Photo by mrwynd, acquired via Flickr.com

Flush Much? Low-flow Toilets Can Save You a Fortune!

Posted November 26th, 2014 under renovations and repairs, money matters.

If you live in an older home and have never replaced your toilets, chances are that they are real water-guzzlers.

The Ontario Building Code has required efficient toilets in new buildings since 1996, but a toilet can easily go 20 years without needing to be replaced, so it's common to find inefficient toilets in older homes.

The question is, when should you replace them?

Let's Do Some Math

An typical early-90's toilet uses about 13L per flush (though some use 20L or more!). A modern toilet uses 4.8L per flush. That's a water savings of more than 60%!

In a typical household, flushing the toilet accounts for 30% of the water bill. That means upgrading your toilets could save you as much as 18% of your water bill.

For the average household, that bill is about $600, which means the savings are about $110 each year.

A typical toilet costs $200-$300 (though you can easily spend more if you don't want to save as much money), so it will pay for itself in only a few years. Over the remaining lifetime of the toilet you'll likely save more than $2000.

And that's for each toilet!

Clearly, it makes financial sense to replace your old toilets immediately.

Two Types Available

When you go to look for a new toilet, you'll find there are two types available: pressure-assisted and gravity-fed.

Pressure-assisted toilets use the water pressure in the supply pipes to pressurize air in a sealed container inside the toilet tank. When you flush, the air pushes the water with greater force.

Pressure-assisted toilets are noisier, but use less water. They typically cost more.

Gravity-fed toilets come in single-flush and dual-flush. Dual-flush toilets offer two separate flushes, one for liquids and one for solids. The liquid flush uses even less water and may offer additional savings.

If you decide to upgrade, either type is a good choice.

Want to know more about renovations that cut your utility bills? Just ask me, I'll be happy to help.