I have an old house (1923) which only has one bathroom and in this old bathroom there is an old toilet. This toilet lived a good life and served many families very well, but it was starting to leak and show its age. Time for a new toilet.
I called a few local plumbers to see what they suggested and how much it would cost. I could get a new toilet for as little as $200 installed, but that would be a generic, very low quality model. I could choose a higher quality model, of course. I could go to Home Depot and buy whatever toilet I wanted and (the internet assured me) install it myself. Because of the age of the bathroom and toilet and because I wanted someone else to be responsible if anything went wrong, I definitely wanted a professional to do all the dirty work. And I knew it was going to have to be a low flow. *cue dramatic music*
Low Flow. In the '90s this term came to represent the evils of government-mandated conservation. I'm sure it set the environmental and water conservation movements back at least a decade: The early low flow toilets were awful; you usually had to flush a couple of times at least before the bowl would clear, which completely negates the water savings. It was embarrassing and frustrating. There was even an episode of King of the Hill about the horror of low flow toilets. I understand they've been improved, but it emphasized that I needed to do some more research. I have only the one toilet in the house, and it's very important that it work efficiently and comfortably.
In my current Googling, and many years previously, I kept coming across these toilets called "Dual Flush". Apparently they're very popular in parts of Europe and the UK, and they're de rigueur in Australia. They were invented in Australia in the '80s. They use two buttons on the top of the toilet instead of a lever. One button releases .8 gallons for liquid waste and the other button gives you 1.6 liters for -ahem- bigger messes. Rather than one static amount of water that's enough to dispose of solid waste even when you only need the amount required to remove liquid waste, you are given a lesser-amount choice, thereby saving water!
I mentioned this to a couple of the plumbers and they all said the same thing: "Oh! But they're SO MUCH more expensive! That's gonna cost a bundle!"
WRONG AGAIN, plumbers! (Did they think I wanted one imported from Sydney?? We have them here, too!)
The average price I was quoted for a good quality toilet, including installation was around $550. I was able to find a cheap dual flush toilet at Home Depot for somewhere around $250. I called the one plumber I had decided upon and gave him these numbers. He said he needed to do some research himself, and he'd call me back. When he called me back, he told me that the toilet I found was of very poor quality... *mm hmm*
BUT
He liked this new-fangled dual flush idea and his supplier found him a quality dual flush for only a little more than the toilet he originally recommended to me (that one with "comfort height" that would leave my feet dangling and the "elongated" bowl that makes me feel like I'm balancing on two parallel poles). In the end he said he'd install the one I wanted: the Gerber dual flush, standard height, round bowl toilet for the original price he quoted me for the bad toilet. Success! And hopefully he will pass on this new information to other clients. Spread the word!
Epilogue: I have a great dual flush toilet that has lowered my water bill by about $20 a month! You don't have to spend a mint or compromise your standards to make the switch to energy- or water-efficient appliances.
P.S. - If you're not in the market for a whole new toilet, you can buy conversion kits for around $30! Try here. (I have never tested a conversion kit, nor do I know anyone who has, so caveat emptor.)
