Save Water and Money with Water Efficient Toilets

Approximately one third of the water used within the home is from toilet use, and this is the single highest water usage source in the plumbing system. When a homeowner makes a conscious effort to conserve water, replacing an old toilet with a new, state of the art water saving toilet, water consumption will be cut at least 25% and in some cases, even more.

Many revised plumbing codes around the country often require new or replacement toilets to be water efficient toilets. This type of toilet uses 1.6 gallons of water every time the toilet is flushed, as opposed to older toilet,s which use between 3.5 to 7 gallons of water every time the toilet is flushed. A family of four will find themselves saving water at a rate of more than 11,000 gallons of water per year with a low flow toilet. Water conservation equates to saving money on the water bill.

With the innovative toilet designs today, using less water per flush still allows water saving toilets to work efficiently and with superior performance. Such toilets are subject to federal standards and must meet certain testing criteria to assure consumers of efficiency and performance.

The first water efficient toilets did not work that efficiently. It sometimes took multiple flushes to completely eliminate waste, defeating the purpose of the water-saving philosophy. To help compensate for using less water, pressurized air was introduced into the design, to send water into the bowl more forcefully and to eliminate waste completely and efficiently. Pressure assist toilets toilets tend to be noisier than the standard siphon and gravity toilet, but have increased efficiency.

With water conservation laws and regulations becoming more commonplace, finding efficient toilets is not difficult. About a third of the water efficient toilet market comes from Japan, but finding toilets made in the USA at competitive efficiency and price is a matter of checking with your local plumber or plumbing supply provider. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the average home will save between $90 and $2,000 per year in water fees over the life of a water saving toilet.