Sunday, November 11, 2012

Toilet Handle Redux

Old Gold, and his flapper friend.
I know everyone is champing at the bit for another blog about the flush handle on our toilet, so I decided it was time to deliver.
This post is actually somewhat interesting; I promise.

We got our first water bill and were shocked to learn we used over 14,000 gallons of water in the last 50 days.  I am pretty sure 90% of that goes to watering the lawns, but I decided I should try to conserve a little more in the house.

As anyone knows who has showered at the house, there are no gains to be made there.  We also have a super efficient washing machine, so the biggest target is the toilet, especially since Chrissy doesn't agree with my philosophy that it is alright to go seven days without flushing if there is just pee in there.

Anyway, we got an adapter that lets you select between two flush volumes.  There's a little flush for "liquid waste" and a full flush for when you've got a full load to dispose of.

The best part is, the handle replaces the tacky gold one in the guest bathroom.  I started with one, and if all goes well, I will retrofit the master bath soon.  So far, everything is working well, and the new handle looks much better.

If you're considering doing this, I recommend you inspect your fill valve before beginning.  If it's fine, don't bother buying a kit that includes a new fill valve.  They try to bundle that with the dual flush unit and say how they work together to save water, but there is usually no need for it.  Save your money and just get the flushing unit.


This is the unit I got:  http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202267979/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=dual+flush&storeId=10051

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