Archive for Clogged Toilets
The Day Bad Flushing Began
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The Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated that all toilets sold in the United States effective January 1, 1994 could flush with no more than 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf). Unfortunately, science had not quite caught up to our politicians, Professor Toilet says sarcastically. And the season of bad flushing had begun.
Humorist Dave Barry told MSNBC that “blowing the lid off that story” got one of strongest reaction of all the columns he’s ever written.
The objective was water conservation, but the result was anything but. Using less water in toilets engineered to flush 3.5 gallons or more only meant double flushing or more, wasting far more water than the old toilets ever used.
Fortunately, science prevailed–even over Congress. Read more from the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute about the difference between water conservation and water efficiency.
Flushology: 1,000 Grams Equals?
Posted by: | CommentsThe best flushing toilets have been independently tested to take down 1,000 grams of solid waste on just 1.6 gallons of water.
How much is 1,000 grams? It is equal to 2.2 pounds.
How much is 2.2 pounds? It is equal to:
* Two 16 oz steaks
* Eight quarter-pound hamburgers
* 66.6 chicken nuggets
* The difference between zipping your jeans standing up and lying down
* Probably more than your current toilet can flush without clogging
* Way more than you will ever “output” in a single visit to the toilet, no matter what you did last night
The test is called Maximum Performance Testing or the MaP test. Download a free copy of the latest MaP test from by John Koehler and Veritec Consulting and see how many grams your toilet can flush cleanly and completely.
14th Edition Maximum Performance (MaP) Test Report Available
Posted by: | CommentsMaximum Performance Testing (MaP) is an independent report of toilet flushing performance developed by John Koehler and Veritec Consulting.
Scores are a general barometer of a toilet’s ability to remove bulk media. You can figure out what “bulk media” means. The MaP test protocol was designed to closely replicate “real world demand,” incorporating soybean paste as a test media and measuring how many grams can be flushed up to 1,000 grams or 2.2 pounds.
If you think that’s a tasteless mental image, you are correct. It’s supposed to be. With apologies to the geniuses in marketing, we haven’t seen one real world case of anyone passing golf balls.
The EPA requires that WaterSense labeled toilets be able to flush a minimum of 350 grams in the MaP test. The top-rated toilets can flush at least 1,000 grams at one time (a real world test you really don’t want–that’s more than two pounds. At present, MaP test is the main, if not only, independently recognized test designed to gauge this rather important parameter.
First published in 2003, the 14th edition is available free-of charge on the websites of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA), the California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC), and Veritec Consulting Inc.
