 |
| HydroRight Dual Flush Converter |
My partner and I were buying some paint at Home Depot recently and saw a display for water saving toilet converters. We had noticed a few of the restaurants we frequent have two options for flushing in their bathroom and thought it was a pretty neat effort to "go green". The toilets offer a big flush and a little flush. We looked at the box for the kit and it seemed simple and cheap enough to try out. For about $20 ($17.98 + tax at home depot) and 5-10 minutes of installation time-according to the box- we could reduce our water consumption by up to 30% a year. Now, I'm all about saving water and the environment but I'm always a bit more motivated when it also happens to save me cash. So, we bought a converter kit and installed the HydroRight Dual Flush Converter (http://bit.ly/cyGGc5) about a month ago.
It did not take me 5-10 minutes to install. It took me about 20 minutes to eff up by misinterpreting the visual aids and securing the zip tie too early in the process. I didn't properly fit the rubberized "flap" over the hole and needed to make an adjustment, which I couldn't do. So I then paused the installation process for a quick run to Walgreens for more zip ties. When I started up again it only took about 2 additional minutes. For folks who regularly do home improvement projects though I imagine the product's estimated time would be accurate. Either way, in under a half an hour, using only a phillips head screw driver to remove the old handle, we were set.
We are just out of month one with our new fancy flusher. Since we only have one month to compare, our results can't be described as definitive but there has been an 800 gallon reduction in sewer water usage. Our average water (specifically sewer water) is 3,400 gallons per month for two people. I averaged the last 10 months of water usage. I removed July from the calculations because we had a guest for most of the month and our usage was higher than normal. We live in a 1950's duplex with only one bathroom.
The month of August (7/28-8/25) showed 2,600 gallons of sewer water usage as opposed to our normalized average of 3,400. The results will be more definitive after several more months of data but it's looking good! As the instructions state, if you install this double, and then triple check that the aforementioned flap is perfectly fit because you could end up wasting water if the tank never fills up.
As I stated above I did NO research on which converter kit to use so I don't specifically endorse HydroRight. I will say it was relatively easy to install, required no tank removal, and we only needed a screw driver. We aren't tool people so that's about all we have. When I flush now I get a choice: 1 water drop, or 2.
If you install one of these please let me know! I would love to compile the data to see if this was indeed the best $20 I've spent in a while.
On a semi-disgusting side note, I have noticed that I need to clean the toilet more frequently but not because of - ahem, that. There is a discoloration that occurs on the bowl of the toilet that can only be described as "dinghy". It starts at the water line and continues down to the bottom of the bowl. This may be able to be eliminated (haha) by adjusting the water pressure settings. Our house is old though, so when I turn it up our pipes squeal and groan so I have opted to just clean more.
Happy flushing!
Comments