I want to share a concept with all of you out here. 30% of water consumed in an average “modern” home is wasted, that is to say you flush it right down the drain. The classic toilet is a 1955 American Standard, and its average water per flush with original manufacturer provided parts is 5 gallons. After fifty-four years and several flush ball and fill valve replacements I would put the actual usage at around 6-7 gallons per flush. Now I would guess that these toilets rarely required a plumber’s helper (plunger) because the trap is over 2 1/2″ all the way through and it took half of Castaic Lake to flush it. Move forward half a century to the toilet I just replaced this one with, a 2009 Toto EcoPower 1.28 gallon per flush two piece unit. This home owner just saved 3.75+ gallons on every usage! For those of you handy enough to change your own toilets I quote my favorite Nike® tag line of all time, “Just Do It,” simple but effective.

Various water utility companies will give credits to their customers for making these changes. In a few years it won’t be an option, all the manufacturers are discontinuing their previous designs and moving this direction. As that progresses the utility companies won’t give credits and there will be less incentive for customers to replace them. That being said I will make my suggestion quick and painless, change your toilets and start making an impact on your local water table today.

Editor’s note:  Toto is Made in USA and its state of the art plant is in Morrow, Georgia

This piece was originally written by our friends at Good News Plumbing.