-27T03:42:30Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] I could NEVER brush my teeth while someone were shitting in the bathroom. I couldn’t help but imagine that I were brushing with poo. [/QUOTE] [izzard] This is a _poo_ room! _Everything_ here is made of poo! I’m not brushing my teeth here … _I’m_ going to Azerbaijan! [/izzard] Sorry, couldn’t help it. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-multiple-toilet-flushings/420437.md?page=3)