Low flow toilets and other fixtures were mandated
by the US government years ago, but there are still some being used even today.
If you are one of the few that have not replaced your old water-wasting toilet
with a modern low flow alternative, read on to discover just how much water
these units actually waste.
It is unlikely that too many people these
days have one of the older toilets that, literally, flushed away vast amounts
of water wastefully. But in older homes there do exist a few and it would be
wise to replace them as soon as you can for both the money savings as well as
the environmental benefits.
In the early 1990’s water usage laws were
passed that, among other things, required certain plumbing fixtures to meet
water usage standards. While the goal of the laws were very well intended and
very much necessary, the result was anything but a success in the early going.
The first generation of low flow toilets did not perform well.
The problem with the first attempt at
introducing low flow toilets was that while the amount of water was lowered
from up to a whopping seven gallons per flush down to the more environmentally
friendly 1.6 gallons per flush that is commonplace today, there was no real change
to the design of the unit and the results were less than desirable.
But that soon changed when people started
using them and they weren’t really up to the task. They did not do a great job
at flushing the waste down the drain line. So, engineers made some changes and
they now perform to the same performance standards as the older wasteful
models.
So now you are probably wondering what is
the big deal with these devices and just how much can we expect to save? Well,
there are some estimates available that suggest the total volume of water being
used for flushing toilets, in residential dwellings, accounts amounts for
roughly 75% of the total amount of water that is being used in urban area. That means almost 5 billion gallons of water
is said to be flushed down the drains each day in the United States alone. On
an individual level, it is therefore estimated that American homes use 9,000
gallons of water per year for their toilets.
The numbers are pretty staggering and not
meant to suggest that actual amount of water is being wasted but serves to
illustrate the amount that would be wasted if no one used low flow toilets. Just
multiply by 4 and you will get a good idea. Thankfully, most people use low
flow toilets these days. When you opt to install low flow toilets, you will be
cutting back significantly on the amount of water that you use per year. That is also why the government mandated the
changes that led to the current low flush toilets which will do the same job as
before but only uses 1.6 gallons of water every time you flush.
Chances are you are already taking advantage
of modern low flow toilets in your home to save water and save money in the
process. Not because you made a conscious decision to do so, but because it is
the standard that manufacturers have had to meet for almost two decades. But if
you recently purchased an older home, or you have had you toilets since before
the water usage laws took effect and are using one of the older toilets
, now is
the time to change out your old one for a money-saving eco-friendly model.
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