Low flow

It's not just a good idea. It's the law.
Seatbelt law advertisement

Yesterday I finally got rid of the last old toilet from our house. Yeah, let me just point out that this post is mostly about toilets. Consider yourself warned. So, as I was saying.... We'd already replaced two other toilets when we redid those bathrooms. The remaining bathroom hasn't been redone yet, and as much as we'd like to, it's going to be awhile.

The old toilet started leaking, so I considered replacing the innards. Instead we went ahead and bought a new one. It is amazing when you comare a low-flow toilet to an older one. The old tanks are HUGE. On each flush that tank almost empties itself. The new tank is much smaller, and empties only half-way when you flush. I don't know why I didn't replace it years ago.

Yet I still find many people coveting their old toilets. The arguments are usually the same, and center on the premise that 1.6 gallons is just not enough to dispose of their waste. Like a soccer mom with a Hummer, they want the biggest they can get and think anything smaller won't do it. Well, I'm here to tell you that these toilets work great. Rob could come over with 5 lbs. of carrots and I wouldn't worry. More scietific studies of back me up on this.

We have a much more efficient and effective product now, and it doesn't cost any more than the old version. I don't think low-flow toilets would work as well as they do if their use was not required by law. This strikes me as a great example of why we should have real energy efficiency requirements. Sometimes you need mandates like this to spur development of more efficient products.

So next time you hear someone saying we can't have significant improvements in, say, automobile fuel economy, just think of that great low-flow john. And if you still have one of those old 3-4 gpf toilets, it's time to ditch that clunker and go for something new and efficient.