Hal Major © 2009
BobVilaContractors.com
Low flush toilets have been required in the USA since the federal law went into effect in 1994. Unfortunately, toilet manufacturers only modified the tank to comply with the 1.6 gallon maximum water usage rule. The rest of the toilet remained unchanged until consumers started to anger and voice their opinions about how inefficiently these new toilets were when it came to whisking away the waste. People hung on to their old stool or bought the old style at garage sales.
Save $$$ and water with low flush toilets
All of that has changed. The toilet has been completely redesigned to work efficiently with the 1.6 gallons of water. The flapper valve and its opening have been enlarged to allow the water to dump faster into the bowl. The inside of the trap underneath the toilet has been glazed to reduce friction. Some low flush toilets use a pressurized system to propel the waste down the toilet. Innovations continue and the result is you save money on your water and sewer usage bill and help protect the environment.
Add a bidet
If you want to go first class and save money and water have a bidet installed. Bidets don�t have a water tank. Instead of using 1.6 gallons of water to whisk away a small amount of urine, the bidet uses a small stream of water to cleanse you and wash the waste down the sewer.
Consider a self-cleaning toilet
One of the chores I dislike most around the house is cleaning the toilets. Problem solved with the new self-cleaning toilets. After each use the seat is wiped and disinfected. The water outlet holes under the rim are designed to clean under the rim. An electrical hookup is required for self-cleaning toilets. Unfortunately, no one has come up with a toilet that cleans the top of the rim or the outside surfaces. So, don�t toss that toilet cleanser and Johnny mop quite yet.
Go Hi-tech
Are you looking for the ultimate luxury and hi-tech advances in toilets? Then the high rise/low flush remote toilet is the answer. These toilets offer heated seats, automatic lid opening and closing, and automatic flushing when you walk away. Some of these hi-tech toilets can tell if the waste is just liquid or both liquid and solid and it adjusts the amount of water for flushing. Of course, this all comes at a premium price and an electrical hookup is required.
The hi-tech toilet may be a little over the top for some people, however, the low-flush toilet is here to stay. The engineering improvements in the design over the past five years have greatly improved the efficiency and the looks of the plain old toilet. Moreover, when remodeling a bathroom it is a good decision to replace the old water hog with a new low flush model.
