Old Habits of Water Conservation
If you’re into water conservation, you’ve probably heard the eco-ditty: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” It refers, of course, to toilet flushing habits. The idea is that less flushing conserves more water. While an admirable sentiment, the practice can be startling to unprepared homeowners or their visitors. The solution is to have yourlocal plumbing professional install dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets let you save water without offending your grandmother’s sensibilities when she raises the toilet lid.
New Water Conservation Habits
Newer, water-efficient toilets use 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Older toilets, however, use 4 to 6 gallons of water per flush. Dual-flush toilets are designed to use less water to flush waste. First developed in Australia in 1980, dual-flush toilets are just beginning to become popular with mainstream 
America. States where drought conditions are common were among the first to embrace and promote their use. Dual-flush toilets use a half flush for liquid waste and a full flush for solid waste, chopping water use in half. Users choose the amount of water to be used by pushing the toilet handle one way for a half flush or in the other direction for a full flush.
Results of Poor Water Conservation
By 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 36 states will be fighting serious water shortages brought on by drought, inefficient water management, increased consumer demand and aging water system infrastructures. The Southwest and portions of California have been struggling with water shortages and been forced to impose strict water rationing for years.
Current News On Water Conservation
Dual-flush toilets are now a standard feature in green building designs. When the U.S. National Park Service constructed a new visitors’ center at Denali National Park in Alaska, dual-flush toilets were installed in all the restrooms.
Conserve Water And Save Money
Installing dual-flush toilets decreases your water use (good for the environment) while decreasing your water and sewer bills (good for your bank account). Definitely a win-win choice!
Tags: save money, water conservation, water efficient, water efficient toilet
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 7:50 pm under Plumbing Tips. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
We have been considering dual flush toilets in our home, but the expense of replacing 3 toilets is just too much for us right now. I have been doing a lot of research on the retrofitting kits and wanted to know your opinion. I found 2 products and am leaning toward one from MJSI called HydroRight. Do these kits really help save water & money? Thanks!
We have not had any experience with this product or any similiar. It does appear to be a great idea. Whether or not it works for your application I can not say. Each toilet manufacturer has set their toilet up to work differently. As far as clearing liquid waste, I don’t see a problem. Solid waste may be an issue for some brands. For the price and time invested it would be worth a try versus the alternative. Let us know how it works for you.