The cost of living crisis across the world has greatly hampered our standards of living. Ursula Von Der Leyen, the President of the European Union has been putting out fires pretty much every day. Putin’s war in Ukraine and England leaving the European Union hasn’t helped the cause much. This coupled with the fact of course of the clueless and careless attitude of the right-wing Tory party in power.
So how much water does toilet use is directly related to a multitude of factors. To begin with, a lot of lower and middle-class families have reduced their time in the shower. Many are skipping baths every alternate day. One can’t certainly do so with the use of the toilet. So it is handy to know how much water does toilet use. Also, regarding the climate crisis and the climate disaster looming in our society, how much water the toilet use is important information. The answer directly lies in the use and wastage of water.
So how much water does the toilet use? In this article, we will try to cover every detail with you.
How Many Gallons to Flush a Toilet?
The answer to how many gallons to flush a toilet is directly related to the age of the toilet. The older the toilet, the greater will be the answer to how many gallons to flush a toilet.
As a matter of general rule of the hand, toilets made before the early 80s use between five to seven gallons of water to flush the toilet. The more modern age toilets use anything between 1.6 gallons of water is how much water is used to flush a toilet. The numbers of how much water is used to flush a toilet must be noted as toilet gallons per flush. The high percentage of how many gallons to flush water the older toilets has resulted in many regions as a mandatory rule for a shift.
Checking Toilet Gallons per Flush
There are a pretty simple few ways of checking how much water to flush a toilet is needed in the toilet you’re using.
- Check for a mark at the near end of the toilet hinge. There will usually be a significant indication of 1.6 toilet gallons per flush. This is compatible with all the newer toilets.
- In case there are no clear indicators. Then there is a need to check for the age of the toilet. Look at the side of the tank lid or the wall inside the tank of the toilet, There will likely be the manufactured year stamped in porcelain. This will provide the answer to how much water is used to flush a toilet.
There are two other ways to check how many gallons to flush a toilet are needed. In case there are no dates written or the number of toilet gallons per flush.
Also, read- 11 Best Low Flow Toilets To Save More Water In Toilet
Toilet Tank Capacity Method
The Toilet tank capacity method is a very popular fast way to check how much water a toilet uses. A few simple steps and you will have the answer to how much water is needed to flush a toilet.
- To begin with, in the toilet tank capacity method the water supply valves of the toilet will need to be turned off.
- Then by removing the tank lid look for the factory set water line. There might be a possibility if the tank you’re using is old there is no such clear line distinction. Use a marker then to mark the water level.
- Thereafter flush the toilet.
- Then by doing the sum calculation using a gallon container or a quart you will need to refill the tank. The water level will have to comply with the marker mark you had set earlier. Take note of the amount of water needed to fill the container tank.
- Then by adding another half a gallon, open the water supply valve and there is the answer to toilet gallons per flush,
The above way usually only takes a few couples of minutes and barely much effort.
Water Meter Method
The water meter method must be noted as exclusive to properties that are individually metered. If your property is so, the method is an easy way to find out toilet gallons per flush.
- Start by ensuring there is absolutely no water used while the process is ongoing.
- Then go to the water meter in your property and remove the meter box lid.
- Take a mental picture or an actual note of the position of the red hand in the meter.
- Step inside and flush the toilet. Step outside and check for movement from the previous position in the red hand meter.
- The full rotation of the gallon hand complies with 7.5 gallons of water. If the red hand has moved less than ¼ then the toilet gallons per flush is 1.6. If the red hand has moved ½ then toilet gallons per flush are 3.5. Similarly, if it has moved 2/3 then the answer to how much water is needed to flush a toilet is 5.0. A full rotation that complies with 7.0.
- Thereafter you have to flush again.
- Make the previous reading again using the same method. Then subtracting the first and the second reading by multiplying by 7.5 will provide the answer to how many gallons to flush a toilet.
The water meter method or the toilet tank capacity methods are great self-sufficient means to check out how much water the toilet uses.
Ways to Save Toilet Gallons per Flush
Dual-flush toilets are indeed a great way to save the amount of water a toilet will use. There are also a few changes one can partake in without the need of reinstalling the toilet. This will also benefit a lifestyle and therefore an environmental change at large.
Leakings
The first is to check for toilet leaks. The American EPA recently brought out the statistic that an average American household wastes up to 10,000 gallons of water at large every year.
That’s a loss of a lot of water if you think about it. This will directly affect the electricity bills. Plus a privileged one can ill afford it when there are a lot of countries like Jordan in Asia. Places where clean water is a supreme luxury.
- The other is the shift to using Bidets. Bidets have garnered much attention and popularity around the world. Bidets practically extinguish the need for toilet paper.
An average estimation is that there is a requirement of using around 37 gallons of water per toilet paper. The average person uses a hundred rolls of toilet paper each year.
Bidets
Bidets simply help in doing away with the whole process and thus help in a lot of saved-up water.
- There is a certain siphoning action used by the standard toilets at our homes that results in needing a lot of water. Dual-flush toilets with their bigger trap way do away with the whole siphoning action.
For everyday regular use switching to a more modern version of a toilet saves water. This is beneficial both in terms of saving the cost of electricity and dealing with the cost of living crisis.
Also, in times when Cop 26 is signaling intense proliferation of climate disasters, we can do a huge part towards making the planet a better place to live. So, we have come nearly to the end of how much water a toilet uses and also how to save how much it uses. The earth has only 1% of the water that can be used for human consumption. It is time we all rise together and face the disasters heading our way and the future generation.
Concluding Points
Now that we have nearly headed to the end of the article, the things to remember are pretty needed. The answer of how much water a toilet uses grows exponentially if you’re using an old toilet by any chance.
If you can, make a shift to dual-flush toilets. There is also the option of shifting to Bidets. All in all the more water we do save, the better our chances of managing the cost of living crisis and the climate disaster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.1) Does flushing the toilet use a lot of water?
Modern toilets usually roughly use around 1.6 gallons of water per flush. While the older toilets that were used pre-80s used up to 6 to 7 gallons per flush.
A lot of water can be saved by shifting to dual toilets from standard ones or by shifting to Bidets.
Q.2) How many gallons per day does a toilet use?
The flushing of the toilet per day according to EPA statistics uses up to 2.642 gallons of water.