Today's Low-flow Toilets Work and Save Water
Provided by: ARA
(ARA) - Water is one of our most vital and precious resources, yet it's being used up at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Americans consume more than 450 billion gallons of water each day.
The majority of water is used for either irrigation or generating power, but an alarming 4 billion gallons are flushed down toilets in the United States every day.
And that water usage figure used to be a lot higher. In 1992 Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which mandated that by 1994, new residential toilets use 1.6 gallons of water per flush, dramatically less than the old standard of 3.5 gallons per flush.
When the first batch of new toilets came off the assembly line, consumers had numerous complaints. They were upset that their new toilets had to be flushed two, sometimes three times to get rid of waste, which defeated the purpose of saving water.
"Today's toilet is nothing short of an engineering marvel when you consider that you still need to effectively flush the same amount of waste with less than half the water," says Kathryn Streeby, product manager of toilets at Kohler Co.
With water conservation top of mind, Kohler just introduced a new toilet and flushing system that uses even less water than 1.6 gallons, and still provides an answer to consumers who have expressed the need for a gravity-fed toilet that effectively removes extra bulk waste without ever plugging.
Streeby says the Cimarron Comfort Height toilet with Class Five technology -- inspired by the raw power of class 5 whitewater rapids -- can save a family of four over 2,000 gallons of water per year over standard 1.6-gallon toilets. The water savings are derived from the new toilet's 1.4-gallon flush setting.
"Even though a smaller amount of water is used, the Cimarron toilet will still flush effectively due to the excellent design of its internal working components, including an industry-leading 3 1/4-inch flush valve and direct-fed jet technology," says Streeby.
When they first came out, low-flow toilets looked alike, but now that technology to make them work effectively has been perfected, engineers are focusing more on design, easy installation and ergonomic factors. With a patented DryLock system, the Cimarron toilet installs much faster and easier without the fear of breaking the vitreous china tank or leaking water onto the bathroom floor. And, as a Comfort Height model, the toilet offers comfortable, chair-height seating for people of all ages and statures. In fact the Cimarron toilet complies with the height requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The new toilet has only been available since January 2004, but is already being requested by numerous plumbers, builders and do-it-yourself homeowners. For more information on Kohler's Cimarron toilet, log onto www.kohler.com/classfive or call (800) 4-KOHLER.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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