Nasty Toilet

Q: We recently bought a 28- foot travel trailer, and this is our first experience RV camping. The problem we’re having is that when we flush the toilet it seems like air is coming back through the water, which creates a problem in flushing. It actually splashes hard enough to splatter out of the bowl. It’s like there’s air in the tank that’s not being vented out. What can be done to eliminate this problem?

—Robert Aas

Sheridan, Wyoming

A: In order for water to be pushed out of the bowl, air has to be getting into the water line. Normally if this happens, you would also experience some spitting at the faucet when it’s first opened, much like the situation when priming the water system after it’s been inactive. Look for a leak that’s allowing air to be sucked into the pump. Could be a fitting that connects the inlet hose/pipe to the demand water pump or even a small crack somewhere on the inlet side. You could also be having a problem with the demand water-pump head.

While it’s possible that a toilet component has failed, you would likely see water leaking around the toilet if that were the case.

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