Can you still flush the toilet if my hot water heater broke?

Can I still flush the toilet if your hot water heater broke?

Yes.

If your house was plumbed by a sane capable trades person, then yes -- your toilet is connected to the cold water, so has nothing to do with the water heater.

Only the craziest situation would result in hot water being used in the toilet, and many problems would result pretty soon if that were the case, so no need to worry there.

There are, however, several common problems -- created by idiots masquerading as plumbers, or by moron cheapskates who try doing it themselves -- that could create issues RE your toilet and its water supply.

For example, sometimes a house is plumbed with no sense, and shut offs are not where they should be. This can then mean that, in order to shut off the water heater (say, for removal) the water may need to be shut off at the main, which means no water, period.

Doing anything other than basic repairs (changing a washer, for example) requires a qualified plumber, but understanding how your house is plumbed is not too difficult, is a good idea, and can save you from serious headaches. Get a book on home repair, or use the internet, and then take a good look at your plumbing where possible. Look at the lines going into and out of the water heater. Check under sinks and toilets for the shut off levers. Note where things are plumbed wrong (does the handle that should be for the hot water actually turn on the cold?) When you understand as much as you can about your house's plumbing, you will be better able to deal with a plumber, and less likely to get shafted on the bill. You will also know when you need to have a plumber in, which can end up saving you a great deal of money.

Yes. It is also possible to flush the toilet without the cold water supply. Just poor a bucket of water into the bowl.

Maybe.

Is the water on? Do you have a cut off to the water heater itself or do you have to cut all water off?

Your toilet doesn't use hot water, or even warm. It's usually cold. So, if your outside water is on, it will work.

If the heater is just not heating, it should still work. If it's leaking, probably not without losing more water than you flush.

You can manually fill the toilet tank with water and flush it. Most get about two flushes from a full tank.

Yes, toilets are hooked up to cold water, it's too wasteful and expensive to flush with hot water

Of course you can flush the toilet and use all the bathroom appliances too. The Heater is plumbed in Independantly of them.

If the water is still turned on - then yes.

If the main water (or a valve that feeds water to the toilet and water heater) had to be turned off, then no - but you can always fill a bucket with water, pour it into the tank on the back of the toilet, and then flush.

Fill a bucket with water at a friends house and throw it into the toilet the toilet will flush fine.

Toilets are hooked up to the cold side of your water. However you must turn the water off to repair the hot water tank.

depends on your piping system. Ideally, there is a specific shutoff for the hot water system, so shutting off water to that part of the system will not affect the rest of the system. Toilets are obviously not in the hot water loop and would not be affected by a shutdown of the hot water loop. If you live in an old building, it could be that there is not a specific shutoff that segregates the hot water from the entire system, in which case you would have to shut off the water at the entry (and thus have NO water anywhere). If this is the case (and it likely is not), one of the things you should do when changing the water heater is have a shutoff valve installed so you or any future occupant will not be hit again by such a lack of foresight.