Let's Talk Toilets!

It is interesting that with all the bath remodeling going on, rarely do we think about updating our toilets. With all the talk about water conservation and energy conservation, the toilet seems to be pretty much ignored in all of this.  But that old toilet is not only wasting water resources, it is costing you money!  But why replace a toilet when it is working just fine?

Studies indicate that toilets use approximately 45% of water used in the home.  If a homeowner can cut the toilet water use in half, what type of savings may be realized.  Here is a example from personal experience.  I replaced a old, likely original toilet in a older home that had a tank capacity of 4 gallons.  I replaced it with a 1.3 gallon per flush.  Now I understand that sometimes a 1.3 gallon per flush system may take more that one flush to do the job the 4 gallon did in one flush.  So lets say the new toilet was twice as efficient as the old one, or uses half the water of the old one. That takes the 45% of water used for the toilet down to 22.5%.  My water bill from the City of Grand Rapids water department averaged $140 per 3 month cycle.  However, not all the $140 was water usage. In the $140 were base fees, sewer fees etc.  The water and sewer charges came to $68.74. However, if you lower your water fees your sewer fees are reduced likewise.  So 45% of that amount was $30.93.  Now if I take half of that amount for the new toilet, that means a savings of $15.47 per 3 monhts of service. (or $61.88 per year)

The toilet I selected was $129, with tax and also a new wax ring the total came to $147.34. 
Taking the savings per year into the total cost came to a pay back of approx. 2 years and 4 months.
After that, its all $$$ in your pocket.  Additionally, the new toilet looks better, is quieter, easier to clean, and takes less space.

So consider replacing the old toilet with a new high efficiency one and save your money and our water resources.