<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Umbra on replacing toilets]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by thollandpe http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Mon, 09 Jul 2007 07:14:18 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/1 No mellow yellow

At our house we just installed a Sterling dual-flush toilet.  Two buttons - a smaller 0.8-gallon flush (for #1, you get the idea) - and #2 is the standard 1.6 gallon flush.  

Works great, less filling!  

TH in MA

]]> No mellow yellow

At our house we just installed a Sterling dual-flush toilet.  Two buttons - a smaller 0.8-gallon flush (for #1, you get the idea) - and #2 is the standard 1.6 gallon flush.  

Works great, less filling!  

TH in MA

]]> Comment #2 by Jeff McMeans http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:39:03 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/2 Lo-Flush toilets(flush once a day)

Sure, you can spend a bundle to save water, or you can do what this old hippie from the Sixties does.  I have a gallon plastic bottle with a wide opening in it.  I pee in it all day long and the next morning when I poop, I pour it all in there and then, there you have it.  I flush the toilet once a day.  This is a simple approach.
When I take showers, I put a small bucket up and catch all the cold water that most people just let go down the drain.  I put this bucket, each day, into my washing machine and when it is time, I wash the clothes with water that would have been wasted.
I also put in the wash water the rinse water from washing dishes, not to mention the water that was used to boil a 3 minute egg.
Simplicity, people; the answers are there already.
When I wash clothes, that water goes on the front lawn.  With a turn of the handle, the rinse water from the wash goes into five-5 gallon buckets that then are used to wash the next load?  Any questions?
Peace,
Jeffrey McMeans





]]> Lo-Flush toilets(flush once a day)

Sure, you can spend a bundle to save water, or you can do what this old hippie from the Sixties does.  I have a gallon plastic bottle with a wide opening in it.  I pee in it all day long and the next morning when I poop, I pour it all in there and then, there you have it.  I flush the toilet once a day.  This is a simple approach.
When I take showers, I put a small bucket up and catch all the cold water that most people just let go down the drain.  I put this bucket, each day, into my washing machine and when it is time, I wash the clothes with water that would have been wasted.
I also put in the wash water the rinse water from washing dishes, not to mention the water that was used to boil a 3 minute egg.
Simplicity, people; the answers are there already.
When I wash clothes, that water goes on the front lawn.  With a turn of the handle, the rinse water from the wash goes into five-5 gallon buckets that then are used to wash the next load?  Any questions?
Peace,
Jeffrey McMeans





]]> Comment #3 by armerc http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Mon, 09 Jul 2007 16:15:37 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/3 will your house be remodelled when you sell?

Hi!  In a lot of places in California and other expensive real estate markets, people buy houses that they plan to extensively remodel, so it's likely that the nice new toilet you put in will just be pulled out and chucked.  Better to just make your house look clean and nice and let the next owners decide what they want.
But on the 1.6gal toilets, we just got a new one that puts a large volume through very quickly (made by Toto- I don't know if anyone else makes them) and it really works well.  No more having to flush the toilet twice because not everything flushed (yes, having to flush twice kinda negates having a 1.6gal toilet).

]]> will your house be remodelled when you sell?

Hi!  In a lot of places in California and other expensive real estate markets, people buy houses that they plan to extensively remodel, so it's likely that the nice new toilet you put in will just be pulled out and chucked.  Better to just make your house look clean and nice and let the next owners decide what they want.
But on the 1.6gal toilets, we just got a new one that puts a large volume through very quickly (made by Toto- I don't know if anyone else makes them) and it really works well.  No more having to flush the toilet twice because not everything flushed (yes, having to flush twice kinda negates having a 1.6gal toilet).

]]> Comment #4 by Delay And Deny http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Mon, 09 Jul 2007 21:28:49 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/4 10,000 Flushes


I went with "low flow" for a while.

You know what?  I think it's really unsanitary.   All that water is there for a reason -- to clean the  ** off the sides of the bowl.

Take away the water...well, I don't, because it stinks.


]]> 10,000 Flushes


I went with "low flow" for a while.

You know what?  I think it's really unsanitary.   All that water is there for a reason -- to clean the  ** off the sides of the bowl.

Take away the water...well, I don't, because it stinks.


]]> Comment #5 by Birdy100 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:32:59 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/5 1.6 gallon flush toilets.

They don't work well.  My sister has one and couldn't flush clean without doing the procedure more than once or twice, not much savings there.  I found that just holding the lever down until bowl is empty works but have no idea how much water is used in each flush.  I think less than the old fashioned flush toilets.  Some of the problem lies in the shape of the bowl she had installed.  I will be looking for one with a shallower bowl, not so much funnel like.  

]]> 1.6 gallon flush toilets.

They don't work well.  My sister has one and couldn't flush clean without doing the procedure more than once or twice, not much savings there.  I found that just holding the lever down until bowl is empty works but have no idea how much water is used in each flush.  I think less than the old fashioned flush toilets.  Some of the problem lies in the shape of the bowl she had installed.  I will be looking for one with a shallower bowl, not so much funnel like.  

]]> Comment #6 by colwyn http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:00:08 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/6 Choosing an efficient toilet that works

Many of the first 1.6 gallon toilets introduced in the US after they were mandated by the EPA in the early 1990's didn't work very well.  But the technology has come a long way in 15 years and most 1.6 gallon toilets generally now work better than the older, less efficient fixtures they have replaced.  

One of the incentives for manufacturers to improve the performance of the toilets has been effective performance testing funded by water utilities in the US and Canada (including Los Angeles).  The Maximum Performance (MaP) Test has been used to rate almost every make and model of toilet on the North American market, and the results are available on the web at http://www.cuwcc.org/MapTesting.lasso so anyone can choose a toilet that will reliably clear the waste with just one efficient flush.

The MaP test, along with a durability rating system developed in Los Angeles called SPS, has been adopted by the EPA as part of its new Water Sense standard for High Efficiency Toilets (HET's) that use less than 1.3 gallons per flush (this includes dual flush toilets that average less than 1.3 gallons).  Any toilet bearing the Water Sense HET label must be able to reliably flush at least 350 grams (3/4 lb) of solids (soybean paste is used for the test because of its "realistic" properties...).  For toilets at least, it is no longer true that a gain in efficiency comes at a price in performace.

]]> Choosing an efficient toilet that works

Many of the first 1.6 gallon toilets introduced in the US after they were mandated by the EPA in the early 1990's didn't work very well.  But the technology has come a long way in 15 years and most 1.6 gallon toilets generally now work better than the older, less efficient fixtures they have replaced.  

One of the incentives for manufacturers to improve the performance of the toilets has been effective performance testing funded by water utilities in the US and Canada (including Los Angeles).  The Maximum Performance (MaP) Test has been used to rate almost every make and model of toilet on the North American market, and the results are available on the web at http://www.cuwcc.org/MapTesting.lasso so anyone can choose a toilet that will reliably clear the waste with just one efficient flush.

The MaP test, along with a durability rating system developed in Los Angeles called SPS, has been adopted by the EPA as part of its new Water Sense standard for High Efficiency Toilets (HET's) that use less than 1.3 gallons per flush (this includes dual flush toilets that average less than 1.3 gallons).  Any toilet bearing the Water Sense HET label must be able to reliably flush at least 350 grams (3/4 lb) of solids (soybean paste is used for the test because of its "realistic" properties...).  For toilets at least, it is no longer true that a gain in efficiency comes at a price in performace.

]]> Comment #7 by dhwert http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:51:17 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/7 One word

Humanure
http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html
http://www.weblife.org/humanure/



]]> One word

Humanure
http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html
http://www.weblife.org/humanure/



]]> Comment #8 by grygy http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/ Tue, 10 Jul 2007 07:32:00 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/toilets1/8 Choosing efficient toilets

Thanks colwyn, couldn't have said it better.  We are close to finishing a green house on NorCal and used the MaP document (plus plumber's experience) to choose dual-flush Caromas for it.  Aussies have been using them for 10 years, they work. I suspect people who claim low-flush toilets don't work hasn't used a good one like Caroma or Toto.

Of course one can also go the hippy route, but that's hard when family comes round, dual-flush works for even your 90 yr old granny. And do check out the MaP pdf file, it's big but the pictures are worth it...

]]> Choosing efficient toilets

Thanks colwyn, couldn't have said it better.  We are close to finishing a green house on NorCal and used the MaP document (plus plumber's experience) to choose dual-flush Caromas for it.  Aussies have been using them for 10 years, they work. I suspect people who claim low-flush toilets don't work hasn't used a good one like Caroma or Toto.

Of course one can also go the hippy route, but that's hard when family comes round, dual-flush works for even your 90 yr old granny. And do check out the MaP pdf file, it's big but the pictures are worth it...

]]>