I bought an old house that had been remodeled. I moved there from an old apartment building, so I was used to having the proper facilities in my bathroom. The last eight months have been pretty hard on the family, the low flow toilet was realy annoying. Flush once, twice, and in some cases three times.
Last week, a miracle occured, I was talking with a co-worker who was redoing her bathroom, she was telling me of her new fixtures when the conversation turned to the toilet. I made a comment about how she should keep her old toilet, it being an older, high flow fixture, to which she commented on how she didn’t want the old thing, it wouln’t match her new stuff etc, etc…
$20 later, lots of bleach, and a new seat later, I now have a “new”, pre low flow tank toilet.
I am so happy, no more embarrasing remnants, no more surprises. Yes it’s irresponsible and selfish, but I really do not care.
Hey, if it’s being “irresponsible” to want everything to flush the first time, then I’m more irresponsible than you are, because I’m not only hanging onto my antique 1970’s 10-gallon-a-flush toilet as long as I can, and NOT putting bricks in the tank to save water for future generations, I’ve even been known to flush twice, on account of SOME PEOPLE’S extravagant need to use wads and wads of toilet paper to wipe one little pee. (you know who you are…)
Personally I’m all for dumping 10 gallons down the drain in one flush! I currently deal with a low-flow toilet as well but that’s mostly due to my landlord being cheap (water being included in the rental price).
I say screw saving water (at least in my case). 2/5 of all the available fresh water in the world is about a mile from where I live (Lake Michigan and of course the rest of the Great Lakes attached to it).
However, if you live in Phoenix or Las Vegas it might be a different story but that’s what you get for living in a desert.
I usually have to flush the low-flow toilets a couple of times anyway. Yes, there’s some moments I can’t share that I am very proud of. I’m all for the old fashioned toilets. Few things suck more than pulling your pants up and staring down at a low-flow toilet to make sure everything goes down ok. TMI. I’m outta here.
My wife and I just finished renovating an old house. Unfortunately (from my standpoint) the toilets didn’t match the decor that my wife wanted. So we yanked the old toilets and replaced them with new 1.6 gal/flush ones. They seem to work fairly well. At least so far.
I still don’t understand what was wrong with the old ones. Each bathroom had a different color theme and the commodes matched the themes quite well. Gray, brown, yellow, green, and pink.
How do you know when a brown commode is clean?
(It’s a RHETORICAL question, dummy!)
Is it possible to find new toilets that aren’t low flow?
Our new house has those weak little sissy toilets and I’d rather have a water wasting flusher than have to wield the plunger.
Most building codes now require low-flow toilets. Here in Tallytown it’s certainly a requirement.
As I said, I just discarded five old toilets in assorted colors. I probably should have kept them as they could have been re-enameled.
Then again, I probably should have put the darned things on eBay. (Of course then the potty police would have appeared at my door and I’d then have my own semi-private crapper in an 8x12 room!)
:: Picking phone number at random ::
rrrrringgggggg…
rrrrringgggggg…
“Hello?”
“Hello – May I speak with Mr Caldwell?”
“Speaking.”
“My Caldwell, this is Joe Moore with the Sanitation Department – We’ve had just about enough shit out of you.”
It’s pretty obvious you people live in a wet part of the world. Your 10 gallon toilets may be wonderful on the shores of Lake Michigan, but they would be extremely stupid if you lived in Australia, a continent which is largely desert.
We currently have a dilemma with our river systems. They develop poisonous blue-green algal blooms every summer, mainly due to the high levels of nutrient that finds its way into waste water. Phosphorous-rich soaps and detergents are a large contributor, as is agricultural fertilizer.
Compounding the problem is the high quantity of water drawn from our river systems to provide municipal supplies and for intensive irrigation. There just isn’t enough left to safely dilute and disperse any algal bloom that may occur.
While one 10 gallon cistern in isolation doesn’t sound like a lot, when you multiply it by several million, the additional volume of water is considerable.
My household waste goes right into the septic tank where it’s attacked by friendly bacteria and dispersed through the drain field.
That makes exactly ONE place in the yard where there’s a reasonable quantity of water and nutrients on a regular basis.
I understand the rationale for the low flow toilets, but in my case, the older ones are actually more beneficial.
The other extreme is due north of the Australian example. Most of China has NO flush facilities. One’s business is performed by squatting over the bungee. Of course someone does have to come along periodically and pour a bucket of water into the hole to “flush”.
I work in water billing for my city (Flint, MI). The old-style toilets use about 7 gallons. Personally, I prefer them. Sure, if you get a low-flow that works properly, you’ll save a little money. But what’s the point, if you’ve got to flush 3 or 4 times? I’ve heard the same thing from the customers that come in (“but I’ve got a low-flow toilet! Why isn’t my water bill any lower?”)
FYI, if your toilet starts running, turn it off. As soon as you notice. The old style toilets use about 7 gallons in a minute and a half. I have seen some positively monstrous water bills because people had a running toilet for several days. There are also such things as “silent leaks.” It’s a slow leak in the toilet that you can’t hear, like you can when your toilet is actually running. If you suspect that you have a problem like this, here’s a couple of really easy tests you can do:
Take a little food coloring and put it in the toilet tank, and let it sit for a few minutes. Don’t use or flush the toilet. If the water in the bowl changes color, you’ve got a leak. This can usually be fixed by replacing the seal in the tank.
If your water is metered, and you know where your meter is, read the meter before just before you go to bed. Then read it again first thing in the morning, before you do anything that requires water usage (showering, cooking, using the bathroom). If the read is higher than it was before you went to bed, you might have a leak somewhere.
Sorry about the hijack, but it’s rare that a topic comes up that I actually know a little about!
As Dave Barry has recounted in several columns on this topic (didn’t the low-flow edict come at the federal level?) there is apparently a brisk business in people buying high-flow toilets in Canada and smuggling them back to the U.S.
The real solution is either a dual-flow toilet, with separate flush cycles for urination and defecation, or urinals installed in homes. Low flow toilets actually use too much water for just urination, and not enough for defecation. They are an unsuitable compromise.
I’ve always wondered why they don’t put urinals in houses. Does it just make too much sense?
I had to change the toilet in my apartment one day when I accidently dropped the lid on the bowl and shattered it. I did it myself for about $200 worth of toilet parts and was pretty easy overall. I had the problem that my apartment being and older apartment had a different ruffin (how far it sets off the wall) than the standard 12" ruffin mine being 10". I searched and searched and eventually found one two days later. I would have had the landlord hire a plumber but it was an emergency late on a Saturday night and she has never been known for her quick response time. Anyway, when you begin to install it, if it is the wrong size you will notice right away as it either won’t fit over the piping in the bottom unless you adjust the bolts that hold it on the floor and then the tank won’t necessarily fit on top. Also, the tank and bowl are dependent parts. You have to have the one that was made for that specific toilet. The only other hint is to have a good rag mop to finish with as I don’t think there is anyway to change the toilet without getting the floor wet all over.
[ul]
[li]Over the years plumbing rough-in changes have left a variety of toilet setbacks. As SqrlCub points out, if you change out an older toilet you MUST get the setback right.[/li][li]When you change the toilet, change the wax ring. No options, no discussion. They cost about a buck and a half.[/li][li]After the toilet has been secured in place, grout or caulk around the base (depending on the flooring). Otherwise liquids will tend to run under the toilet where they simply won’t come back out without removing the toilet.[/li][/ul]
Would the moderator please delete this thread on the grounds that meaningful information is being disseminated via MPSIMS?
I bought the wax ring for 75 cents. You need it to ensure a good seal. You will also have to clean the floor before you reapply it. It won’t necessarily stick to the previous load of junk wax that was there.
chrisbar, i was going to suggest a trip to canada, where the flow really goes. looks like obfusciatrist beat me to it.
there is a bit of a black market in high flow. amazingly enough congress did pass the low flow bill in the name of the env. go figure.
Yes, there’s some moments I can’t share that I am very proud of. I’m all for the old fashioned toilets. Few things suck more than pulling your pants up and staring down at a low-flow toilet to make sure everything goes down ok. TMI. I’m outta here.