Eco Toilets

Low Flush Toilet

Selecting A Low Flush Toilet

Selecting a toilet to install in your home might not be as easy as you think. Choosing between a low flush toilet, an ultra low flush toilet, a flapper-less toilet, and a waterless toilet can get pretty confusing.

A low flush ( or low flow ) toilet is one that uses considerably less water than the traditional full flush toilet. Low flows typically use 6 liters, or 1.6 gallons of water per flush, compared to the 3.6 to as much as 6 gallons used in a full flush model.

Low flow models first made their mark back in the 1990s. In 1992, President George Bush Sr. passed the Energy Policy Act. This law stated that a toilet could not use more than 6 liters of water per flush. Many people were not happy with this law. They claimed the toilets needed to be flushed twice to do what they were supposed to.

Congressman Joe Knollenberg sought to have the law repealed, but was unsuccessful. Since the law went into effect back in 1994, improvements have been made to the low flush toilet. It is estimated that a family of four can save over 22,000 gallons of water a year by using low flow toilets.

grey, installation, retrofit, thermal, bin, climate, low, surplus, cistern, sawdust, sale, system, eljer, sustainable, water

Besides using less water, the low flush toilet is designed differently from a conventional toilet. In many models, the tank and the bowl have been redesigned to achieve the same flush outcome, but using less water. In other toilet models, the tank still holds 13 liters of water but only flushes 6 at a time.

Some low flush models have a dual flush system in which the user can select either a half flush for liquids, or a full flush for solids. A light flush is used about 80% of the time. This can help to conserve up to 50% of toilet water use.

There are many manufacturers of low flow toilets, including Caroma, American Standard, Kohler and Sloan. Before purchasing a new toilet, you may want to look into whether there are tax incentives for purchasing a new water saving toilet.

And if you are looking for one more way to conserve, don't forget to recycle that old toilet!

Santa Clarita, Jackson, Graham, Missouri, Massachusetts, Ruston, Austin, Longview, Ohio, Draper, Minneapolis, Richmond, Lisle, Mount Vernon, Rochester Hills, Berkeley, Watsonville, Mount Vernon, El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), Brigantine, Brockton, Topeka, Concord, Asheville, Maine, Ardmore, Hudson, Mount Vernon, Athens, Bartlett, Camarillo, Lackawanna, Beverly Hills, Highland Park, Kenner, College Park, Newark, Algonquin, Cathedral City, Palatka, Louisiana, Safety Harbor, Fairhope, Jamestown, West Carrollton City, Bucyrus, Delaware, Nevada, Mint Hill, Wyoming, Yucca Valley, Eunice, Lewiston, Leeds, Plainview, De Land, Newton, Troy, Youngstown, Berea, Bellevue, Georgetown, Eureka, Sparks, New Haven, Westfield, Burbank, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Coon Rapids, Key Biscayne, Albany, Coos Bay, Providence, Bastrop, Washington, Universal City, Haverhill, Baldwin, Sebastian, Chico, Huntington Park, Yuma, Billings, Southfield, Mandeville, Fresno, Cambridge, Irving, Alameda, Saco, Cranston, Natchitoches, Morro Bay, New Bedford, Springfield

Comments page 1 of 1

Click here to add a comment

Your Name:


Image verification:



Message:

Regenia

Posted 512 days ago

The double flush toilets are still being used. I recently saw one in a restaurant that had a sign on it asking people to please flush twice if necessary. Kind of defeats the purpose of low flush, doesn't it!

Johnny

Posted 559 days ago

Yes, it makes you wonder who stood to gain by the law, doesn't it? And when Congressman Knollenberg wanted it repealed, even he didn't use that 3% figure as a reason for striking the law.

Gerald

Posted 631 days ago

I wasn't happy with the 1992 toilet law either. Sure, it saves a bit of water, but only about 3% of a person's annual water usage. Whoever was pushing for the law was using a lot of misleading figures!

<1>