from CMHC website
In your home the toilet uses the most
water — accounting for approximately
30 per cent of indoor water use.
Prior to 1980 many toilets flushed with 20 litres
of water. Then the 13-litre or “water saver” toilets became
available in the early 1990s. They are still available in the
marketplace. In 1996, the Ontario Building Code introduced
legislation requiring 6-litre toilets for all new homes.
Currently, no other province or territory has this legislation
but some municipalities, such as Vancouver, have their own
6-litre bylaws. Six-litre toilets are often referred to as
ultra-low-flush (ULF) toilets.
While many first generation 6-litre toilets did not perform
well — today’s 6-litre toilets have been
re-engineered to flush in many cases, better than their
13-litre counterparts. Typically, toilets found in the
Canadian market place have been tested by the Canadian
Standards Association or an equivalent lab. A list of
high-performing toilets can be found in the CMHC partnered
study “Maximum Performance Testing of Popular Water-Efficient
Toilet Models (MaP)”. The full report can be found at .
Cost and
Performance
Most manufacturers produce a range of toilets to suit
tastes, style, and colour.
Toilets come in a range of prices from $100 to
$1,000 but price does not necessarily mean better water
savings or improved performance.
The Most
Common Types of 6-Litre Toilets
- Gravity — 99 per cent of
residential toilets are gravity type. Six-litre gravity-type
toilets have a re-designed bowl to enhance the siphoning
action, which pulls the water out of the bowl. It eliminates
the need for a higher volume of water since it doesn't rely
just on gravity to create the flush.
- Vacuum-assist
— These toilets have a mechanism
within the tank that creates a small vacuum in the trapway
to aid in the normal flush action of the toilet. These types
of toilets use the same kind of early closing flush and fill
valves that gravity flush toilets use.
- Pressure-assist — These
flapperless toilets use pressure instead of gravity to
create a more forceful flush. Pressure-assist toilets are
similar in action to the flush valve operated toilets
commonly found in institutional and commercial buildings.
They are not as quiet as the gravity toilet. The toilet
utilizes a vessel inside the tank that traps air. As it
fills with water, it uses the water supply line pressure to
compress the trapped air inside. The compressed air is what
forces the water into the bowl, so instead of the "pulling"
or siphoning action of the gravity unit, the pressure-assist
unit "pushes" waste out.
- Tip Bucket — The tip-bucket
technology uses a bucket located at the top of the toilet
tank. This bucket fills up with water, when the lever is
activated. The bucket then tips the water into the tank
where it drains into the bowl. An advantage of the
tip-bucket technology is that there are no flappers to leak
or to be replaced. By incorporating an adjustable tank, this
toilet can be used for 10-inch or 12-inch rough-in (distance
from the bolts on the base of the toilet to the wall behind
the toilet).
- Dual flush — Dual-flush
toilets permit the user to flush with a 3-litre flush for
liquid waste and the regular 6-litre flush for solid waste
thereby saving even more water. While this technology is
relatively new to North America it has been mandated in
Australia for many years.
Toilet
Lining/Insulation
Toilet tanks are prone to “sweating” when the weather is
hot and humid, often resulting in a puddle of water behind
your toilet. This is not a leak. As the cold water refills the
tank after a flush, the tank surface becomes cooler. The
sweating is caused when the humidity in the air condenses on
these cold surfaces. This sweating tends not to be as much of
a problem if the house has air conditioning.
Some tanks are insulated to prevent sweating. Many 6-litre
tanks are not insulated, which is not necessarily a problem.
They discharge only about half of the water into the tank. The
cold water refilling the tank is somewhat diluted by the
warmer water that remains in the tanks and therefore there is
less chance of sweating.
Replacing
Your Toilet?
If you do not intend to make changes to the bathroom floor,
or repaint the walls, then you need to consider:
Tank Size
Many 6-litre tanks are smaller and may not cover the same
wall area as your previous toilet. If the wall behind your
toilet is unfinished, you should measure the tank size prior
to shopping for a new one.
Water Savings
Whether you are on a well or on municipal water, water
savings can lessen the impact you make on the environment and
reduce your water or hydro (for your pump) bills, and if
applicable will help extend the life of your well.
The amount of water you save will depend on:
(a) The flush volume of the existing toilet; and
(b) How often the toilet is flushed.
For example, if you are replacing a toilet that flushes
with 18 litres with a 6-litre model, and the toilet is
used 10 times per day, you would expect a savings of
120 litres per day. For example,
(18 litres/flush – 6 litres/flush) x 10 flushes/day
= 120 litres/day.
Additional water economy can be achieved by installing a
dual flush toilet. Field studies have shown that dual flush
toilets can save approximately 25 per cent more water
than a conventional 6-litre toilet.
Toilet Installation
Replacing an existing toilet tank with only a new 6-litre
tank is not recommended as the bowl has not been redesigned to
accommodate less water. In other words it is advisable to
replace the whole toilet unit.
Toilets with larger tanks may flush with larger volumes of
water, if the proprietary flapper (specific to the toilet
model) is replaced with a non-proprietary flapper. This means
a loss in water savings.
Will the Toilet Fit the Existing Hole and
Cut-Away in the Floor?
The toilet footprint is the space that the toilet pedestal
takes up on the floor. If you choose a new toilet that has a
smaller footprint than your existing one, you may need to
refinish around the base of the new toilet. You'll avoid this
work if you choose a toilet that has a similar or larger
footprint size than the one you are replacing. Measure the
footprint of your existing toilet at its widest and longest
point.
Toilet Rough-In
Typically 95 per cent or more of new rough-ins are
12 inch. This means the centre of the drainpipe is
12 inches from the wall. There are 10 and 14-inch
rough-ins available on the market, so be sure to check first.
Find your toilet's rough-in size by measuring the distance
from the bolts on the base of the toilet to the wall behind
the toilet (usually about 12 inches). If there are two
sets of bolts, measure from the ones closest to the wall.
Flappers and Chains
There are three types of flappers generally used in
residential homes: standard air bleed/baffle and adjustable
float.
Adjustable float and air bleed flappers are proprietary or
specific to the model of toilet. Using the wrong flapper in a
toilet will change the flush volume of the toilet. This causes
the toilet to flush with a greater volume of water which means
little or no water savings. Typically, the flapper should be
replaced every five years. Ensure that a proprietary
replacement flapper is readily available, or consider
purchasing a toilet with a standard flapper.
Chain Material — The chain connects
the flapper to the toilet flush lever. Chains are available in
a variety of materials. Some tests have shown that rubber
chains can close prematurely or stay open longer than
required, leading to highly variable flush volumes. Link
chains can also get twisted or “hung up.” Metal bead chains
appear to provide the most consistent performance.
Warranty
Do not put cleaning agents such as chlorine pucks or
cleaners in your toilet tank, as this deteriorates the rubber
flapper and plastic parts of the working pieces. Your toilet
warranty will become void if these cleaning agents are
used.
