By Donna Boyle Schwartz, Bob Vila , Updated by Margaret Foley
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Many Americans are flushing money down the drain every time they flush their toilets. That’s because they’ve held on to older models that require upward of 3.5 gallons of water per flush instead of switching to newer low-flush toilets, which use 1.28 gallons or less per flush.
Toilets are the main source of water use in the home, accounting for 30 percent of indoor water consumption, according to the EPA. To help cut down on all that wasted water, manufacturers have made increasingly water-efficient models over the past 40 years. Toilets installed before 1980 use 5 or more gallons per flush, and those installed between 1980 and 1994 use about 3.5 gallons per flush. Those installed after 1994 must use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush for a WaterSense label, and newer toilets are even more efficient.
Early models of low-flow toilets had a reputation for failing to always clear the bowl, which often required more than one flush, reducing the benefits of a low-flow toilet. To counter these problems, manufacturers introduced low-flush toilets with better flushing mechanisms and other design improvements. “Older designs did not get the engineering and design rigor that is used today,” says Kohler Marketing Manager Maria Evraets of Kohler, Wis. “The advancement of computers and computational fluid dynamics software, the same software used to design airplanes, allows us to ‘flush’ and optimize a toilet before we make the first one, [ensuring] the most efficient design possible,” she says.
According to Justin Cornforth, experienced plumber and CEO at Ace Plumbing in Greenville, S.C., there are other corrections to those early low-flow designs. “Modern low-flow toilets typically have wider trapways, which allow waste to pass through smoothly without causing blockages in pipes. The trapways of today’s low-flow toilets are also fully glazed, which reduces friction and ensures easy waste removal,” says Cornforth.
If all of the inefficient toilets in homes were converted to WaterSense high-efficiency models, in a single year, Americans could save the equivalent of the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in 9 days—and a fair amount of cash, too.
Since the early 1990s, federal law has mandated that new household toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. These early low-flush toilets certainly helped save both money and water, but today’s high-efficiency toilets (HETs) use just 1.28 gallons—20 percent less—per flush. And some ultra-high-efficiency toilets use just 0.8 to 1.1 gallons per flush.
To earn the WaterSense label, toilets need only meet the 1.6-gallon maximum. According to the EPA, since the WaterSense program’s inception in 2006, WaterSense-labeled products and programs have helped Americans save 6.4 trillion gallons of water and roughly $135 billion on water and energy bills.
In addition to federal standards, several states, including California, Colorado, Georgia, and New York, now require that new toilets meet the more stringent high-efficiency standard of 1.28 gallons per flush. Some states or municipalities also offer tax incentives, rebates, and vouchers to encourage use of low-flow models. Be forewarned, though: If your area offers a rebate, read the restrictions carefully; be sure to purchase a qualifying toilet; and be prepared to gather the required documentation.
While replacing an old water guzzler with a more efficient toilet produces the greatest water savings, even replacing a 1.6-gallon-per-flush toilet with a high-efficiency, 1.28-gallon-per-flush model can make a difference. See for yourself by trying out the WaterSense calculator, which estimates that a family of four can save about 2,400 gallons annually (enough for 58 loads of laundry) by making that switch.
When opting for a more efficient toilet, you have several options from which to choose:
When opting to replace an old toilet or upgrade bathroom fixtures, it helps to consider a few pros and cons of each toilet type, along with existing plumbing features and your DIY skills (or willingness to pay a plumber to install a new toilet).
If you decide that it’s time for a toilet upgrade, you’ll have a wealth of options. Nearly all major bathroom fixture manufacturers offer some form of high-efficiency toilet, and the EPA lists more than 5,000 models that qualify for a WaterSense label.
The water savings can be impressive. The average person flushes the toilet nearly 140,000 times over a lifetime, according to the EPA. By replacing an older, inefficient toilet with a WaterSense-certified model, a family can save as much as 13,000 gallons of water per year.
The EPA further estimates that if a family of four replaces its home’s older toilets with WaterSense-labeled models, they save an average of more than $90 per year on their water utility bills, adding up to $2,000 over a toilet’s average lifetime. Now that’s a lot of dough that doesn’t have to be flushed down the drain!
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Donna Boyle Schwartz is an avid writer with years of experience covering the home and garden beat in addition to out-of-home topics such as sports and local events. These days, she researches and writes editorial and advertising features on a vast range of home-related topics, including housewares, furniture, home fashions, flooring, remodeling, construction, antiques, art, garden, collectibles, and color/design trends.
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