Home Improvement Saturday: Toilet Water Reduction

An old Nalgene bottle is used to reduce water usage

Want a quick way to save water in your household that won’t cost you a dime?

If your house was constructed before 1994, chances are that it uses an older toilet, that can use over 3.5 gallons per flush. Over the course of a year, a single household will waste thousands of gallons of water because of these inefficient toilets.

To reduce the water your toilet uses, you will need

• A used 20 oz water bottle or similar container.

To reduce the amount of water your toilet uses, open the tank of the toilet by lifting the lid. Inside the tank will be empty space on the opposite side of the flush handle. Fill up a used water bottle or container with water and put the water bottle in your toilet tank. You many need to put sand or rocks inside the water bottle so that it sits in the tank and doesn’t float.  You can then replace the tank lid.

Now test the toilet to make sure that it flushes properly.

That’s it. Each flush now will use approximately 20 ounces less of water.

Tip: I found that this project was a good use for an old Nalgene water bottle that was made with BPA plastic.

If you are remodeling or considering replacing your toilets, it’s good to know that most modern toilets use about 1.6 gallons of water per flush, less than 50% of the older models.  Since toilets can be nearly a third of household water usage, the average homeowner could reduce their water bill by 15%   by replacing their toilets.

For more information on high efficiency toilets, check out the EPA’s WaterSense page.