Saving Water and Money by Converting Your Old Toilet to a Low Flow Toilet

If you have an older home, perhaps one built more than 10 years ago, chances are you have some appliances and items in your home that do not operate as efficiently as they could. For example, new front loading washers use a fraction of the water as top loading washer do. However, converting many of these outdated appliances to new, efficient models can be costly. A front loading washer can cost more than $1,000. That may not be in your budget right now, but there are other items in your home that can operate more efficiently for a fraction of the cost.

One example is the toilet. Not really thought about all that often, the toilet has seen numerous advancement over the last decade or so. New models operate much more efficiently and do the job of flushing much better than many older models. The toilet is the highest water consumption unit in any home. Older toilets operate with 3.5 gallons of water per flush. Newer models operate with 1.6 gallons per flush or less. Many models now use as little as .8 gallons per flush.

New low flow toilets can offer a significant yearly savings on your water bill. Average users will see a yearly water bill decrease by around $100 by replacing one old 3.5 gpf toilet with a new low flow model. A new, low flow toilet will run between $100 and $300, but there is a little trick that allows you to convert an old toilet to a low flow toilet for free.

This tip or trick for converting an old toilet to a low flow toilet has been thoroughly tested and many people use this free method to save water. Since old toilets hold approximately 3.5 gallons of water in their tanks, each flush will utilize that exact amount of water. To reduce water usage, you must displace some of the water in the tank. In effect, you trick the toilet into believing the tank is full of water when in fact it is not.

The easiest method to achieve this goal is by finding a container that will fit into the tank of your toilet. Sometimes a gallon milk jug will work, other times you will need several half gallon milk jugs. Fill the jugs with water, secure the caps and place them in the tank. As the tank fills, it fills around the jugs which displace water. Once the tank is full, the float shuts the water off. Now each flush uses 3.5 gallons of water minus the amount of water contained within the jugs in the tank. For example. If you fill two gallon milks jugs and insert them in your tank, your toilet will use 3.5 gallons minus 2 gallons, or 1.5 gallons per flush.

This simple, free method for converting your old toilet to a low flow toilet really couldn't be any easier. You will save money on your water bills, help save the environment and it won't cost you a penny.