How To Choose a Toilet – Do You Flush More Than Once?

The environmentalist groups went off the deep end by complaining that the American people were wasting our water resources by using the 3.5-gallon tank on our toilets.  You remember how everyone put a brick in the tank to conserve water.  That really does not (potentially) conserve water when you displace the water with brick. You are using less water, which is minimal, but you run the risk of having to flush twice.  I will not go into calculating brick mass versus water displacement.  The environmentalist demand was so pronounced, that they went to congress and had a bill enacted restricting the manufacturing size of new toilets to a 1.6-gallon tank.  It was called, Congress’s Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992.

On occasion, it is true, you may have to flush twice even with the older type. That is a given.  However, with the 1.6-gallon tank, the one-flush condition is practically the exception rather than the rule.  This obviously does not apply to the urination aspect of wasting water.  So let’s see…hmmm, do you flush twice, three times or more?  Let us add this up:

            * First flush =1.6-gallons

            * Second flush +1.6-gallons = 3.2-gallons

            * Third flush + 1.6-gallons = 4.8-gallons

Now compare two people having to flush with the new toilet.  That would equal as much as 9.6-gallons of water compared to the old one flush system used by two people at 7.0-gallons of water.  The difference: 2.6-gallons of water. You could have saved practically one entire flush with the old toilet.  So where is the savings? There is no savings. The number gets worst as the amount of flushes increase.

Let us review some statistics from the U.S Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency.

The whole United States water usage is 100%.  That is no surprise and an obvious given.

Non-household use, industrial use, commercial use, and agricultural usage totals: 87% of the 100%.

Total household usage: 13% of 100%.

Let us break this calculated ratio down a bit more.

Outdoor household usage: 5% of the 13% = only .65%, just over half of 1% of the U.S. water consumption.

Indoor household usage: 8% of the 13% = only 1.04% of the entire U.S. water consumption.

Let us break it down once more.

Of the indoor household usage, non-toilet use (showers, washing machines, etc.) = 70% or 70% of 1.04% = .73% or almost ¾ of 1% compared to the 100% total U.S. water usage.

Of the indoor household usage, toilet use only: 30% or 30% of 8% = .31% or less than ½ of 1% compared to the 100% total U.S. water usage.

 1.  If you followed all these calculations, you can come to some very logical conclusions.  There is no savings of water when both types of toilets are compared or there is a possibility of a one flush favorability vote for the old toilet system.

2.  Compared to the entire U.S water usage, the household toilet water usage in this country is so minute (½ of 1%), that it cannot be considered a valid factor in water savings.

3.  Both the Senate and House of Representatives were dominated by Democrats in the final year of President George H. Bush’s term.  President Clinton won the election that year.

4.  The bill was called:

Senate Bill 622, now listed as Public Law 94-163
Title: An Act to increase domestic energy supplies and availability; to restrain energy demand; to prepare for energy emergencies; and for other purposes.

5.  The conclusion: who are the fanatical morons?  The answer is the environmentalists and congress.  It certainly was not John Q Public.  We are the ones who suffer the remnants of idiotic Federal mandates.

We have come to the next part of the article.  How do you choose a toilet?  When you shop around for a toilet, you have to bear in mind that a cheap toilet is never the answer, unfortunately.  I would safely guess that 75% of manufacturers have not bothered to re-engineer their flushing system.  I know for sure that Kohler® did just that. They redesigned the flushing system to accommodate the 1.6-gallon water tank.  I do know that there are others, but I do not know which manufacturers have re-engineered their product.  What I also do not know is if Kohler® changed all their models. Do your research and shop wisely my future flushers.

As you go hunting out there for the elusive one flush toilet, remember who was responsible for your commode fiasco and frustration.  What gives our federal government, a power structure that is mandated by law to protect the citizens from enemies beyond our shores, the right to mandate us and protect us from flushing too much water down your toilet?  Don’t you feel safe now?