In 1980, Thomas Crapper’s plumbing company started producing flush toilet on a large scale. However, at that time many improvements on the toilet were made and this helps to meet the standards of sanitary waste disposal. Today toilet is one of the common uses of water in homes.
Dual Flush Toilets
In 1980 the dual flush toilet was developed in Australia by Bruce Thompson. This toilet consists of two push buttons at the top, one for half flush (liquid waste products) while the other is for full flush (solid waste products). This helps to save about 67% of water consumption in a household.
However, the half flush requires little water to operate and also lacks the siphoning power of the full flush toilet. The half flush usually uses up 0 .8 gallons of water while the full flush uses 1 .6 gallons of water. As a result of this, it is the most efficient way of minimizing water usage.
The dual system employs the pressure of water to get rid of the waste products, compared to the standard systems where the pressure of water with pneumatic air is used to get rid of waste products as shown in the diagram below. For this reason, the dual flush toilet uses little water. This method is comparatively cheaper and will cost as low as $29 to $30. Therefore, it will save the household a lot of money in the long term. For example, a household of two to five members can save about thirteen gallons of water in a day. The manufacturers of dual flush toilets claim that these kinds of toilets will last for a long period of time provided you use it properly.
Fig 1: Dual flush toilet
High-Efficiency Toilets
Generally, if you are operating at home or offices, installing high-efficiency toilets is necessary. This method helps to spend less water for flushing compare to the normal toilets, because it uses a little amount of water. This is the best method you need to watch out for each time you are shopping so as get a better result. As we all known, high-efficiency toilets help to uses just about 1.26 gallons for every single flush. This method saves about 20% over normal toilets.
Other Features to Consider For High-Efficiency Toilets
Super-charged edge wash: When flushing, water flows through the spaces in the edge of the toilet. The edge gets rid of the waste and cleaning action is common with the high-efficiency toilets.
An enlarged water spot: The presence of surface water helps to get rid of the solids and paper that stick to the sides of the bowl. As a result of this about 8 to 9-inch water spot is needed.
Larger trap way outlet size: The solid waste passageway must be two inches wide, usually higher efficiency toilets contain a wider opening so as to prevent blockage.
Support Pressure: Most household toilets rely on gravity; high-efficiency pressure models consist of a canister in the toilet tank which stores water and increases the pressure as water goes into the toilet. When flushing, the pressure forces water for a powerful flush action.
Bigger flush valve or flapper opening: The wider the opening of the flush valve located along the bowl and the tank the better. However, having a four-inch opening is 200% faster than the three-inch. While having a three-inch opening is 80% faster than the standard two-inch.
Shopping guide: whenever you want to buy a high-efficiency toilet, make sure you are aware of the features about modern toilet technology. You must be able to find a variety of products with the label of Water Sense that will also have some features illustrated here to meet your desires. A trained plumber can also help you choose the best variety that will work with your existing drains.
Toilet producers are manufacturing dual flush toilets and high-efficiency toilets for sale to the market. The American Standard, Kohler, Toto, Eljer and Gerber all offer the high-efficiency toilet option.
But, it is more reasonable in this unstable weather condition, financial turbulence and high costs of services like water waste disposal, to think about ways to reduce the water usage. High efficiency toilets are usually low and refund may be available in many different cases. Also, the effectiveness makes it a very bargain to install a high efficiency toilet in the bathroom.
In conclusion, if you did not want to change your toilets, you can consider changing one of your toilets in your house and observe how it will look like. You will definitely be pleased with the efficiency of the toilet.
