The Vortex-flushing Toilet

Well maybe not the most exciting image to post on a website, the toilet is one of those inventions that has had a tremendous impact on our lives and we can thank a New Brunswick inventor for this.

The vortex-flushing toilet was invented in 1907 by Thomas MacAvity Stewart of St. John, New Brunswick. Stewart did not invent the toilet, nor did Thomas Crapper who is often assumed to be the inventor. There is no single inventor but a series of milestones with improvements being made over time. The first patent for a flush toilet was granted in Scotland in 1775 but it was Thomas Crapper who made toilets popular by setting up a bathroom fittings showroom where people could see how a bathroom might look and how the various pieces were plumbed in. He made sure his name appeared on his toilets so perhaps that is why a toilet is so often referred to as a ‘crapper’.

Thomas McAvity Stewart made the most recent improvement to toilets by inventing the vortex-flushing toilet bowl that efficiently removed waste and helped maintain a cleaner and more sanitary bathroom. It creates a self-cleansing effect.