Some Things Need To Be Flushed, Your Money Isn't One of Them

Written by Jeffrey on March 1, 2007 | Comments (0)

Low flow toilet The average toilet today uses a whopping 3.5 gallons of water per flush. This is better than the old 7.0 gallon hogs from the days of yore, but think about how much water (and money) we're still flushing down the toilet! Did you know that there are very affordable toilets that use only .8, 1.0, or 1.5 gallons per flush?

Low flow toilets got a bad rap when they were first introduced in the mid 90's, as most new technology does, and people complained that they weren't as powerful as their water chugging toilets of before. Those days have long been gone. Many low flow toilets actually have higher pressure (which means a stronger flush) than conventional 3.5 or 7.0 gallon toilets.

Ok, so there's no toilet on earth strong enough to suck down a baby, but it might give your hand a run for it's money...if for some strange reason you happened to have your hand in the toilet when it was flushed, that is(thinking of airplane scene from National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation.)

Terry Love in Bothell, WA and owner of Love Plumbing and Remodeling is well known for his articles, particularly his consumer toilet report. In this review, there are ten toilets under $300, with eight them receiving the accolade of "does the job!" or "great value!" from Terry. One of them is under $200.

Some Advantages of a Low-Flow Toilet

Conserve Fresh Water (an underestimated commodity in the US):
"The United States uses about 5.8 billion gallons of water every day to flush waste...By using a low flow toilet instead of a standard 5-gpf toilet, a household of four people could save approximately 60 gallons per day, or about 22,000 gallons per year." ~via Flex Your Power

Save Money:
"Switching to water-efficient plumbing fixtures could save the average household as much as $50 to $100 a year on water and wastewater bills." ~George Whalen

"Because of the new low-flow toilets, Americans save $11.3 million everyday on their water bill " ~David Goike

So if you find yourself in the remodeling mood this spring, consider tackling one or two or all of your bathrooms, incorporating low flow toilets into your design. Do-it-yourself projects can be fun, challenging, and enjoyable for all. In addition, every time you sit down on that new low flow toilet, you'll have a rewarding sense of accomplishment.

If you have a pressure assisted, cyclone, flushmate, or other type of low flow toilet, what has been your experience thus far?

Article Tools

RSS