If water conservation is top priority in your home, consider installing one of these four water saving toilets!
Have you ever wondered which appliance or fixture in your home uses the most water? Maybe it’s the washing machine due to the never ending pile of laundry. Or maybe it’s the dishwasher, piled high with the day’s plates and utensils. Or maybe members of your household are known for taking really long showers. But it isn’t any of those things as I’m sure you figured out by this posts title. It’s the toilet!
According to the website Water Footprint Calculator, Americans use an average of 33 gallons of water per day just flushing down number one and number two. (That’s 150 litres for us metric folks.) Now I know when you’ve got to go – you’ve got to go. There’s nothing you can do about that. But you can still conserve water without having to change your bathroom habits by choosing a water saving toilet.
When we build our home I went back and forth between all the choices for low water consumption toilets and ended up settling on a single flush low flow toilet. That isn’t to say that options such as dual flush and pressure assisted toilets aren’t also good choices. It just depends on what works best for your home and your specific living situation.
To learn a bit more about four of the best low water use toilet options out there today, keep on reading. And if you’re interested in reading about making your entire bathroom an eco-conscious haven, check out my post 5 Sustainable Bathroom Design Choices for a Greener, Cleaner Home.
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Dual Flush Toilets
First up on the list are dual-flush toilets. As the name suggests, this toilet style offers two different flush types – one that uses a lower volume of water and one higher. The lower volume option uses less than 0.8 gallons per flush (GPF) and is typically used for liquid waste. Meanwhile, the higher volume option uses around 1.3 GPF and is, of course, meant for solid waste.
Dual flush toilets have become increasingly popular over the last few years as more people are seeing the benefits of practicing toilet water conservation by choosing how much water to use per flush. Dual flush toilets use about 20 percent less water a year than a standard one flush toilet. So if you’re looking for a traditional closed coupled toilet (where the bowl and water tank are one unit), or something a little more contemporary (like a wall hung toilet), be sure to check out the dual flush options.
Low Flush Toilets
Next up, low flush toilets, which are sometimes also referred to as low flow toilets. Much like the dual flush option mentioned above, the best low flush toilet will use much less water than regular toilet models. While older toilet models can use anywhere from 3.5 to 5 GPF, low flush toilets only use about 1.3 GPF. These types of toilets are able to use much less water because of design changes such as bowl shape and improved flushing mechanisms.
This is the type of toilet we have in both our bathrooms because our builder recommended it over dual flush. We live on an acreage and get our water from a well and – in her experience – low flush works better than dual flush in rural situations. We have been living in our home for over four years now and I have to say – our toilets haven’t failed us yet!
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Pressure Assisted Toilets
Now, the above mentioned toilets are both gravity-assisted, meaning the water – and the contents of the toilet – are pulled downward when you flush. Meanwhile, pressure assisted toilets use pressurized air to help things along – reducing the amount of water required. This type of toilet is most often found in commercial and industrial settings, but you can also find pressure assisted toilets for the home.
Toilets that use compressed air tend to flush more loudly than a regular model, but if you love a squeaky clean bowl then the noise might be music to your ears. Pressurized toilets can also be more expensive than the dual flush or low flush options, costing about 30 percent more.
Compost Toilets
Of course I had to include a completely water free toilet option. Though certainly not for everyone and every situation, compost toilets have been growing in popularity over the last few years and are most often used in tiny homes, RVs – even boats! I even wrote an entire post about compost toilets and in the process learned a lot.
For example, did you know that the reason our bodily emissions smell so bad in the toilet is due to them mixing with water and urine? In a compost toilet, there is no water and in many models, the urine goes into a separate compartment – keeping the solid waste stink-free.
And there you have it! Four different water saving toilet options. I love talking about any and all things sustainable – even the thing that normally go on behind closed (bathroom) doors. If you have any questions about how to create a more eco-conscious home, you can book a free consultation with me and ask away!
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Posted on March 23, 2024
Need help choosing eco-conscious furniture and decor for your home? That’s what I’m here for!
Former architectural technologist. Current treehugger.
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