Need a New Toilet? What Type Should You Choose?

ToiletWith today’s growing concerns regarding saving water and cutting down on utility costs, more people are directing their attention to their toilet. The toilet accounts for as much as 30% of total household water usage and as such, should be a primary concern to cut down on your water wastage. However, the toilet isn’t exactly most people area of expertise when it comes to choosing the right design for your needs. Here is a breakdown of the most common types of toilets, and their functions.

1. Gravity – The vast majority, as much as 99% of household toilets are of the gravity type. Since the inception of 6-litre toilets, gravity type flushing action has been vastly improved. A gravity bowl works on siphoning action, pulling water from the bowl and with today’s design technology, 6-litre gravity toilets actually outperform old large volume toilets.
2. Vacuum-assist – Unlike gravity toilets, vacuum-assist toilets have a mechanism that creates a small vacuum in the trap to aid in the flushing water from the bowl. The fill valve and early closing flappers are identical to gravity type toilets.
3. Pressure-assist – This toilet design doesn’t use a traditional flapper mechanism, instead there is a vessel inside the toilet tank that traps air. The tank fills with water and uses the pressure from the water line to compress the trapped air. This compressed air is released and instead of a siphoning action sucking water from the bowl, you have a pressurized “push”, clearing waste from the bowl. These toilets are much louder than gravity type and vacuum-assist toilets, they are also more expensive and can usually be found in commercial buildings and institutions. Read the rest of this entry »

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5 Reasons Why a Professional Composting Toilet is Better Than a Sawdust Toilet

ToiletSawdust toilets have captivated the interest of the extreme green movement. They are sometimes presented as one of the best waste management options and as a far better alternative than expensive, professionally manufactured composting toilets. In this article, we’ll discuss the top five reasons why we feel a professional composting toilet is a better solution than a sawdust toilet.

1. Sawdust toilets require an enormous amount of physical labor. A bucket full of waste can easily weigh 50 pounds or more, and a family of four will likely fill a bucket every one or two days. That’s a lot of carrying, emptying, and cleaning of buckets! Not many busy families have the time or desire to add this chore to their to do lists.

2. Once all those full buckets are hauled outside, they have to be dumped somewhere. Effective management of a bucket system requires a large amount of land, not only ground space for dumping, but also distance from your home. Why do you need distance? This brings us to our third disadvantage of sawdust toilets…

3. Odor! While it’s true that the sawdust layers prevent the majority of odor indoors, you don’t get that same benefit once the buckets are dumped outside. What you will end up with is a large stinking pile of anaerobic mess that will have to be caged off with chicken wire just to keep animals and other pests out. This clearly makes the sawdust toilet system a totally unfeasible option for urban or suburban dwellers that have small outdoor areas and live in close proximity to their neighbors. Read the rest of this entry »

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7 Tips for Buying a New Toilet

ToiletIt’s easy to get excited about designer sinks, clawfoot tubs, and steam showers when you’re redesigning your bathroom. Most contractors and homeowners pay a great deal of attention to these fixtures: their design can make a big difference in function, and extras can give your bathroom a feeling of luxury.

But even though it’s the most often-used fixture in the bathroom, most redesigners don’t give a lot of thought to one feature: the humble toilet. The one you choose can make a difference, however. Read on for seven things to consider when buying a new toilet.

One-piece vs. two-piece. Most toilets come in two different designs: the one-piece and the two-piece, or close-coupled toilet. Close-coupled toilets are the most common, and tend to be the cheaper type. These employ an attached but separate tank and bowl. One-piece toilets have a tank built into the back of the bowl. These tend to be easier to clean, because there’s no small gap between the tank and the bowl. However, they’re usually more expensive. One-piece models have a lower profile than close-coupled toilets, and some redesigners like the more compact profile.

Seat shape and size. Toilet bowls come in either round or elongated models. Elongated seats are generally about two inches longer, and provide a bit more surface area–making the toilet a bit more comfortable than the round variety. Round toilets are smaller, and better for tight spaces. If you have the space for it, however, you may appreciate the comfort of an elongated bowl.

The flush system. Most toilets operate on a gravity flush system. These rely on the pressure of water in the tank as well as the weight of the water in the bowl to force water and waste into the pipes. Old-fashioned toilets with wall-mounted tanks relied on the height of the tank to increase the head pressure. Gravity-flush toilets are the most common and least expensive type. Read the rest of this entry »

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