A typical family with a water-flush toilet would use at least 100,000 litres of water per year for flushing. One flush of a standard US toilet requires more water than most individuals, and many families, in the world use for all their needs in an entire day.[1]
Today there is a significant move towards using less water for flushing flush toilets. A home’s toilet water sustainability can be improved in one of two ways: improving the current toilet or installing a more efficient toilet. To improve the current toilet, one possible method is to put weighted plastic bottles or bricks in the toilet tank. Also, there are inexpensive tank banks or float booster available for purchase. A tank bank is a plastic bag to be filled with water and hung in the toilet tank. A float booster attaches underneath the float ball of pre-1986 three and a half gallon capacity toilets. It allows these toilets to operate at the same valve and float setting but significantly reduces their water level, saving between one and one and a third gallons of water per flush. A major waste of water in existing toilets is leaks. A slow toilet leak is undetectable to the eye, but can waste hundreds of gallons each month. One way to check this is to put food dye in the tank, and to see if the water in the toilet bowl turns the same color. In the event of a leaky flapper, one can replace it with an adjustable toilet flapper, which allows self adjustment of the amount of water per flush.
If installing a new toilet there are a number of options to obtain the most water efficient model. A low flush toiletW uses one to two gallons per flush. Traditionally, toilets use three to five gallons per flush. If an eighteen liter per flush toilet is removed and a six liter per flush toilet is put in its place, 70% of the water flushed will be saved while the overall indoor water usage by will be reduced by 30%.[2] It is possible to have a toilet that uses no water.
Other modifications are often done on the water system itself; i.e. by using greywater, or a system that pollutes the water more gradually, more efficient use of the water is accomplished.
Additionally, one can reduce toilet water sustainability by limiting total toilet flushing. For instance, instead of flushing small wastes, such as tissues, one can dispose of these items using alternate measures.
See also
- ↑ Hawken, Paul, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. New York City: Little, Brown and Company, 1999. Print.
- ↑ Green Building Health and Environmental Considerations in Building and Renovating Today Urban Builders Group. Urban Builders Group LTD. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.