TIPS & HINTS
The kitchen and bath professionals at Cabinets Plus would like to share some product tips and hints that we have learned during our many years of kitchen and bath experience.
Water-Saving Toilets
Every toilet sold today is designed to save water with each flush. This trend started in California where water is scarce and was made law across the nation in 1994. If your toilet was manufactured in the 70's, one flush could use 5-7 gallons of water. In the 80's the industry standard was 3.5 gallons. The "low flow" law of 1994 required that all toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush.
Unfortunately, engineering for low consumption toilets is just now coming into its own. We very rarely receive complaints about today's toilets not clearing the bowl. In fact some new toilets have 2 buttons for flushing. One for liquid waste that uses about 1 gallon of water and one for solid waste using 1.6 gallons.
If you bought a toilet in the mid to late 90's it may not work as well as you would like. To get the most out of your existing toilet, hold down the trip lever for a few seconds while you flush. This sometimes keeps the flapper open slightly longer and allows every bit of the 1.6 gallons to be used. Keep in mind that although you sometimes need to flush twice, you are still saving water over the long haul.
Finally, if you want to replace your toilet make sure your plumber uses a quality brand. American Standard, Kohler and Toto have good reputations in the plumbing world. Today you can purchase "adult" or "comfort" height toilets that are about 2 inches taller than normal. These fixtures are a must for the master bath. There are even toilets available with heated seats!