Washout Closets.—This type of closet has in the past been used to a very great extent. It does not perform the work it has to do, so perfectly as the others, because the shallowness of the water in the bowl allows it to give off odors, and because it is difficult to keep clean. The action of the closet is as follows: When the closet is flushed the water enters the rim at A, and the greater portion of it is washed downward at B to dislodge the contents of the bowl. A lighter flush is sent through the openings in the side, which serves to wash the entire surface. The direction of discharge is forward, where it dashes against the front of the bowl and then falls into the trap. The only force received to carry the water to the trap is from falling through the distance from the point where it strikes the front. The flushing action is obtained from the use of a large volume of water. As the discharged matter is dashed against the front of the bowl, the flushing action of the water is not sufficient to remove all the stains; the result is an accumulation of filth. This part of the bowl is out of sight; hence, it is seldom kept clean. The name washout comes from the action of the water to wash out the contents of the bowl.
Fig. 103.—The siphon-jet closet.
Fig. 104.—A poor design of wash-down closet.
Washdown Closets.
—As shown in Fig. 102, the action of this closet is to wash the contents of the bowl directly down the soil pipe. The depth of the water at A is much greater than at the corresponding point in the washout closets; as a consequence fecal matter is almost submerged. The main objection to this closet is that it is noisy. Fig. 104 shows another form of washdown closets. This closet is open to objection because of faulty design; the part A is difficult to keep clean because of its shape.
Siphon-jet Closet.
—What is considered by many to be the most satisfactory closet yet designed, is that of the siphon-jet type shown in Fig. 103. The flushing action of this closet is entirely different from that of the others described. The flushing water enters at A and fills the rim B. Part of the water washes the sides of the bowl, while the remainder flows through the jet C, and is discharged directly into the outlet. The ejected water enters the outlet D, which, as soon as it fills, acts as a siphon to draw the water into the soil pipe. This closet is most positive in its action, since the discharge is made by the siphon and also receives the additional momentum due to the water flowing through the jet. Its action is attended with but little noise.
