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Low Flush Toilets and Kits to Convert Older Toilets How can you convince someone to take steps to replace or add a water-saving kit to their toilets? One way is to make yourself more knowledgeable about the advantages, water savings and various options available. Flushing toilets is a major water consumption activity in most homes which can cost a family $200 per year or more. It is estimated that 1 out of 5 older toilets leak. So if you have leakage problems that allows the water to continually run, the annual water usage expense will be even greater. Because of laws passed in 1994, manufacturers can only make toilets that use 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) or less. Most older toilets use 3.5 gallons to 6 gallons per flush and some use as much a 7 gallons. Although replacing an older toilet can be an option for many people, others find that option too expensive. (More information about high efficiency toilets is available at http://www.epa.gov/owm/toilets.htm.) There are many types of do-it-yourself water-saving kits. Prices start at under $10 and can save up to $100 per year on your water bills. Installing one often takes care of eliminating the water running or leaking problem as well. The kits come with complete installation instructions and many of them can be installed in about five minutes. The basic types of water-saving flush kits available are: dual-flush handles, flapper valves, water dams, and diverters. A dual-flush kit is one of the best methods to significantly reduce the water usage of any old toilet while still maintaining an effective flushing action. These kits provide a low-water usage flush for liquid wastes and a standard volume flush for solid wastes. Some do-it-yourself kits use a single flush handle in place of the old handle. You push the handle down for a water-saving flush or lift it up for a full flush. Another dual-flush design uses two separate handles of different lengths. Push the longer handle down for a water-saving flush or the shorter handle for a full flush. Inside the toilet tank, all of the dual-flush designs work the same way. The water-saving flush only partially lifts the flapper, so it closes quickly and allows less water to flow out. The full flush lifts the flapper the standard amount. There are many designs of water-saving flapper valve kits. They all allow the air trap inside of them to empty quickly so the flapper closes sooner than normal. To install one, just pull the old flapper up over the overflow tube and slip the new back down over the tube. You can fine tune some of the flapper kits to get an effective flush with the least water usage. Some designs have a tiny adjustable hole at the bottom. By varying the hole size, the water volume during a flush can be controlled. Water dams fit in the bottom of the toilet tank and spring out to make a seal against the sides of the tank. Water dams reduce the amount of water in the tank without decreasing the water height or the flush pressure. Some people have even used bricks in their tank so that not as much water will flow back in after a flush. Diverter kits move some of the bowl water to the tank after each flush to save water.
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