The benefits of low flow toilets

Prime among the many benefits of low flow toilets is water conservation. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how does a toilet work, but the concept of low flush toilets has given rise to many design changes and innovations, such as pressurised air in toilet tanks and dual-flush valves. Even toilet bowls and toilet pans have undergone design changes as a result.

Water conservation

The main reason that low flush toilets came into existence is because of concerns over water conservation. It began in the early 90s, when environment concerns made their way into energy laws in the US and EU. The standard for the WC before that was a 13.2 litres (3.5 gallons) for every flush. On the other hand, the standard for a low flow toilet is 6 litres (1.6 gallons) per flush. There's no mistaken the huge cutback in water usage in the past two decades that can be directly attributed to the use of low flow toilets.

Choice

The early resistance to the idea was just as huge. Consumers complained about improper flushing and clogged toilets and drains. The toilet makers were just as stubborn and dug their heels in, refusing to change the toilet bowls and toilet tanks to make low flush toilets work properly. However, what has kept the concept alive is the availability of choice. People can choose to have either or both flushes. Flush valves and dual flush toilets now allow people to use both, depending on what needs to be flushed.

Easy retrofitting

For those who want to make the move to dual flush toilets, the easy installation makes retrofitting a hassle-free and affordable change. There are conversion kits available, sold by companies like Select a Flush (Dualflushkit.com). The customer doesn't need to buy a whole new toilet, and a few small changes and additions can make the toilet a dual flush one.

New designs

Given the early resistance to reducing water usage in the toilet, conservationists and toilet manufacturers were forced to innovate and come up with new designs. This has led to the use of electric pump powered toilets where air pressure is built up in the toilet tank to force the water down at high pressures. There have also been changes made to the trapways which have got less convoluted, and to the flush valve size, which has got bigger.