Three ways to reduce the amount of
water used by your toilet are:
TOILET LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR
Toilets are the leading cause of household water leaks. Yet
they are easy to detect, and relatively easy to repair. Even
a small toilet leak can cost you $50 or more per year in higher
water and sewer bills. Large leaks waste much more.
When your toilet is functioning properly,
water moves from the tank to the bowl only when the toilet
is flushed. But when a toilet is leaking, water moves from
tank to bowl on its own. You may notice that your toilet seems
to flush by itself; that is a definite sign of a toilet leak.
 Testing
for a toilet leak consists of dyeing the water in the toilet
tank, either with a few drops of food coloring or a dye tablet
provided as part of a leak detection kit, available from your
hardware store or water provider. After dyeing the water,
wait 20 minutes or so and check the water in the toilet bowl.
If it is still clear, then no water has leaked from the tank.
If it has even a tinge of color, then your toilet has a leak.
Sometimes, if you have a very bad leak, the toilet will flush
by itself, and there may be no color visible in either the
bowl or the tank.
While there are several possible causes,
by far the most common source of leak is the valve that controls
the release of water from the tank to the bowl. In most toilets,
this is a rubber flapper valve. Depending on water quality
and whether you use a toilet bowl cleaner in the tank, these
flaps may last from 2 to 7 years.
Replacing a flapper valve is not difficult.
For detailed instruction, see www.toiletology.com
 Replacement
flapper valves are not expensive, running from $3 to $10,
but they come in a bewildering array of slightly different
shapes and designs. When you go to the hardware or home improvement
store to get a replacement flapper, take the old one with
you. Some flappers are early-close flappers required by ULF
toilets. Replacing an early close flapper with a standard
one will result in large amounts of water being wasted. Conversely,
replacing a standard flapper with an early-close one may result
in the toilet not clearing waste from the bowl.
If you do use an in-tank toilet cleaning
product that contains chlorine or other harsh chemicals, consider
spending a little extra for a flapper valve made of composite
rubbers that are more resistant to these chemicals.
INSTALLING AN IN-TANK TOILET RETROFIT
DEVICE
In the U.S., approximately 40 percent of all domestic water
consumed is flushed down the toilet. One person using an older
5.5 gallon flush toilet will use 13,000 gallons of fresh water
per year to dispose of 165 gallons of body waste. For this
reason, a bewildering array of retrofit devices has been developed
to allow older toilets to operate on less water.
 Since
all water from the toilet goes directly into the sewer or
septic tank, saving water used by toilets reduces both consumption
and wastewater flows. Hydraulic overload is the single most
common cause of on-site wastewater treatment failure. Surface
ponding and backup can often be eliminated by retrofitting
with efficient toilets and showerheads.
The most common approach to retrofitting older toilets is
installing a displacement device. Toilet displacement devices
are used primarily on non-conserving toilets in order to reduce
the volume of water used each time the toilet is flushed.
Typical displacement devices may include bricks, plastic bottles,
or plastic bags. Lighter items must be weight loaded in order
to insure their stability.
If a brick
is used, make sure to wrap it in a plastic wrap, or place
it into a small garbage bag before placing it into the tank.
Some bricks may deteriorate slightly if constantly in water
and cause damage to the flushing mechanisms.
These types of displacement devices are
simply placed into the tank in places in which they do not
interfere with the function of the flushing mechanisms. The
volume, which they occupy, will be saved each time the toilet
is flushed.
Devices of this type can reduce the amount
of fresh water used by about 4.2 gallons per toilet per day.
The use of these devices can reduce water consumption by about
13% from that which would have been used if the volume displacement
devices were not in place.
Toilet displacement dams are devices, which,
unlike the volume displacement devices, reduce the amount
of water available per flush by holding a small amount of
water out of use. The dams usually consist of two pieces of
flexible plastic that are wedged into the tank on either side
of the flush valve and act like dams. Water held back by the
dams is not able to be used and thus saved each time the toilet
is flushed.
Tank dams save approximately 6 gallons per
toilet per day, which amounts to a water savings of greater
than 18%, when compared to the traditional non-conserving
toilet. Another advantage of tank dams over displacement devices
is that they are less likely to move around in the tank or
otherwise interfere with the flush mechanism. Their price
is somewhat higher, though.
Yet another retrofit approach is the
early-close flapper. This device replaces the standard flapper
valve and is designed to shut sooner, before all the water
in the toilet tank can flow into the toilet bowl. Early-close
flappers often are adjustable, so that the homeowner can find
a good balance between saving water and having the toilet
bowl reliably cleared.
PURCHASING A ULF TOILET
In the U.S., approximately 40 percent of all domestic water
consumed is flushed down the toilet. One person using an older
5.5 gallon flush toilet will use 13,000 gallons of fresh water
per year to dispose of 165 gallons of body waste. For this
reason, 1.6-gallon ultra-low flush (ULF) toilets are now required
on new construction nationwide. Because the useful life of
a toilet is measured in decades, older 3.5 gallon and 5.5
gallon models still constitute a majority of the toilets in
use. Replacing an older toilet with a 1.6 gallon model can
significantly reduce water demand and stress on sewer systems.
Thus, many water providers offer inducements to replace older
toilets.
Since all water from the toilet goes directly
into the sewer or septic tank, water saving toilets reduce
both consumption and wastewater flows. Hydraulic overload
is the single most common cause of on-site wastewater treatment
failure. Surface ponding and backup can often be eliminated
by retrofitting with efficient toilets and showerheads.
Toilet manufacturers now make a large variety
of ULF toilets that use 0.7 to 1.6 gallons per flush. These
toilets rely on various mechanisms to accomplish their job
with less water.
 One
variety of an toilet. The line pressure of water entering
the toilet co ULF toilet is the pressurized tankmpresses trapped
air within the sealed tank, until air pressure equals water
pressure. When the toilet is flushed, the pressure of the
compressed air reinforces the normal gravity flow. Because
of this increase in pressure, 1.5 gallons or less can clean
the standard bowl, instead of 3.5 or 5.5 gallons.
Other models of ULF toilets use early-close
flapper valves to shut off flow between the toilet tank and
bowl before the tank is fully drained. These toilets closely
resemble older models in appearance and design, and often
cost less than other models. One serious drawback, however,
is that when the flapper valve inevitably wears out and begins
to leak, the homeowner may not be able to find the correct
early-close replacement valve. Often, homeowners aren=t even
aware that their toilets contain special flapper valves, and
will inadvertently replace them with standard flapper valves.
This results in a significant increase in water usage.
Still other ULF toilets rely on some sort
of proprietary flush mechanism. Many of these toilets work
just fine when new, but all have rubber or plastic parts that
eventually wear out and need replacing. Often, the homeowner
will be unable to find the necessary parts.
Many early ULF toilets were hastily
designed and did not always work satisfactorily. Today, nearly
all new ULF toilets are equal or superior to most conventional
toilets in their ability to clean the bowl and move solids
through sewers. The key is for consumers to determine what
parts will require replacing over time, and to assure that
they will be readily available.
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