Plumbing Problems - non-funtioning toilet

[donaldsc]

On 5/23/2022 at 12:17 PM, Lady Arwen said:

On our last Princess cruise on Royal Princess we had no hot water in our shower the entire voyage!  We had to use the showers in the spa.  We had numerous repair people in and out of our cabin, who basically shook their heads and left.  Not one person was able to fix it.  I think it was probably a big job that could not be done with passengers occupying the cabin.  We wondered what happened to the next people who moved in.  Probably the same as us and the folks before us.  However, Princess was kind enough to  bestow upon us OBC in the amount of $200.00.  We gave it all back in the casino lol!

 

A whole cruise w no shower and they give you a measly $200.  I would have definitely discussed this w staff.  Considering that ships now cruise with >100% capacity I wonder how they handle cabins w long term toilet issues since there are probably no cabins to move the people to.  Give them buckets?  Put porta potties such as these - https://www.amazon.com/Thetford-White-92820-Porta-Potti/dp/B07CHVQ3RM/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3VUNOBCGZXEWL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mFMFLdl59yxCXfZn7LzyxeVc7vNqKa-e4wdpO4Jeh4QtcWqwOs1nIxib65_r6NTM7-Azez_gSrAT-5EbQgqE6s-hI8O1Cvd2h0UhxMtRbt4W8tDBGN3XFud7nVqfZ8znzxNkH_1SkbtDYuPSMujMR4JdaJqOdsjGxrGClvBbgclDbX3O1DzeOqDl1yQLrS663Qi7lw9F-_fdXHcq_wbuqQrZn_mm1CARlZo4wzifM1uc9BVhbEUvFUrN_nHN8kqWy56ZE1L5guXrxv4ulg4KfvxBauI8BsqDaJIhQiGPPbg.CRTAwAIdlEdoZF0fYElUP1vcMKfLcY1AijxTAhavIyY&dib_tag=se&keywords=porta%2Bpotties&qid=1723246831&sprefix=portapo%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1 - in the cabins.  Tell them to hold it and go to a public toilet somewhere in the ship?

 

DON

[MacMadame]

6 hours ago, XBGuy said:

They are flushable in your home toilet.

They aren't though. They don't dissolve and can clog up your pipes.

 

https://protectyourpipes.org/wipes#:~:text=Most baby wipes and similar,costly visits from your plumber.

 

ETA, didn't see @Teechur's post. 

Edited August 10 by MacMadame

[XBGuy]

1 hour ago, MacMadame said:

They aren't though. They don't dissolve and can clog up your pipes.

 

https://protectyourpipes.org/wipes#:~:text=Most baby wipes and similar,costly visits from your plumber.

 

ETA, didn't see @Teechur's post. 

 

I did not know that.  I guess that is another reason why they passed the law.  When I read about that law, they only referenced problems at the waste treatment facilities.  Unfortunately, as I indicated, I have no idea how they are going to enforce it.

[chengkp75]

23 hours ago, Villar said:

Fortunately, it's not something that happens all the time, and many ships have updated systems to handle these kinds of problems better.

As someone who spent years clearing blocked toilets on ships, I will disagree with you about the frequency.  And, I know of no "updated systems" that handle vacuum toilet clogs "better".

 

21 hours ago, loriva said:

Realize that this thread was started over a year ago but hope this is one of the things that will be addressed during the dry dock of the Caribbean Princess in October.

There is really nothing to be "addressed" in a dry dock.  The major problem, other than foreign objects being flushed down the toilet, is urine scaling of the pipes.  Over time, this can partially block the pipes, leading to more frequent clogs.  However, this is easily precluded, and remedied by the use of citric acid introduced into the toilets by the cabin stewards on turn around day, which dissolves the scale.  Unless the company wants to tear out all of the walls and ceilings in the passageways and stairwells all throughout the ship, they cannot wholesale renew vacuum toilet piping, it just isn't economically feasible.

 

21 hours ago, skynight said:

Nothing but marine grade toilet paper should be flushed into the ship's system. 

As I've stated before, the cruise lines do not use "marine grade" toilet paper, just the cheapest stuff they can find.  "Marine grade" toilet paper is for small boat sanitary systems, not for vacuum toilet systems.

 

20 hours ago, Alaska05 said:

When we were on the Sapphire in May, our toilet stopped flushing 3 different times.  Pushed the button in and it seemed to not want to engage. We were never in the room when the plumber came so didn’t find out what the problem was. 

The toilet button is not "engaged" to anything.  It is not a mechanical device, it is a vacuum valve that when pushed allows vacuum to a timing control device that activates the "discharge valve" (that empties the toilet bowl), and the water valve that refills the bowl.  If the button feels like there is no resistance when pushed, that means there is no vacuum in the system at that toilet, and so nothing will happen.  Everything in the toilet system is driven by the vacuum in the pipes.

 

16 hours ago, Teechur said:

I am surprised that they don't use heat exchangers to capture engine heat. Why don't they?

Mainly because the "waste heat" from the diesel generators is being used to power the evaporators that are making fresh water from sea water.  And in port, where there are less diesels running, the hot water demand is greater than one diesel's waste heat can provide.

 

16 hours ago, Stosh68 said:

Somewhere around 4am, I woke up to a wooshing noise and I checked the toilet and it had flushed.

As I've noted before, this is the "ghost flush".  When the toilet button is pushed, it opens to allow vacuum to the timing mechanism I mentioned.  If there is no vacuum in the system at that toilet, nothing will happen, but that "button" valve is still open, so whenever vacuum is restored (the clog is cleared), the toilet timing mechanism will initiate a flush cycle.

 

15 hours ago, XBGuy said:

"Yes, it does say that on the box.  They are flushable in your home toilet.  However, the drain pipe from you house is four inches in diameter.  The pipes on this ship are two inches in diameter.  That means they can only accommodate a quarter of the volume as your home's system, and those two-inch pipes on the ship make numerous right angle turns.  So, they can get 'gummed up' relatively easily"

 

Accurate as far as it goes.  Land septic systems have piping that gets progressively larger the more houses/buildings are connected to it.  The sewer line leaving your house is 6" diameter, the sewer in your street is probably 2-3 feet in diameter, and we've all seen the city sewers in movies where people walk upright.  Conversely, the ship's vacuum pipes do not get larger the more toilets are connected, nor the further they are away from the engine room, they are 2" all the way from the highest toilet behind the bridge to the engine room.  And, in some cases, the vacuum lines run up from the toilet to the main pipe on the deck, something a land system (gravity flow) will not do.  Having said that, the reason California has banned flushable wipes is not only problems at the treatment plant, but that these things will collect at the "catch basins" where multiple sewer lines converge, and cause blockages there, I've seen these "fat balls" reach hundreds of pounds.

[skynight]

Thank you Chengkp. 

[Alaska05]

Thank you @chengkp75.  That explains what was happening to our toilet on the Sapphire earlier this year when we pressed the button and nothing. In the future should we report or will it correct itself?

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, Alaska05 said:

Thank you @chengkp75.  That explains what was happening to our toilet on the Sapphire earlier this year when we pressed the button and nothing. In the future should we report or will it correct itself?

Yes, report it.  You may be the first person to notice the stoppage.  Even if the engineers are aware of the problem, and are working on it, it helps give them an idea of the extent of the problem (can aid in determining where to look for the clog).  They will also swing by after the clog is cleared just to make sure your toilet is working now (there isn't another clog).  Typically, they won't even enter your cabin, they can trip the flush cycle from the mechanical locker outside the bathroom in the hall.

[marne-c]

@chengkp75  MANY thanks for your detailed explanations!!!!!

 

--Marne

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

On 5/23/2022 at 6:11 PM, Happiest when cruising said:

I don’t think people realize the products that Princess provides are what needs to be used in the washrooms. We all should be able to manage with them for the length of of cruise. 

I wish that the cabin stewards would confiscate toilet paper that passengers bring on board! An other suggestion is pre-printed cards that they place on wipes that passengers bring, stating please to not put these in the toilet. 

[chengkp75]

6 hours ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

I wish that the cabin stewards would confiscate toilet paper that passengers bring on board!

As I've stated many times, there is nothing special about the toilet paper that the ship provides, nor is there anything harmful in toilet paper that a passenger might bring onboard.  When it is stated that clogs happen because of things flushed down the toilet, most people don't have the foggiest about what we are talking about.  After years finding the things that people flush down a ship's toilet, I often wonder how they keep from clogging their own toilets.

 

Items personally "retrieved" from vacuum toilet systems:  underwear (this frequency goes up when there is a noro outbreak onboard), swimsuits, wash cloths, hand towels, dinner napkins, wipes, female hygiene products, crack pipes, coke spoons, food especially bones, toothbrushes, the list goes on and on.

[latebloomer56]

Only had an issue with the toilet once but was fixed the same day. Was told not to use our bathroom when we returned from a day on shore. Rug was wet in the hall forward of us but we didn't have any flooding in our cabin.

Now flushing in the middle of the night on it's own is another story 😂.

[Iamcruzin]

On 5/23/2022 at 2:05 PM, chengkp75 said:

.  We have roto-rooted out wipes, paper towels, underwear, swim wear, face cloths, hand towels, dinner napkins, bones, toothbrushes, crack pipes, coke spoons, 9mm ammunition, feminine hygiene products and applicators.

 

 

I can certainly understand why someone would feel the need to suddenly flush a crack pipe or coke spoon but the other stuff, why just why?

[ChutChut]

What about Kleenex? Is that safe to flush?

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I can certainly understand why someone would feel the need to suddenly flush a crack pipe or coke spoon but the other stuff, why just why?

I assume the toothbrushes were clumsily dropped by cabin attendants who were merely rinsing those belonging to their least favorite passengers. 

[voljeep]

what about dude wipes? are they safe to flush?

[chengkp75]

48 minutes ago, ChutChut said:

What about Kleenex? Is that safe to flush?

While not the best idea, it really isn't that bad, as it is made from pressed paper fibers like toilet paper, not woven fibers like paper towels and wipes that are manufactured for their strength.

[chengkp75]

Just now, voljeep said:

what about dude wipes? are they safe to flush?

No, dude.

[Iamcruzin]

46 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I assume the toothbrushes were clumsily dropped by cabin attendants who were merely rinsing those belonging to their least favorite passengers. 

My personal items are put away. I want to be sure the counters are clear for cleaning.

[Alaska05]

29 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

My personal items are put away. I want to be sure the counters are clear for cleaning.

Exactly.  We put everything away.  Who knows how many rooms the room steward has cleaned with the same cloth and just rinsed out in his little bucket.

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, Alaska05 said:

Exactly.  We put everything away.  Who knows how many rooms the room steward has cleaned with the same cloth and just rinsed out in his little bucket.

And that little bucket contains a sanitizing solution that has to be tested for concentration every half hour, and renewed.

[MacMadame]

13 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

After years finding the things that people flush down a ship's toilet, I often wonder how they keep from clogging their own toilets.

Based on my experience living in a 55+ trailer park, they probably don't.

 

We constantly get notices from management to stop chucking all sorts of random stuff in there including, and especially, underwear and adult diapers. 🤷‍♂️

[Kalliamo]

You're right, plumbing issues on cruise ships are often rare, and your experience might have been just bad luck. To avoid future problems, checking reviews and the maintenance history of the ship is a great idea. Additionally, it might help to book cruises on newer ships or those that have recently undergone renovations, as they are more likely to have updated plumbing systems that can handle potential issues better.

On a related note, when it comes to plumbing issues, whether at sea or at home, it’s always good to have reliable help on hand. I recently found out about Trusted Local Plumbers in Sydney who are highly recommended for quickly fixing plumbing problems, including things like blocked toilets and other emergencies. If you ever face a plumbing issue at home, having a trusted local plumber can make all the difference!

Edited August 13 by Kalliamo

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Kalliamo said:

Additionally, it might help to book cruises on newer ships or those that have recently undergone renovations, as they are more likely to have updated plumbing systems that can handle potential issues better.

Nope.  Ain't no such animal as "updated plumbing system".

[JGmf]

20 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Based on my experience living in a 55+ trailer park, they probably don't.

 

We constantly get notices from management to stop chucking all sorts of random stuff in there including, and especially, underwear and adult diapers

 

I ran a large university's facilities department with almost 8k students living on campus along with arena events and multiple third party kitchen and dining providers. 

 

There wasn't enough thanks I could provide my plumbing staff nor anything that surprised me when I learned what some knucklehead flushed down the toilet on any given day.  

 

I'm assuming I'm not alone in this, but I'm always thankful for the unsung hard work of the engineering and facilities crews on these ships.

[Rudy888]

We were on a cruise in the Baltic. The ship lost partial power and the toilets did not function. Power was finally restored about 3am. We knew because we heard all the toilets flushing. We were docked overnight so not a sea.