Things That Pee Me Off #18: Broken Flushes

Since I was away from home all of yesterday I had to resort to using Other Peoples Toilets in order to relieve myself (and it didn't help that I was overeating too). Now, using someone else's toilet for a number two is already moving into "we're not just friends" territory, but the whole situation becomes even more awkward when they have a flush that doesn't quite work.

All I ask of a toilet is to be able to press a lever (possibly firmly) in order to clear the bowl. You can even get some now that manage to do the job with a swift press of a button. Yet some toilets will only flush if the person using it knows the secret handshake that will unlock the full power of the water tank connected to it.

Now tell me: what's a person supposed to do when they can't get rid of their, ahem, leftovers? Keep wrestling with the flush till it goes? Fill a bucket and pour it down? Wait till the tank fills up and give it another go? Or, gasp, leave it?

The thing is it's not our, the guests, fault. It should be law for a house to have a working flush, just like they need proper plumbing and electrics. In other words, if you ever find a foreign log in your bowl, first look to yourselves before blaming others.