A Comparison Of Down Under The Bowl
Apr 10th 2019
Battle Of The Bowl
Even if you haven’t grown up in America, you have probably seen a handful of episodes of the Simpsons. The universally adored family have had many memorable episodes over its 32 years on the air. With over 650 episodes about their patriotically stereotypical shenanigans, the Simpsons have a story for just about everything. Here at Restroom Stalls and All, one of our personal favorites was when Bart’s fascination with toilet flushing went too far. In episode 16 of season 6 — “Bart vs Australia,” a golden oldie! — Bart learns that American toilets always flush counter-clockwise. He tries in vain to reverse the flush flow, but Lisa expertly explains that’s impossible. She gives him an educated lecture on the Coriolis Effect and adds that the toilet flush would spin opposite in Australia but not in America.
The Coriolis Effect is the name for the clockwise versus counterclockwise water flow cycles, which are directly affected by the spin of the earth and which hemisphere you’re in. There is no doubt that Lisa Simpson is heaps smarter than we are, but as it turns out, the Coriolis Effect is only true for large-scale water phenomena like hurricanes. The idea that this effect can be observed in small scale plumbing like toilet flushing or sinks draining is a total urban legend.
So then….why do the toilets drain in the opposite direction?? Wouldn’t you know it, the correct answer is actually the simplest one. The water jets are pointed in a different direction. That’s it. The water jets of most Australian toilets are pointed in the opposite direction of most American ones. Toilets there have a different flushing mechanism than ones commonly found in the United States. This totally new information sent us spinning in a whole different direction.
Flush It, Flush It Good
We originally set out to learn more about the Coriolis Effect on plumbing and help you impress your friends with a new “potty mouth.” Little did we know, the comparison of Australian and American toilets is much more involved than the 1995 Simpsons cartoon covered. We’re now overflowing with cultural information about toilets, and it’s time to settle the debate once and for all: who has the better toilet — America, or our better-behaved cousin, Australia?
Looking online, it became clear that Aussies have seen it as their duty to address and warn their brethren about American toilet systems. Meanwhile, us Yankees, figuratively speaking that is, don’t seem to give a crap about the differences. Here’s a short list of what bothers/confuses Australians the most about using a toilet here:
- Our water level in the bowl is too high
- Plungers
- One flush lever
Strangely enough, we found that all of these concerns are consequences of one, singular, key, difference. Let’s get into it, so we can finally get off this pot.
Everything about the differing porcelain throne experiences can be explained by the actual flush system of the toilet itself. In America we have something called the “North American Siphon Flush” while Australia most regularly uses the “Caroma Dual Flush” technology. Here’s how those compare:
|
|
North American Siphon Flush | Caroma Dual Flush |
|---|---|---|
| Piping | A long, snake-like, tube that elevates along the bottom of the bowl before dropping down into the sewer like a water slide | A plump, squished “s” shape that sits directly under the bowl of the toilet |
| Water Level | Collects in the bowl, up until about 3 to 4 inches below the rim | Sits low in the bowl, about 10 to 11 inches below the rim |
| Tube Circumference | Narrow, with piping that is inlaid of the trapway, creating a double seal between the toilet and the floor | Tube circumference matches the trapway of the toilet, allowing for anything as large as the diameter of a baseball to pass through easily |
| Lever | Consistent with one flush because on average, the same amount of water force is needed to push through the inclined piping every time | Half flush vs whole flush because the piping layout requires a different level of force to push through liquids versus solids |
There you have it! The layout of the piping beneath the toilet bowl makes it impossible for the toilets to operate the same. We have higher water levels because our piping is elevated, causing the front half of the bowl to fill up. We use plungers because our tubes can’t pass a baseball so often the larger...issues, need to be broken up. Believe us, Straya, we’re as shaken as you are by your country’s lack of regular plunger use. Lastly, we only have one lever because there’s only one amount of pressure that will push the water up the incline, regardless of what’s traveling along with the water.
Now that you’ve been fully informed and all those other myths and biases have been flushed out of your system, we’ll leave it for you to decide. Which toilet is better: American or Australian?
In the end, we’ve decided to feel more partial to American toilets because they’re what we know and love, but we’d be willing to give these Australian “whizz palaces” a try! At least now everyone from both countries is more prepared and has proper expectations when entering the foreign bathroom for the first time.
Did reading this article inspire you to want to open a commercial bathroom here in the states and in Sydney, Australia for no reason other than to say that you own toilets that can flush both clockwise and counter-clockwise? We understand. Contact us today about setting up your bathroom here in the states! While you’re doing that, we’ll look into setting something up in the Southern Hemisphere just for you.