Mystery toilet splashes

If the Hardy Boys ever went RVing, perhaps one of their books would've been entitled, "The Mystery of the Splashing Toilet." We've noted with interest that several RVers have reported that on arriving after a day of travel, they've found puddles or splashes on their bathroom floor. Sure enough, they associate it with water splashing out of their commodes.

For those who've never experienced such a syndrome, and who aren't armchair detectives, you might simply pass it off as a flight of RVer fancy. How could the little bit of water left over in the terlit bowl ever jump out of there and onto the floor? But if you're the poor sap who gets to mop up the floor at the end of the day, it's more than a bit annoying.

So what could cause this odd splashing? Obviously, the first question is, "How much water are they leaving in the bowl?" The answer to the question is typically, "Just enough to cover the bowl valve." Which is right, after all, if you don't keep some water in the bowl, you know what will make its not-so-stealthy way back up into the bathroom – holding tank stink!

What kind of roads are you traveling? East-coasting RVers say they've seen potholes big enough to swallow small cars. Hit one of those, and your false teeth are apt to wind up in Cincinnati, never mind a bit of toilet water in the bathroom.

What kind of toilet rim do you have? We never would have thought to ask. But, as die-hard "plastic throne" owners, we've always had a big rim around the inside of our toilet bowl. But it seems those in the high-class China bowl crowd may actually have a "rimless" toilet, which could, theoretically, encourage the displacement of toilet water when jumping mud puddles with the motorhome.

So what's to be done to ensure toilet room swabbing is eliminated from your setup-camp routines? Getting the water out of the bowl yourself is one way. Turn off the water pump, step on the bowl evacuation pedal, and empty the bowl completely. Then come back again in a few minutes and check again – some RV toilets are sneaky and will fill up when you have your back turned. It's suspected by some that when the Olympia Brewery went out of business a few years ago that the resident "Artesians" took up dwelling in passing RVs.

Of course, no water in the bowl equals phantom odors, right? Not necessarily. When Borge Madsen invented the plastic zipper back before 1951, he probably never would have dreamed that his invention could reduce marital strife. Why? Because if you fill a small ziplock bag with water, zip it shut, and drop it down over the toilet bow valve, you'll keep those nasty-spirited Artesians at bay, thus saving a great deal of proboscis problems.

If we get a good answer as to why toilets splash out when traveling, we'll be sure to share it with you.