Automatic toilets are common in public places because people forget to flush them, and it can cause sanitary issues. These contain sensors to detect the presence of people and wash the water.
Why Do Automatic Toilets Flush Randomly? Automatic toilets flush randomly because of a dead sensor battery, damaged seal, color or type of cloth, lime, and calcium buildup on sensors. Moreover, the problem comes from improper cleaning of sensors, the interior’s temperature, and the person’s position.
The infrared radiation from the sensors of the automatic toilet detects the person when they come close or move far. In addition, these also work by detecting the body heat of the persons when they sit on them.
| Causes | Solutions |
| Dead battery of the sensor | Change sensor batteries |
| Damaged seal | Check leakage by adding food color |
| Type and color of cloth | Avoid wearing dark colors and fluffy cloth |
| Lime and calcium buildup | Place tissue paper on sensors |
| Improper cleaning practices | Use alcohol for cleaning |
| The temperature of the room | Ventilation and keep the temperature normal |
| Forward leaning | Avoid unnecessary movement |
Dead battery of the sensor
The sensors of the automatic toilets flush contain the battery for their working. These are motion sensors and move the water rapidly when you move outside.
These sensors are battery-operated and need power for their work. The batteries are replaceable, and you have to replace them.
Batteries are helpful in the functioning of these sensors, and these do not work well when these batteries become dead.
These do not detect the object or presence of a person when batteries become dead. This is because infrared rays cannot come through these sensors due to dead batteries.
On average, these batteries can last for about 300,000 to 400,000 flushes. Sometimes the batteries will die, and the toilet starts to flush randomly.
The random water flow makes the children worried, and these can also suddenly get up to them. Moreover, the batteries become dead due to their old age and frequent functioning.
Moreover, these can also die due to poor maintenance and handling practices. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the batteries when you see red signals of red light on the sensors.
Replace the old batteries with new ones to prevent the random functioning of the toilets.
Damaged seal
The flush valve seal is present to control the movement of the water. The toilet contains two parts one is a bowl, and the other is a tank.
The tank contains the water, and the bowl holds the waste material. The rubber seal is present between these areas to control water flow.
The damaged or worn-out seal cannot control the water flow. The water drips into the bowl due to the damaged seal and causes the emptying of the water tank.
The toilet flushes randomly when the water level is low in the tank. These can flush out water when water drips into the bowl.
It is problematic because water splashes come on your clothes and body due to high pressure from the sides.
The rubber seals can get damaged due to their old age and long-term usage. The algae also grow on them, and these cannot seal the sides properly and prevent water flow.
The algae grow there because of long-term moisture exposure. In addition, the seals are made of rubber material that has less durability and can damage easily.
You do not need to replace the toilet when facing a random flushing issue. Instead, change the seals and add a new flush seal to prevent water from dripping.
Furthermore, you can check the leakage in the sensor by adding food color to the water tank. You can see the food color dripping in the bowl to detect leakage.
Type and color of cloth
The automatic flush also works randomly due to the color and type of the cloth. The color and style of the fabric interfere with their functioning and infrared radiations.
The dark color cloths absorb the infrared radiations from the sensor and do not send them back to the receiver unit.
In addition, sending unit sometimes does not send the radiations due to the bright and dark color of the cloth. Many people complain that they flush randomly and work when they wear dark-colored clothes.
Moreover, the fabric of the cloth also matters in the signaling of infrared radiation. This is because the woolen and thick cloth fabric absorbs the radiation and does not send them back for working of sensors.
These do not flush the water when you get up from them because of poor detection of signals. The fluffy clothes also make their work challenging.
It is better to ensure that you are not wearing black clothes with fluffy stuff hindering their normal functioning.
You can ensure that your clothes are not touching with a sensor that can trigger frequent flushing.
Lime and calcium buildup
The lime and calcium buildup can also interrupt the functioning of these sensors, and these can flush water unevenly.
Moreover, automatic toilets are the leading cause of water wastage due to their random functioning. These empty the tank in the bowl when no one is around, leading to water waste.
The lime can build up on their surface due to continuous exposure to hard water. Hard water contains high concentrations of lime and calcium that can build up on different materials and form a thick layer.
These can also form a thick layer on the sensors, which do not detect persons’ presence efficiently. These do not work when needed and flush randomly when no one is in the surroundings.
You can fix it by placing the tissue paper on the sensors so they cannot flow the water randomly from the tank and get splashes on your cloth.
The tissue paper shows the presence of some objects, and these do not function in these intervals. Therefore, remove the tissue paper when free for proper water draining and clearing up the waste.
Improper cleaning practices
The poor cleaning practices cause dust, dirt, and grim to build up on the sensors of automatic flush toilets.
The sender and receiving unit of the sensors do not send or receive infrared radiation to detect the person’s presence.
The dirt can build on their surface when you do not clean them properly. The dust buildup interrupts the movement of infrared rays and leads to poor detection.
You can resolve the issue by cleaning them properly and removing the dust and grim buildup from their surfaces.
Moreover, you can also fix the random water flushing by keeping your palm on the sensors so it cannot function unevenly.
Use the damp rag or cotton swabs dipped in alcohol to remove the dust and grime from their surface.
The temperature of the room
These are electronically controlled devices and highly sensitive to the room’s temperature. As a result, these do not function well when the room temperature is high in the summer.
These can only perform efficiently in winter when the outside temperature is low. This is because the sensors installed in these fixtures detect the person’s presence through body heat.
The temperature rises in summer, and these can frequently flush the bowl due to high temperature. You can improve their functioning by maintaining the interior temperature in the summer.
Allow proper ventilation to keep the warm air out and the exhaust fans on for better air circulation from outside.
Forward leaning
Sometimes these can also work randomly because of the movement of the people. You cannot sit for a long time in the same direction.
These can flush when you lean forward or move backward. Infrared radiation cannot detect the person’s presence when you move forward to relax.
The continuous forward and backward movement triggers the flushing mechanism, and it causes unsanitary conditions.
It is very irritating for people because of unsanitary conditions and water splashes on their bodies and cloth.
You can resolve the problem by minimizing your motion while using the toilets.
Related Articles:
Why is the Toilet Always Next to the Shower?