Flush It All Away - the Green Way
Going into this, please understand that I don't intend to be crass, but this is a topic that needs to some attention. Admit it, when people talk about low-flow toilets, you laugh thinking, "It won't work…believe me…you don't know my _____ (insert favorite male of your choice)."
The fact is, green toilets have come a long way and are pretty effective at what they do. Water is a precious, scarce resource that can be conserved with the right toilet technology. Within the green toilet category, you have the high-efficiency, pressure-assist, and the dual-flush toilet, or a combination of all three. Let me explain further.
In the March 2007 edition of domino, the esteemed, green entreprenuer Graham Hill said, "save thousands of gallons by following 'if it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.'" Sorry, but that won't fly with my wife or dog. That's where the dual-flush toilet comes in handy. The dual flush toilet has full volume flush (1.6 gallons) and water-saving flush (0.8-1.1 gallons), which you use accordingly, depending on whether you have a #1 or #2. A dual-flush toilet using 0.8 for the water-saving flush will save a typical household roughly 7,000 gallons of water per year.
The high-efficiency toilets are about 20% more efficient than the 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) standard, flushing in at about 1.28 gallons. Depending on your state, there may be rebates available for these types of toilets, and a typical household will save about 4,000 gallons of water per year. Many of these toilets use the pressure-assist technology, which adds a little umph to the flush. So you use less water, but that's compensated by pressure-assist technology.
In the future, you may hear someone say they installed a low-flow toilet, but dig a little deeper. Was it a dual-flush? A high-efficiency toilet with pressure-assist technology? A dual-flush with pressure-assist technology? A high-efficiency, dual-flush tiolet with pressure-assist technology? Here are a few places to go to look for toilets: Toto Aquia Dual-flush, Caroma Dual-flush, Zurn EcoVantage, Sterling Rockton Dual-flush, and American Standard FlowWise.
Photo Credit: Renovation Experts.
Tags: Conservation, Consumer Products, dual-flush, Environment, green building, green toilet, high-efficiency toilet, low-flow, Renovation and Repair, water conservation
- Uncategorized
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:11 am
Don't forget waterless toilets! While not for all applications, waterless (and low water) composting toilet systems are the really green option.
February 23rd, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Scott, excellent point. What was I thinking? Of course, there's the Envirolet, but there's also the waterless upright variety, which is purely for #1. Thanks for keeping me honest here.
February 24th, 2007 at 4:27 am
The dual flush sounds promising for my household, especially when my husband complains about regular low flush toilets: “I want one that lets me flush a Christmas tree down it backwards!”