Archive for Saving Water
Water-Saving Toilets: New Hands-Free Dual Flush Toilet
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There is no question that dual flush toilets are a simple and increasingly popular way to reduce water use at home. Now, thanks to a recent innovation from American Standard, a new line of hands-free, dual flush toilet valves are bringing the same water-saving technology to commercial applications.
How does it work? The new Selectronic dual flush toilet valve releases a light flush, or 1.1 gallons per flush (gpf), when motion is detected for less than 60 seconds. A standard 1.6 gpf volume is used when motion is detected for 60 seconds or longer.
All in all, the Professor is impressed by the ingenuity of this new line of commercial flush valves, which require 20 percent less water than standard toilets. The valves were designed to work perfectly as a retrofit for use with existing plumbing, so it’s easy for commercial facilities to make this water conservation-friendly upgrade. Here’s to an eco-friendly and very high tech future!
Saving Water Without Sacrifice: Nature Conservancy Interview, Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsEarlier this week, the Professor posted video clips from a recent interview with Brian Richter, the Director of the Global Freshwater Program at the Nature Conservancy. Just in time for Earth Day, here are the remaining segments of the interview.
In this clip Brian discusses rates of water use on a national level and both he and the Professor share their recommendations for how to save water at home without sacrificing performance or style.
Next, Brian talks about how his interest in water conservation developed on a personal and professional level.
Brian concludes by sharing 3 sensible tips for saving water around your home and explains the connection between saving water and saving electricity. He and the Professor talk about replacing toilets, faucets, and showerheads and agree that most modern water-saving products are designed to be easy to install without the help of a professional.
The Professor would like to thank Brian Richter for sharing his knowledge and insights, and sends Earth Day wishes to everyone at the Nature Conservancy.
Saving Water Without Sacrifice: Flowise Showerheads
Posted by: | CommentsLow-flow shower heads are great at conserving water but often don’t deliver the most invigorating spray. The line of FloWise water-saving showerheads from American Standard aim to change that with their superior turbine technology. Find out how it works here:
Water Conservation: Earth Day Interview with the Nature Conservancy
Posted by: | CommentsThe Professor frequently writes about the importance of saving water at home, so it was a real treat to interview Brian Richter, Director of the Global Freshwater Program at the Nature Conservancy. Segments of video from the interview will be posted over the course of this week, but the first two clips are already online for your viewing pleasure. In these clips, Brian talks about why water conservation is such an urgent and important issue, and about the challenges we face as the earth’s population continues to increase while groundwater levels drop.
Earth Day is on Friday, so why not celebrate by incorporating new ways to conserve water into your routine? From installing water efficient products to trying out new water saving tips around your house, a few small steps can do a world of good.
Update 4/22: Part 2 is now up. Click here to view it.
High Efficiency Toilet Donation Solves a Unique Plumbing Challenge
Posted by: | CommentsThe Professor always enjoys seeing a big company do positive community work, so it was very pleasing to hear that American Standard recently donated six new toilets to a Plano, Texas-based charity called My Possibilities that offers a year-long educational program for adults with disabilities like autism, Down Syndrome, Aspergers, and Prader-Willi who have “aged out” of the public school system. My Possibilities offers programs designed to help them build independence and pre-vocational skills in a safe and nurturing environment – a meaningful and necessary service for any community.
The staff at My Possibilities knew they were in serious need of a plumbing upgrade and were hoping to replace their existing toilets with high-performance toilets that used only 1.28 gallons of water per flush to help reduce water use at the school. American Standard was happy to assist them and promptly donated six Cadet 3 FloWise High-Efficiency toilets (HETs). The donated toilets featured an EverClean finish to help keep the toilets cleaner, and were also “Right Height” toilets, so their taller height made them more comfortable and easy to use. Right Height fixtures are ADA-compliant, another reason why that size was chosen for this particular donation.
The Professor was lucky enough to speak with some of the staff at My Possibilities about this toilet donation. Finance Manager Robin LeoGrande explained that toilet performance was a special concern of theirs, as the number of foreign objects that make their way into the center’s toilets is often considerable. In a conversation a few weeks after the donation, Board Member Charmaine Solomon said the new toilets were “a hit and an absolute godsend solution to a frequent problem that we have been experiencing.” She also confirmed that since the installation they had experienced no blockages or overflowing, both of which had been a regular occurrence with their old toilets.
Plumbing problems can become a serious and unfortunate distraction, as the Professor well knows. It is good to hear that the staff at My Possibilities can now remain focused on their excellent programs instead of constantly running for a plunger.
Home Remodeling Goes Green and BLUE
Posted by: | CommentsAmerican spending on home remodeling projects has been rising in recent months, and the Professor notes that many savvy homeowners are taking advantage of these opportunities to incorporate energy and water-saving changes into their plans. Greening your home in this way is not only great for the environment, but will save you money in the long run, too.
The December issue Kiplinger’s Personal Finance featured a selection of product reviews to help consumers get the most bang for their buck from these upgrades, and on the top of their list was installing American Standard’s Cadet 3 toilet in your bathroom. Kiplinger’s notes that for each member of your household, the toilet will save 4,000 gallons of water and $25 annually.
In addition to these projected water savings, the Professor especially appreciates the consideration that Kiplinger’s gave to product quality in their recommendation. Many low-flow toilets lack the flushing power to thoroughly clean the bowl after every flush, making frequent plunging and double-flushing necessary. And if you are constantly having to double-flush your toilet, you are also flushing away most of your water savings at the same time. American Standard’s impressive flushing demonstration video for the Cadet 3 proves that concern isn’t an issue with this toilet.
To find out how much water and money you can save by installing the Cadet 3 and lots of other water-saving plumbing fixtures, the Professor also recommends that you check out the Responsible Bathroom‘s water-saving calculator.
Dual-Flush Retrofit Kits: Do Their Claims Hold Water?
Posted by: | CommentsThe recent popularity of water saving, dual-flush toilets has inspired several models of “retrofit” kits, which purport to be able to convert standard toilets (which can use up to 5 gallons of water per flush) to dual-flush by allowing homeowners to choose between a full flush or a half flush, meant to handle liquids only. The desire to conserve water is always a good thing, but the Professor couldn’t help wondering if the claims made by the manufacturers hold water or if consumers would end up flushing their money – not to mention their water savings – down the dual-flush toilet.
After doing some research into the matter, the Professor is not particularly optimistic about these devices. There is currently no independent evidence that these retrofit kits will actually save any water and they may even end up wasting more water than a standard toilet. The main issue is that removing and replacing an original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) flush valve with an after-market product changes the full flush characteristics of the toilet fixture. The full removal of the contents of the bowl is dependent upon delivery of the right amount of water at the correct rate. Changing either of these factors can adversely affect flush performance, which may increase the need for double flushing, thereby increasing water use.
If dual-flush retrofit valves were performance tested with each model of the gravity-fed toilet into which they would be installed, this wouldn’t be an issue. But because such extensive testing would be expensive and largely impractical, it generally isn’t done for dual-flush kits
The Professor also notes that the half-volume flush is particularly vulnerable to providing an unsatisfactory flush because there may not be a complete exchange of water in the bowl. This makes it particularly likely that waste – and toilet paper especially – will remain in the bowl and require a second or even a third flush, completely negating any expected water savings.
The moral of the story: invest in a real, WaterSense-certified dual-flush toilet! They may cost more than a retrofit kit but they can produce real water savings, and will save you money in the long run.
Dual Flush Toilets Make it Big in the Big Apple
Posted by: | CommentsGreat news out of New York City, where the City Council just passed a bill aimed at improving water efficiency in the five boroughs. One provision of the bill, which is expected to save a whopping 1 billion gallons of water per year, has the Professor especially excited: all homes and apartments that are being built new or remodeled would be required to install dual flush toilets.
A recent post on Gothamist, the ultimate NYC Blog, celebrates the announcement by posting one of the ever-entertaining videos of a flushing demonstration of the H2Option from American Standard.
The Professor offers a tip o’the hat to the City Council for taking this bold action to improve water efficiency in New York, and hopes that all NYC residents enjoy the dual flushes in their future!
Elect to Save Water
Posted by: | CommentsProfessor Toilet was pleased to see conservation on the mind of Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn last month, when he announced a special one-day rebate to help residents purchase energy-efficient appliances. While visiting a Home Depot in Chicago, the Governor was introduced to high efficiency toilets (HETs) by Steven Henley of E.A. Langenfeld Associates.
Watching a flushing demonstration of a Cadet® 3 FloWise® toilet, Governor Quinn was pleased to learn that in addition to using 20 percent less water than a standard 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) toilet, there is little likelihood of fillerbusting.
In fact, no matter how thick the partisan politics become, there are few parliamentary procedures capable of blocking an HET from its intended goal. These top-rated WaterSense®-listed flushing platforms are capable of flushing more than 2.2 pounds of solids without double flushing or clogging.
As millions of American head to the polls in November, keep in mind that American Standard is known for keeping its campaign promises.
Yurt Sweet Yurt: An Eco-Friendly, Water-Efficient Life in Western Montana
Posted by: | CommentsEco-friendly plumbing fixtures are often found in really interesting and unique eco-friendly homes. The Professor recently had the opportunity to chat with Patty Woodland, who lives in a newly-built yurt in Western Montana, about how her WaterSense-certified faucets and toilet fit into her green lifestyle. In the interview below Patty discusses her experiences as a part-time goatherd, soap maker and jewelry designer and also tells us what steps she took to make her home an earth-friendly space.
1. What is a yurt?
According to the dictionary, a yurt is: a circular tent consisting of a framework of poles covered with felt or skins, used by Mongolian and Turkic nomads of E and central Asia. But MY yurt is more permanent. It is a kit house my husband found and it arrived on two flatbed trailers. It consists of 36, 4′ panels with a 6′ skylight at the center. The ceiling is 18′ high and pie shaped paneled wood sections. The interior walls go up 9′ so it is very open and airy. We wanted a unique home with lots of windows to take advantage of the beautiful view we have of the Clark Fork River and this fits the bill.
2. Why did you choose to live in a yurt?
Yurts are very energy efficient structures. They also stand up well to high winds – which we see in our spring storm season. My husband was intrigued with the idea and once he gets an idea in his head there is no stopping him. Additionally, the price per square foot for the kit was quite affordable and we could design the interior to our needs.
3. What other funny-sounding names do you have in your life? 
I have a small herd of dairy goats that I have named after family and friends. There is this one very stubborn goat named Nora. The head goat is Pricilla and she is the SpokesGoat for Happy Goat Soap, a small business I run using the excess milk from my little herd. She takes her duties very seriously; she blogs! She posts every day to The Maaaaa of Pricilla telling tales of her life on the Happy Goats Farm with all of the goats; Abby, Mallory, Sarah, Stubborn Nora, Luke, Little Lew and Little Timmy (the new kids on the Farm). She also sometimes mentions the Farm cats Stinky, Pumpkin and Sherpa.
4. What are the eco-friendly choices you made in your yurt?
We are trying to make all of our choices as green as possible! Our flooring is bamboo and Marmoleum. Marmoleum is green alternative to linoleum made of linseed oil and jute. We used low VOC paint on the walls and will use it on the trim – whenever the trim gets added. All of the light fixtures and appliances are Energy Star rated. Our toilet and bathroom faucets are water conserving since we live in an area of the country where water use is a big concern. The windows are Low E and we added an overhang to the roof so as to keep the house cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. We also added additional windows for passive solar heating. We insulated the basement with ICF so that it helps to again keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Our woodstove meets the highest standards for emissions as set by the EPA. My countertop is a recycled quartz called Caesarstone.
5. What are the eco-friendly choices you declined due to budget?
I had fallen in love with artisan made cabinets made from larch grown here in Montana but the cost was just too great. I am very happy with the cherry cabinets I did get, and the company is part of a green network, but it would have been nice to have them crafted locally. My cabinets are all hardwood and again, due to costs I only have base cabinets. The plans called for additional base and wall cabinets and more countertop. I opted to put in two sets of steel shelving. They compliment the open feel of the yurt and will provide plenty of additional storage and display space for my canning jars and pantry items. We also want to add solar hot water and electric but it will have to wait until we can save the money.
6. You live far more vibrantly than the Professor, great richness of color in your rooms. Does the Professor note a well-trained eye for art and artistic expression?
I don’t know about well-trained but my mother was an artist and I think I may have inherited her sense of color. I came late in life to a talent for making jewelry. I love pairing different gemstones and I sell my creations at Broken Teepee Designs. Why live in a beige house when you can have a cherry red kitchen, a yellow bedroom and a raspberry bathroom? If one is not comfortable picking out bold colors there are designers that are more than happy to help. And I know that not everyone wants to live in a house full of bold colors but try adding a touch of red or pinch of purple. It will make you days in your house happy.
7. Does your American Standard FloWise toilet flush well? Does it flush powerfully?
Oh yes! I am very happy with the high-efficiency toilet; especially with the fact that it uses so little water!
