You may have heard of the low-flow toilet as a way to reap significant savings on your water bill by only using 1.6 gallons of water per flush. This is in fact an excellent way to preserve water and still maintain effective, convenient plumbing in your home. For the majority of homeowners, the low-flow toilet is a no-brainer solution to save some cash each month.
So what’s the problem? There are cases when the low-flow toilet causes more bad than good. If you have an older home with a plumbing system designed to support a pre-1980 toilet, it may not accommodate the latest low-flush models very well. Older toilets did not have to abide by updated water conservation laws that restricted the GPF (gallons per flush). Therefore, a typical pre-1980 toilet was flushing about 3.5 gallons per flush (or more) as opposed to the 1.6 gallons that are used in a low-flow toilet.
If your old home does not have a proper drain slope, there may not be enough water to carry the solid waste to your sewer. Some older homes may even have a negative slope, which may be fine for larger water volume and more forceful flushes but not for a low-flow toilet.
You’ll know your plumbing infrastructure is not supporting a low-flush toilet if you experience frequent toilet back ups or if you notice standing water in the drain pipe when lifting the toilet off the floor. A professional plumber can correct this by installing a fixture with a pressure-assisted flush, which uses water pressure to charge a compressed-air tank inside the toilet tank.
At Metro Septic and Plumbing, we are your experts when it comes to choosing the best toilet for your home and for your wallet. We are happy to evaluate your current plumbing fixtures and recommend more energy-efficient and cost-saving alternatives.
