saving the world... one flush at a time...

yes, I’m back to the potty. but, placate me for a moment and think about how much water your toilet uses. older toilets can use 3 to 7 gallons of water for each flush and can account for up to 50 percent of indoor water use. and, if you toss in the number of goldfish burials you’ve performed since having kids, reducing the amount of water that goes down the pipe makes sense.

while low-flush toilets are great (they only use about 1.6 gallons of water per flush and save 8,000 or more gallons of water per household per year), they can be pricey.

sooooo... if you're not in the market for a new latrine and the policy of "if it's yellow, let it mellow. if it's brown, flush it down" makes you weak in the knees (and, no, that policy is NOT in effect when we have company!), economic alternatives include toilet dams, water-filled containers or a 1.6-gallon flapper.

toilet dams help make your tank “smaller” by using plastic barriers to prevent water from running out when you flush, while filling small, plastic containers with water and putting them in the tank will keep the water level high enough to flush well, but reduces the amount of water that actually flushes. the low-flow flappers simply shut more quickly, thereby reducing the amount of water in the tank. these devices displace water and can reduce outflow by up to 25 percent. any of these provide a low-cost, eco-effective way to deal with... well... you know...

happy flushing!