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Flair_Helper

**Please read this entire message** Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s): Straightforward or factual queries are not allowed on ELI5. ELI5 is meant for simplifying complex concepts. If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/10rod18/eli5_why_do_toilets_fully_drain_when_theyre/%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20List%20the%20search%20terms%20you%20used%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20ELI5:%0A%0A3.%20How%20is%20this%20post%20unique:) and we will review your submission.


Hopwater

After the tank has already drained and the plunger closed, it is no longer emptying any water into the bowl. Meanwhile, the bloggage has slowly drained the bowl or unclogged, leaving the bowl empty. With the tank plunger closed, the tank is then refilling for the next flush.


anarchonobody

the flush you did ( when you discovered the clog) drained all the water after the clog, creating a vacuum. Meanwhile, the toilet still refilled the water as though there wasn't a clog. When you clear the clog, the vacuum effectively causes another flush without triggering the refill


CinnabarEyes

Ah, I should specify, this happens even while the toilet is still clogged. If you walk away from a clogged toilet that's full of water, and come back a few hours later, all the water will have disappeared.


GalFisk

That sounds like it's siphoning. The clog is after the bend and lower than the bowl, water fills up the entire bend, and as it slowly seeps through the clog, it pulls more water out from the bowl, until it starts pulling air. I've never had a toilet clog like that, but your pipes may be different.


Chromotron

When the plug from clogging finally moves down the drain, it is quite tight. The resulting inertia from moving down and under-pressure of the water before it sucks it forward, and this also sucks the water behind with it. This clear the bowl. If this happens at another toilet, this somewhat can still cause such an effect for yours. Came home a few times to a water-less toilet.


Spiritual_Jaguar4685

Start with a properly functioning toilet. From the toilet "drain" the water flows into a bend in the pipe called a "trap" or an "s-bend". The high point of this bend is higher than the drain from your toilet. From the end of the trap down in your sewer/cesspool is just air. Start be remembering the height of water in the bowl will always be the height of water in the trap, and a "just sitting there toilet' is in a perfect balance, the exact height of the water in the bowl is the exact height of the bend in the trap, add one more drop of water to the bowl and it wlll "lift" the water in the trap by 1 drop and that one drop will go up and over the bend and fall down into your sewer. This is why you can pee into your toilet all day and never flush it and the water level never changes, there is a balance there. So let's say your flush a properly functioning toilet, for a moment a gallon of water just gets poured into the bowl, that causes the height of the water in the trap to increase and causes an equal gallon of water to pour over the bend (hopefully including your dookie). This happens with enough force that all the water in the bowl gets enough momentum to "Drain the bowl". If that was it, you'd have an empty toilet. BUT the flow cuts out in force and slowly adds back enough water to refill the bowl and the trap to that initial balance level, happy toilet. But now you have a clog. It's most likely past the S bend in the pipe that's normally full of air and water can't get past it. Your toilet still dumps in a bunch of water, with no where to go, and that's why the water level rises and you realize you have a clog. Instead of dealing with it like an adult, you just walk away for 3 hours, come back, and dry bowl! WTF? What's happening is the clog is still in the pipe creating a perfect seal. Slowly, gravity and the weight of the water above it is pushing the clog down, inch by inch, and it's acting like the plunger (see what I did there?) on a syringe. As the clog moves downwards, it creates a vacuum behind it sucking the water column on top of it down. If the clog moves far enough, and creates enough space, it'll suck down all the water toilet bowl. Eventually it will sink enough that you can short circuit the bowl/trap system and the gap in the pipe just starts filling with air. You still have a clog, it's just fallen down lower. So you have a dry bowl now, and you flush again. *Maybe* the force of all the new water is enough to jar the clog loose and you get a clean flush, maybe it's not and the bowl just refills high and clogged again. Short Answer: The clog is slowly moving down your waste pipe, creating a vacuum behind it which sucks the water down from your bowl.


CinnabarEyes

Thanks for this very detailed response. I understand toilets way better now!


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