Water Conserving Toilet And Avoiding Sewer Backup

If your home was built before 1992

Your bathroom toilet may be consuming between 3.5 and 5.7 gallons per flush. 1992 is the year the federal government started mandating the low-flush (low-flow) toilet because of the National Energy Policy Act (H.R. 776). So there were plenty of Los Angeles plumber setting up Low flush toilets which typically make use of 1.6 gallons per flush and newer High-Efficiency Toilets (HET) can use less than 1.28 gallons per flush. A local plumber can easily check your toilet to determine how many gallons it utilizes with every single flush.

If your house was built before the 1980’s

In the 1980s a plumber would most likely install a toilet utilizing 3.5 gallons. Today, a plumbing technician would install a new toilet that uses only 1.6 gallons of water in the U.S., and when compared to 3.5 gpf, that is almost two gallons of water saved every flush.

If your home was built before the 1970’s

Before the 50s, toilets typically consumed seven gallons or more for each flush. In the end of the 1960s, toilets were designed to flush with only 5.5 gallons. So if your have a home that was built around the late 1950’s or much earlier you may want to find a plumber to inspect your toilet to see if it has been upgraded to a low flow toilet,  and you can save numerous gallons of h2o annually, just have a plumber check it out.

Toilet Selections

At first, makers & plumbers modified the valves and floats in the tank to lower the water utilized without creating any adjustments to the tank or bowl. The two most common adaptations were to have a plumber install a flush-valve flapper which closes just before all the water escapes the tank (early-close flapper) or to have a plumber set up a plastic bucket, or toilet dam, which retains some water in the toilet tank behind the dam, hence decreasing the amount of flush. Several manufacturers and plumbers turned to low-capacity tanks with a standard flapper, while others decided to use new pressurized flush technology.

Double Flush Water Conservation Set

You will need a local plumber to install a dual flush toilet kit and water conservation devise for a standard toilet.  The system will turn your toilet right into a dual flush enhancing the performance of your current toilet for a portion of the price of a new dual flush toilet. A dual flush retrofits current toilets to function just like low flow toilets and in some instances saves more water than a costly HET  toilet, it allows the home owner or local plumber to convert the current toilet into a water saving dual flush system.  This kind of system provides a homeowner the water savings and allows them to recycle/reuse the previous toilet, by transforming your old toilet to conserve water you’re at the same time conserving our landfills.

Toilet Bank/Float booster

A really affordable thing is a tank bank or float booster, your local plumbing technician might have them. This may conserve 10 or more gallons of water daily. It is a water conserving product that’s effective, low in cost, maintenance free and easy to use, you may not even have to contact a plumbing technician. It’s the least complex and easy to use toilet tank water saving device; just fill with water and hang on the inside of the toilet tank. Most saves an approximate 80 to 160 oz. of water for every flush depending upon whether 1 or 2 are utilized. With the typical plumber flushing at least 6 times a day, water savings add up.

Don’t forget

If there is not enough water to have a proper flush you may well be utilizing your plunger or you may have to contact a Los Angeles plumber. Sometimes a plumbing technician will hold the handle down for a long time or do numerous flushes to get rid of waste. 2 flushing’s at 1.4 gallons is worse than just one 2.0 gallon flush. A good tip is to purchase an adjustable toilet flapper from the local plumber that enable adjustment of every flush use.  Then the person can adjust the flush rate to the minimum per flush setting that attains one good flush each time. If you find this hard then simply ask a plumber to help. Also, avoid flushing towels, baby diapers, paper products (other than toilet paper) to avoid sewer backup. Using the toilet as a wastebasket is simply a phenomenal waste of water.

Written by Boss Plumbing & Heating Co., a Los Angeles based plumbing company servicing the Greater Los Angeles area for more than 20 years.  Specializing in residential plumbing service like sewer backup, Boss Plumbing can be reached at www.bossplumbing.com or at (323) 464-4700.