Sunday, August 30, 2009

#100 Put a Stone/Brick in Your Toilet

If you are unable to afford purchasing a new low-flow toilet or those dual-flush kind that use different amount of water depending upon what type of waste you are flushing, then consider putting a brick or a plastic bottle filled with sand in the tank of your toilet.

The average toilet will use 3-6 gallons of water per flush. It really all depends upon how much water fills in your tank. If space in your tank is filled with something else (like a brick) that won't flush, then less water is used. It is estimated that 30% of a household's water usage comes from flushing. So, it would reason a good way to reduce your water usage would be to cut back on how much is used with flushing. You really only need half as much water to flush efficiently.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Reducing water consumption by putting a brick in the toilet is not recommended. The brick may dissolve and particles of it can clog and possibly seal off the drain. Also, a regular toilet is not designed to flush paper and solid waste with reduced amounts of water, so the likelihood of clogging or having to flush twice after installing a water displacement device increases. Standard US toilets clear the bowl with siphon technology, so the diameter of the trap way has to be a small as possible (please view siphon vs. washdown technology here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z6pymOet7g&feature=channel_page.) If you are serious about saving water, want a toilet that really works and is affordable, I would highly recommend a Caroma Dual Flush toilet. Caroma toilets offer a patented dual flush technology consisting of a 0.8 Gal flush for liquid waste and a 1.6 Gal flush for solids. Caroma, an Australian company set the standard by giving the world its first successful two button dual flush system in the nineteen eighties and has since perfected the technology. Also, with a full 3.5” trap way, these toilets virtually never clog. All of Caroma’s toilets are on the list of WaterSense labeled HET’s epa.gov/watersense/pp/find_het.htm and also qualify for several rebate programs currently available throughout the US as well as LEED points. Please go to http:/ecoTransitions.com/howto.asp to see how we flush a potato with the half flush (0.8 gallons), meant for liquid waste. To learn more about toilets you can also visit my blog http://pottygirl.wordpress.com/. Best regards, Andrea Paulinelli