WHY DO AEROPLANE TOILETS SUCK?
When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go – and thanks to toilet technology, this is possible in the air
WORDSAILSA HARVEY
The toilets are kept empty during takeoff and landing
In your home, toilets are filled with water that drains away with any waste as they are flushed. However, when designing aircraft, saving space and reducing weight is crucial. Instead of filling up toilet tanks with liquid, vacuumed air carries the contents of an aircraft’s toilet bowl down to a tank that is emptied when the aeroplane returns to the ground. The difference in pressure between the low air pressure at high altitudes and the cabin air that simulates high air pressure at low altitudes causes the toilet air to move naturally down the pressure gradient. As an aeroplane toilet is flushed, a valve in the pipe to the lower air pressure environment is opened and the air rushes rapidly from the toilet to the tank. The bigger the difference in pressure, the faster and more effective the flush system is. To enable aircraft toilets to function properly at all altitudes, the low pressure system is produced mechanically by a generator.