Convert Any Toilet to a Low-Flow Toilet
Standard toilets can use as much as seven gallons of water per flush. Low-flows? A mere 1.6 gallons. If you crave the water savings of a low-flow toilet, but aren’t ready to shell out for a new commode, you’re in luck. With a few simple modifications, you can turn your water-guzzling toilet into a water-sipping low-flow.With very avarage tools and withen 30 minutes.
What are needed to do the Job ?:
1.An adjustable flapper->>
2.A toilet tank bag.>.
3.A fill valve diverter..>
4.A Leak detection tablet.>
Proceedures:-
1.Install an adjustable flapper.
Several manufacturers make toilet flappers that can be adjusted to control how much water flows into the toilet when it’s flushed. Install an adjustable flapper in your toilet; then, experiment until you find the right setting for your needs.
Water Savings: Up to three gallons per flush
2.Install a tank bag.
Purchase a tank bag; fill it with water, and hang it in your toilet tank. It’ll displace some of the water, thereby reducing the amount of water needed to refill the tank after each flush.
Water Savings: An amount equal to the size of the bag
3.Install a fill cycle diverter
The toilet tank and bowl may fill at the same time, but they don’t fill at the same rate, (the bowl fills faster) and since the fill valve doesn’t shut off until the tank is full, this means that water continues to be fed to the bowl. So, where does this extra water go? Straight down the drain! Install a fill cycle diverter, a small piece that connects to the fill line and overflow tube, and that water will be diverted back to the tank where it can be put to use.
Water Savings: A half-gallon or more per fill
4.Check for Leaks
Retrofitting your toilet with water-saving devices is great, but it doesn’t mean much if you’ve got a leaky toilet. Pick up a free leak detection tablet from a home improvements store, and make sure your toilet is performing the way it should.
Water Savings: Varies depending on severity of leak
Important Tips:-
1.All toilets are different, so you may need to experiment to figure out which techniques work best for you.
2.Do not use a brick to displace water. Overtime it can dissolve and clog the drain.
3.Proceed with caution if you decide to use a plastic bottle in place of a tank bag. It could interfere with your toilet’s mechanisms, and result in overflow.
4.Many utility companies provide these water-saving devices to customers for free.
5.All of these devices can be purchased online, if you aren’t able to find them locally.
Sources:http://frugalliving.about.com/od/householdsavings/ht/Low_Flow.htm
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Toilets account for approx. 30% of water used indoors. By installing a Dual Flush toilet you can save between 40% and 70% of drinking water being flushed down the toilet, depending how old the toilet is you are going to replace.
If you are serious about saving water, want a toilet that really works and is affordable, I would highly recommend a Caroma Dual Flush toilet. Caroma toilets offer a patented dual flush technology consisting of a 0.8 Gal flush for liquid waste and a 1.6 Gal flush for solids. On an average of 5 uses a day (4 liquid/ 1 solid) a Caroma Dual Flush toilet uses an average of 0.96 gallons per flush. The new Sydney Smart uses only 1.28 and 0.8 gpf, that is an average of 0.89 gallons per flush. This is the lowest water consumption of any toilet available in the US. Caroma, an Australian company set the standard by giving the world its first successful two button dual flush system in the nineteen eighties and has since perfected the technology. Also, with a full 3.5? trapway, these toilets virtually never clog. All of Caroma’s toilets are on the list of WaterSense labeled HET’s http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/find_het.htm and also qualify for several toilet rebate programs available in the US. Please visit my blog http://pottygirl.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/what-you-should-know-about-toilets/ to learn more or go to http://www.caromausa.com to learn where you can find Caroma toilets locally. Visit http://www.ecotransitions.com/howto.asp to see how we flush potatoes with 0.8 gallons of water, meant for liquids only. Best regards, Andrea Paulinelli,