Six home myths, busted by the people who fix this stuff
We posted six wrong things on X about toilets, AC, furnaces and water heaters. Here’s the real answer to each, from the plumbers and HVAC technicians who do this all day.
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The six
Six things we got wrong, and where to find the fix
Jump to the one that brought you here.
Myth 1 of 6
Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet
What we posted: “Thomas Crapper invented the flush toilet.”
Sir John Harington, godson of Queen Elizabeth I, designed a flush toilet in 1596. Thomas Crapper came along about 300 years later. He was a London plumber who sold them from his own showroom and did a lot to make them popular. The word crap is older than he is.
The idea hasn’t changed much since. A tank fills, a valve lets the water go, and the rush clears the bowl. So when yours runs all night or rocks on the floor, the fix is usually a flapper, a fill valve or a wax ring. Toilet repair.
Something at home need a real plumber? Tell us in the form, or see the deals for Northern Virginia homes.
One of our plumbers at a drain stack in an open wall.
Myth 2 of 6
Air conditioning showed up in 1902, not 1952
What we posted: “Air conditioning was invented in 1952.”
Willis Carrier designed the first modern air conditioner in 1902, for a printing plant in Brooklyn. Fifty years off. It wasn’t even built for people: humidity kept changing the size of the paper, so the colors wouldn’t line up. Movie theaters had it by the 1920s, which is where a lot of folks felt it first.
Yours still does that first job. It pulls water out of the air, and that’s why a drain line runs off it. When the line clogs, you get water on the floor. AC repair prices.
Heating acting up? The $67 Heating Check looks over your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Ask for it in the form, or see all our deals.
One of our HVAC technicians with a new outdoor unit.
Myth 3 of 6
Your AC doesn’t make cold. It moves heat
What we posted: “Your AC makes cold air. That’s the whole machine.”
An AC doesn’t make cold. It pulls heat out of your house with refrigerant and dumps it outside. Refrigerant picks up heat at the indoor coil, the compressor squeezes it, and the outdoor coil lets the heat go.
Put your hand over the unit in the yard on a July afternoon. That hot air coming out the top is the heat from your living room.
A heat pump runs the same trick in reverse all winter, pulling heat from the outdoor air, even when it feels cold to you. Heat pump or furnace.
Heating acting up? The $67 Heating Check looks over your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Ask for it in the form, or see all our deals.
The unit in the yard is where your house’s heat ends up.
Myth 4 of 6
Toilets don’t flush backwards in Australia
What we posted: “Toilets flush backwards in Australia.”
The earth’s spin is far too weak to steer a toilet. It’s called the Coriolis effect, and it does steer hurricanes, which run hundreds of miles across. A toilet bowl is about a foot across and empties in seconds, so the spin never gets a say.
The direction comes from how the jets under the rim are angled. And a Virginia plumber would do just fine: same tank, same valve, same wax ring. Our plumbing work.
Something at home need a real plumber? Tell us in the form, or see the deals for Northern Virginia homes.
One of our technicians in Northern Virginia.
Myth 5 of 6
Setting 90 won’t heat your house any faster
What we posted: “Set your thermostat to 90 and the house heats up faster than if you set it to 72.”
Most furnaces put out the same heat either way. Setting 90 gets you to 72 at the same speed, then keeps going until you remember.
Heat pumps are the one to watch. A big jump can kick on the backup heat strips, and that’s the costly way to make heat. Go up a couple of degrees at a time.
If the house really does take forever to warm up, something’s wrong, and a clogged filter or a dirty blower wheel is the usual place to start. Heating repair.
Heating acting up? The $67 Heating Check looks over your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Ask for it in the form, or see all our deals.
A thermostat in a Northern Virginia home, heat set to 69.
Myth 6 of 6
Your water heater isn’t sitting there off all day
What we posted: “Your water heater only heats water when you turn on the faucet.”
A tank keeps its water hot all day, whether you use it or not. The minute you wait is the cold water sitting in the pipe between the tank and your faucet. It has to run out first, so the farther the faucet is from the tank, the longer you stand there.
The one that really does fire up only when you open the faucet is a tankless. Water heaters.
Tank never been flushed? A Water Heater Flush is $99, normally $199. Ask for it in the form, see what it covers, or see all our deals.
Two of our crew bringing in a new water heater.
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Short answers
Plumbing and HVAC myths, answered short
Did Thomas Crapper invent the toilet?
No. Sir John Harington designed a flush toilet in 1596. Thomas Crapper was a London plumber who sold and popularized them about 300 years later.
Do toilets flush backwards in Australia?
No. The earth’s spin is far too weak to steer a toilet. The direction comes from how the jets under the rim are angled, and that’s true in Australia and in Virginia.
Does an air conditioner make cold air?
No. It pulls heat out of your house with refrigerant and dumps it outside. That’s why the unit in the yard blows hot air.
Will setting the thermostat higher heat my house faster?
No. Most furnaces put out the same heat either way. Setting 90 gets you to 72 at the same speed, then keeps going until you remember.
Why does it take so long to get hot water at the faucet?
The cold water sitting in the pipe between the tank and your faucet has to run out first. The tank itself keeps its water hot all day.
That’s the myths
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SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
SwiftPro Plumber & Water Heaters
4200 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
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