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<br />@ <br />23. MAKE IT A <br />ROYAL FLUSH <br /> <br />40% of the pure water 'JOU use in 'JOUT house is <br />flushed down the coilet. <br /> <br />B ACKGROUND. Your toilet probably uses more water <br />than necessary. But with a one-time, ten-minute invest- <br />ment, you can save water every time you flush. <br /> <br />TOILET TALK <br />· Each time your toilet is flushed, it uses 5 to 7 gallons of water. <br />But if you've got a toilet tank, you can easily cut that amount by <br />15% to 40% <br /> <br />· The cheapest and simplest way: install a "displacement de- <br />vice," which reduces the amount of water your tank will hold. <br /> <br />· A displacement device can cut your annual wat~r use by thou- <br />sands of gallons--and you'll never notice it's there. <br /> <br />· Don't use a brick as a displacement device. Small pieces can <br />breakoff and damage your plumbing system. <br /> <br />SIMPLE THINGS TO 00 <br />Put a Plastic Bottle In Your Toilet Tank: <br />· Small juice bottles. dishwashing soap bottles, or laundry soap <br />bottles work well. <br />· Soak off the label. fill the bottle with water. put on the cap, and <br />place it in the tank. To weight it down, you can put a few stones in <br />the bottom of the bottle. <br />· Be careful that the bottle doesn't interfere with the flushing <br />mechanism. <br />. You may need to experiment with bottle sizes. Different toilets <br />need different amounts of water to maintain proper pressure for an <br />effective flush. <br />Satring,$: 1-2 gallons per flush. <br /> <br />48 <br /> <br />Leaves alone can account for 75% of the solid waste stream in the autumn. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />@ <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />...Or Put a Displacement Bag in Your Tank: <br />· These bags are specifically designed to displace toilet tank water. <br />You just fill one with water and hang it on the inside of the tank. <br />· It may take some experimenting to figure out how full to fill it. <br />Again, the amount of water you can displace without affecting per- <br />formance depends on the toilet. <br />· They're available free from some utiliti~r at plumbing supply <br />and hardware stores (they're cheap). <br />Sawng,$: 1-2 gallons peT flush. <br /> <br />...Or Install Toilet Dams: <br />· These devices artificially make your tank smaller. They're "plas- <br />tic barriers that isolate part of the tank so that the water in this sec- <br />tion does not run out with the flush." <br />· Each dam can hold back one gallon. Two dams can be installed <br />in one toilet. <br />· Installation is fairly simple; the dams' come "Yith do-it-yourself in- <br />structions. They're available at hardware and plumbing stores. . <br />Satrings: One gallon peT toilet dam. <br /> <br />RESULTS <br />Even with a plastic bottle. you save lots of water. If the average toi- <br />let is flushed about 8 times a day, that means a savings of 8-16 gal- <br />lons every day...56-112 gallons a week...2,900-5,8oo gallons a <br />year. If only 10,000 people were to install the simplest displace- <br />ment device, that would equal a savings of 29 million to 58 million <br />gallons a year! And if 100.000 people did it...well, use your imagi- <br />nation. <br /> <br />IF YOU'RE BUYING A NEW TOILET <br />According to Home Energy magazine: "The newest development in <br />human waste disposal is the 'ultra low-flush' toilet, which empties <br />the bowl with 1/2- 1/1/2 gallons of pressurized water and, in some <br />cases, compressed air, rather than a larger volume of water at at- <br />mospheric pressure. It utilizes the water pressure in the house pipes. <br />While a conventional toilet lets water fill the tank and lose pres- <br />sure. the ULF keeps it trapped at the high-line pressure until it <br />squirts into the bowl." Check with local plumbing supply stores <br />for info. <br /> <br />49 <br />Every 3 months. the U.S. throws away enough aluminum to rebuild our commercial airfleet <br />