Vaping isn’t just bad for your body, it can also cause big problems at school. Yesterday, students couldn’t use the bathrooms in the 100s and 200s wing because something unexpected had happened – vapes had caused a major issue.
The custodial staff found that four vapes had been shoved down a toilet in the boys 100 restroom. This caused the bathroom to flood with water. It is ironic that this happened during “Don’t Be Stupid Week,” a week meant to encourage smart choices.
The 200s bathrooms were also closed due to interconnected plumbing. Although not flooded, flushing the 200s toilets caused water to flow out of the floor drains in the 100s bathrooms. The interconnected plumbing system meant that a problem in one area could quickly become a widespread issue.
According to Steve Whitmore, one of the custodians, there was about 2 or 3 inches of water on the floor. In order to fix the flooding, the school had to call in a special truck called a Septic Tank Truck. They used two different hoses to clean and remove the dirty water.
“The small hose on the truck shoots water in with a lot of force, about 4,000 PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch), and the bigger hose sucks all the water out,” Whitmore explained.
The vapes blocking the toilet weren’t just a small problem. Vapes can get stuck in pipes and cause toilet paper and other things to get backed up. After using the Septic Tank Truck, the custodians had to use an even stronger tool called “The Big Daddy,” which is a heavy-duty machine used to clear drains.
Bob Demoraes, another custodian, said that “The Drain Auger, is a heavy duty industrial snake. It is used to unclog the pipes. It spins and has blades that have the power to cut up tree roots.”
This incident shows that vaping can cause more problems than just health issues. Flushing vapes down the toilet led to big troubles at school, creating a mess that needed special tools to fix.
The bathrooms were reopened after school Thursday after a thorough cleaning.
