Dual Flush Toilet
A few months ago I attended a green building show in Boston and was able to check out Toto’s line of water saving toilets. Their display at the green show was rather impressive and it seemed to draw a good size crowd. We were able to play with the toilets like kids without the Toto rep kicking us out!
In the picture above they use golf balls and plastic tubes to show how much “stuff” their toilets can flush without requiring a second flush.
In the picture above they show how much “stuff” makes it through the drain system without clogging. The funny thing is that the water was turned off at the time this picture was taken and only about 50% of the total flush made it to the collection basin. Once the rep turned on the water and reloaded the toilet bowl the entire load made it into the basin.
This is a dual flush toilet which uses .9 gallons per flush when you don’t have the need to flush a dozen golf balls and a dozen plastic water bags. If you need to get rid of a large load then you can hit the 1.6 gallon button and flush away $20 in golf balls.
If you are looking for a water saving toilet I would suggest one of the dual flush models. Since this was the only one on display at the green home show that I attended, I am not able to compare it to other models. Some of the other green blogs that I read have done reviews on the Toto toilets and I have yet to see anything negative on the product line. Until Toto sends me a free water saving toilet to test (hint Toto toilet people) I can not provide a in-house review.
Oh I have heard about these toilets and they are so good for the enviro and saving water. One would think that every new house built would go up with these in place, but unfortunately that is not the case yet in our area. My husband just fixed all of our toilets to be more economic on the water but I definitely wish we could replace all three with these - just not in the budget right now
The only problem that I see with them is your old toilet will end up in a landfill. Toilets can last a lifetime, it’s a shame to throw them away.
With that said, .7 gallons of water really adds up over time. Damned if you do/don’t.
When I saw ‘Dual Flush’ it made me think of a double decker outhouse.
I would be interested to know how well these things work with a septic tank system.
I can see some issues with your septic tank if you flush expensive golf balls!
Double decker outhouse…….I had to think about that one for a few seconds. I’ve been in a two seater (wife/husband) one, I love my wife but I don’t see us sitting side by side.
BTW, nice site Frank.
If it’s yellow, let it mellow,
If it’s brown, flush it down.
In our house that’s the rule, plus no pee-TP in the toilet. Just like Mexico, in it’s own bin.
Can be composted, pee is okay.
That way you can cut down possibly more. Plus if you save a bucket with your shower, you can use it to flush when the yellow is way mellow.
All this works without retrofitting, which is out of the range of a lot of folks these days.