If you’re someone who wants to be environmentally friendly, you’ve more than likely considered the idea of getting a low flow toilet; however there are also a lot of misconceptions when it comes to these wonderful water savers. Now back in the early 1990’s a lot of consumers complained about having to flush the toilet several times to get rid of the debris, as well as constantly dealing with clogs because they weren’t as powerful or well designed as a standard toilet. Nowadays these low flow toilets are just as good, if not better than a standard toilet, so why not save approximately 1.6 gallons of water per flush? Not only would that save you money on your water bill, but you could be helping save our planet! Now looking at this from a financial stand point, about 30% of your water bill is consisting of toilet usage. Now imagine if you could cut that percentage in half and how much you could save in the long run. A low flow toilet could potentially save a family of four up to 22,000 gallons of water a month.
The most common misconception with a low flow toilet is that it will not get the job done. Our technological advancements have greatly improved the designs and operation of these toilets. There are a few variations of low flow toilets that give the toilet more flushing power without using an excess of water. The most common style is a gravity fed tank. this relies on the weight, volumes and pressure of the water to flush with enough power without using more water than needed. The next version of a low flow toilet is actually a fairly interesting and inovative concept. The toilet is referred to as a “duel flush” or “two button.” The duel flush system works just the same as the gravity fed toilet, but there are two separate modes of flushing. The first one only uses about a half flush (0.8 gallons). This flush mode is mainly used for disposing of liquids. The second mode is generally for solids and uses 1.6 gallons. The last version of a low flow toilet is fairly uncommon. It’s called a power assist toilet. this toilet doesn’t operate like the standard gravity fed toilets. This toilet actually doesn’t even have freestanding water in the bowl! The water is held in a pressure tank which is kept within the toilet tank. The system does in fact give a very powerful flush while using very little water. The only down side to a toilet like this is the fact that is much more expensive than the other two listed above, not to mention it is also much louder.
Most of the toilets that have been manufactured since 1995 have been low flow or similar in design. If you’re unsure if you have a low flow toilet you should always consult with a licensed plumber. Not only can they give you more information, They can properly install one for you.
