What is a Dual Flush Toilet?
Dual flush toilets have been around for many years now, but many homes still have an old-style flush. Now you may be wondering what difference it makes having a dual flush toilet or if you currently have an old-style flush, whether you can upgrade your flush or would need to purchase a new toilet.
In this guide, we’ll answer the questions above as well as many other dual flush queries. Keep reading to find out more.
Why replace an old-style flush?
If you have an old-style flush you might be thinking, why do I need to change and what difference will it actually make switching to a dual flush?
In actual fact switching to a dual flush can make a huge difference to the amount of water usage in your household. An old-style flush can use a massive 13 liters of water per flush.
Yes, you heard that correct, a MASSIVE 13 liters, meaning you’re likely to flush away more water in a day than an average person drinks in a month!
Whereas, when used correctly, a dual flush on average only uses 4-6 liters of water, less than half that of an old-style flush.
Take a look at our post on How to Change a Toilet Flush for more information.
Water saving solution
Now, if you’re looking for a water-saving solution then as we found out above a dual-flush toilet is a great option.
Waterwise tell us around 30% of the total water used in a home is used to flush the toilet. But what you need to remember is this water is the same quality as the water most of us drink out of our taps every day!
I bet you wouldn’t dream of running 13 liters of water out of the tap for no reason, multiple times a day, so why would you want to do the same when flushing your toilet?
Which button is for which flush?
Yes, dual flush toilets are great at saving water when used correctly, but do we actually know which button is for which flush?
If you assume the small button is for the small flush and the large button for the large flush, then you would be correct, but unsurprisingly a lot of people aren’t actually sure which button is for which.
Therefore, when the buttons are used incorrectly a dual-flush toilet can actually be just as bad at water wastage as an old-style flush. So just remember the small button = small flush and the large button = large flush and you’ll be on your way to reducing your water wastage in no time.
Toilet and basin combination units
Toilet and basin combination units come complete with a dual saving flush but also have other wonderful water-saving features.
This type of toilet might not be for everyone, but they are a wonderful space saving option for smaller bathrooms, ensuites and cloakrooms. What’s more, they come with a dual flush.
Not only do toilet and basin combination units come with a dual flush, but they also re-use water from the basin to fill the toilet cistern, proving them an amazing way to conserve water.
If you're looking for other ways to make your bathroom more eco-friendly take a look at our post on 5 Ways to Create an Eco-Friendly Bathroom.
If you're looking for more information on toilets and toilet seats take a look at the following posts - Toilet Seat Buying Guide - How do Saniflo toilets work? - What is a WC suite?
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