WaterSense Toilets

March 28th, 2012 Posted in Toilets
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If you are shopping for a new toilet, you will likely find that many of the residential toilets on the market today are WaterSense labeled high efficiency toilets.  These differ from standard low flow toilets because they use at least 20% less water per flush.  Standard low flow toilets were introduced in the early 1990’s to meet federal standards and use a maximum of 1.6 gallons of water per flush.

WaterSense high efficiency toilets rely on recent advances in toilet design to use a maximum of 1.28 gallons per flush.  WaterSense is a program run by the Environmental Protection Agency to help consumers conserve water by selecting water efficient products that do not sacrifice performance.  In order to earn the WaterSense label, a product must be certified by an independent testing agency to use 20 percent less water while performing as well as or better than standard products.

When it comes to toilets, many consumers have unpleasant memories of the 1.6 gallon per flush low flow toilets that were introduced in the 1990s to meet federal mandates.  Most of those toilets suffered from poor flushing performance and often needed clogged toilet repairs.  Consumers are understandably hesitant to choose a high efficiency toilet that uses even less water per flush than the federal mandate.

The WaterSense program was designed to help with these concerns by requiring independent testing to certify that toilets and other products that qualify for the WaterSense label use less water without any decrease in performance.  WaterSense toilets have been designed to have excellent flushing performance while using less water.  Replacing existing toilets with WaterSense toilets can save a typical family about 2,000 gallons of water per year.  When you need a new toilet, talk to your plumber about installing a new WaterSense toilet.

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Pressure Assisted Toilets

March 28th, 2012 Posted in Toilets
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If you would like to replace your existing toilet with a high efficiency model but are concerned about the flushing power of a standard gravity flow toilet, consider going with a pressure assisted toilet.  A standard gravity flow toilet uses gravity to flush the tank full of water through the bowl with every flush.  This system works great if you have plenty of water.  Prior to the early 1990s toilets used 3 to 5 gallons of water per flush and did a great job of clearing the bowl and flushing the waste through the drain lines to the sewer line.

However, toilets sold in the United States since 1992 are required to comply with federal regulations limiting the amount of water per flush to a maximum of 1.6 gallons.  Most manufacturers simply modified existing toilets to use less water per flush with predictably poor results.  Things have improved in recent years as toilets have been designed to work better with only 1.6 gallons or less, but there are practical limits on what can be accomplished with only 1.6 gallons of water.

Pressure assisted toilets use compressed air to improve the flushing ability of the toilet.  They use a special plastic or nylon tank installed inside the toilet tank.  As the water fills this tank, the water compresses the air in the tank.  When the toilet is flushed, the compressed air helps flush away the waste.

Pressure assisted toilets work great and use less water than standard low flow toilets – about a gallon in most cases.  This can result in saving thousands of gallons of water per year.  However, pressure assist toilets are noisier than standard toilets and cost more than gravity flow toilets.  Also, parts are not usually readily available at your local hardware store.

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Water Saving Toilet Choices

March 28th, 2012 Posted in Bathroom Remodeling
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According to EPA estimates, toilets use almost 30 percent of the water consumed in a typical residential household.  Homeowners can save a lot of water and a lot of money by replacing older, inefficient toilets with new high efficiency toilets.  There are several different options when it comes to modern high efficiency toilets.

Since 1992, all toilets manufactured for sale in the United States use a maximum of 1.6 gallons of water per flush which is about half the amount used by older toilets.  These low flow toilets got a bad reputation for flushing ability, but in recent years advances in toilet design have greatly improved the performance of standard 1.6 gallon per flush toilets.  These make a very good, economical toilet choice.

In fact, in just the past few years most residential toilets have been designed to meet WaterSense certification standards which require that the toilet use no more than 1.28 gallons per flush and perform as well as or better than a standard low flow toilet.  Choosing a WaterSense certified toilet makes a lot of sense since they use even less water than a standard low flow toilet and have been specifically designed to perform well while using only 1.28 gallons of water.  These are an excellent cost-effective solution.

Dual flush toilets are another alternative.  These toilets have two flush modes:  a full 1.6 gallon flush for flushing solid waste and a partial flush (usually about .8 gallon) for flushing liquid waste.  When used properly, these toilets average less than 1.28 gallons of water and most of them qualify for WaterSense certification.  These are a little more expensive than single flush toilets.

Finally, pressure assist toilets use compressed air to assist with flushing performance.  These toilets work well and use the least amount of water, but they can be noisy and are much more expensive than gravity-flow toilets.

Whether you are doing a full bathroom remodel or just replacing a toilet, your plumbing professional can help you choose the right high efficiency toilet for your home.

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