I Installed Dual Flush Toilets, Should You?

Here in Southern California, like much of the western U.S., we have been experiencing a protracted drought that has lasted several years. Southern California gets its water from a number of sources. Groundwater provides between 30 and 40 percent of our supply. The rest is imported from the Owens Valley, the Colorado River, and the State Water Project This water is purchased from other water agencies making it expensive and subject to their pricing demands and allotments.

As the drought progresses, less and less water is available for sale to Southern California at even higher prices. These prices are passed on to the consumer, of course. My water district recently increased their rates and implemented a pricing plan that penalizes heavier water consumers with higher rates.

I would like to say that the push to make my home more green was motivated by my love and concern for the environment. While that is an added benefit, the bottom line was the impact on my wallet. So, I set about to reduce the amount of water consumed in our home. I did some maintenance to the landscape sprinklers and changed the schedule to water less frequently. I installed low-flow shower heads in all the showers. Then set out to see how we could conserve water with our toilets.

While researching water-saving toilets, I learned the difference between a standard older toilet and the new standard toilet. A standard, older toilet in the U.S. uses up to 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf). Many older homes still have these dinosaurs.

Since the enactment of the National Energy Policy Act of 1994, all toilets sold in the U.S. can use no more than1.6 gallons per flush. So, by switching to a new standard toilet you can save up to 55% of the water per flush. My research also led me to investigate dual flush toilets.

What is a Dual Flush Toilet?

A dual flush toilet is a type of high efficiency toilet (HET) that conserves water by giving the user a choice of two flush volumes; a low volume flush for liquid waste and a higher volume flush for solid waste. Dual flush toilets have been popular in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world for some time. They are even mandatory in some locales.

High efficiency toilets (HETs) have an even stricter standard of an average of 1.28 gpf. If you have a standard toilet, it must use no more than 1.28 gallons of water per flush to be considered high efficiency. If you have a dual flush toilet, it must use no more than 1.6 gpf during a full flush and 1.1 gpf during a low volume flush. The average of these 2 different flush volumes meets the 1.28 gpf average requirement.

Benefits of HETs

Many local utilities and governmental agencies have residential high-efficiency toilet rebate programs. For example, where I live residents can receive up to $125 per toilet for replacing old, high water-use toilets, with a new high efficiency toilets. You local water utility will normally maintain a list of qualifying toilets and retailers that sell them.

Aside from any tax breaks and rebates, it is estimated that a family of four can save approximately $100 per year and about $2,000 over the life of the toilet. As water rates continue to increase, your savings will also.

Finally, even if you are motivated by the potential savings, you can still have the good feeling of helping save the environment. The EPA estimates that if all Americans used high efficiency toilets, total water consumption would be reduced by almost 640 billion gallons of water.

What are Your Options?

You will have two options when considering dual flush toilets. First, is to keep your current toilet and convert it or retrofit it with a dual flush kit. The second option is to purchase and install a complete dual flush toilet unit.

Retrofit Your Existing Toilet

If you opt to retrofit, you must make sure your existing toilet will accept a retrofit kit. Many kits, like the Hydro Right kit, require a tank at least 10 inches tall. Also, if you have a Mansfield toilet, you will have to buy and install a standard flush valve.  Do your research first to ensure that the retrofit kit you choose will work with your toilet.

Most kits install easily with a minimum of tools. If you are at all handy about the house, this task is well within your reach. If not, a professional plumber can do the task for you for a price.

Purchase a Dual Flush Toilet

Your other option is to purchase and install a new dual flush toilet. When purchasing a dual flush toilet be sure it has the WaterSense label. The WaterSense label means that the toilet has been certified to be not only high efficiency but high performance as well. This means that it may flush with higher pressure than a standard high efficiency toilet. This is important when attempting to flush solid wastes with less water.

As when purchasing any new toilet, be sure to measure the area to be sure your new toilet will fit properly. Also, if you don’t have experience installing toilets, you may want to leave this to a professional. While it is not a difficult task, there are a few tricks and you will be doing some heavy lifting.  A standard toilet can weigh between 35 and 50 pounds.

So, What Did I Do?

Being on a budget, I elected to go the retrofit route. I installed HydroRight retrofit kits in all three toilets in my home. It took about 45 minutes to install the first kit primarily because I misread the directions. Once I got past my mistake, the second kit took only 30 minutes to install and the third only 20 minutes.  So far, the retrofit kits seem to be working as advertised. I’ve had no real problems installing them nor in their use since their installation.

They haven’t been installed long enough to get a good gauge on any water savings, especially since I also installed the low flow shower heads and changed my landscape watering schedule about the same time. However, since they use less than half the water per flush than previously,they will contribute to a lower water bill.  With all my water conservation steps implements I have seen about 20% less water used over the first few months when compared with the same few months last year.  I will update this hub after more time has passed.

Dual Flush Toilet Caveats

There are a few caveats to be aware of with dual flush toilets. The innovative technology used in dual flush toilets helps reduce water usage and the number of times the toilet may become stopped up. However, you should be aware that they tend to be more expensive that standard toilets.

Because they leave less water standing in the bowl, dual flush toilets can leave more waste residue. Waste residue can result in unwanted odors. We have not experienced this problem at my home but it has been reported by others.

You must also be careful about overloading the toilet with too much toilet paper. My wife and daughter are in the habit of using toilet paper to remove makeup and then dump it into the toilet. Since less water is used per flush, this can cause problems getting a complete flush. This is a minor problem, to say the least.

In Conclusion

I’m glad I installed the dual flush retrofit kits in my home. It took only an afternoon, including buying the kits, to get the job done. I will realize some savings on my water bill and feel good that, in some small way, I am helping the environment. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to take a serious look at installing dual flush toilets in your home.