Are you renovating your home or considering some upgrades? This is the first of two blog posts that will highlight a few common items in your home – the toilet, showerhead and water heater – and options to save water and money.
Are you flushing money down the drain?
Did you know that toilet flushing is often the greatest use of water in your home? If your toilet was installed before 1996, you could be using 13 to 20 litres of water per flush. Multiply the number of litres per flush by about five flushes per person per day and the number of people in your household for the year and that could add up to a lot of water!
In 1996, the standard in Ontario for new construction was models that flush 6.0 litres of water and since 2012, the standard has been 4.8 litres or less. These low-flow toilets use significantly less water per flush compared to older models. Dual-flush toilets go a step further by providing two flushing options, allowing you to choose between a full flush for solid waste and a reduced flush for liquid waste.
If you have an older toilet, consider installing one that is more water efficient. You will not only save one of our most precious resources, water, but also save money. A win-win!
To offset your purchase cost, Halton Region offers a toilet rebate of $75 when you purchase a WaterSense Certified toilet. Please note that there is a limit of one toilet rebate per residence. Please review the application requirements on Halton Region’s Water-Efficient Toilet Rebate Program webpage. For additional information on this program, please email ToiletRebateProgram@halton.ca or if within Halton Region, call 311 or 905-825-6000.
So now that you have, know about or are considering a water efficient toilet, there are two more important things to know.
- Make sure your toilet is working properly. You can check by placing a drop or two of food colouring in the tank and letting it sit for 15 to 30 minutes. If any coloured water has seeped into the bowl, the flapper or fill valve might need to be replaced. Don’t forget to flush your toilet after your experiment to prevent staining.
- “Flushable” wipes are NOT flushable and can clog the pipes. Never, ever flush anything other than the three P’s down your toilet – poop, pee and toilet paper.
Take Action Burlington! We can all take steps to reduce our water footprint. Collectively we can make a difference.
Take Action Burlington 
I’m keen to save water, but I have a question about this. The toilets that are discarded end up in a landfill. Is that worth the savings in water? Is there data to show that?
LikeLike
Thank you for your comment. We don’t have statistics to compare water efficiency versus landfill waste for toilets. However, collectively water efficiency adds up and can delay the need to expand water treatment plants. For example, annual water consumption in Halton has remained level for the past 10 years even with increasing population.
LikeLike
Perfect for toilets but what about a condo that has hot water issues and you have to run the water for 5-10 mins to get a shower multiply that by 125 units plus how much water is going drown the drain Burlington has nothing place other than to say not there problem so this program is not very wish put something in place so condo boards have to fix the issue or face penalties
LikeLike
Thank you for your comment. Halton Region is responsible for water, wastewater and waste related issues. Please contact Access Halton at 311 or email accesshalton@halton.ca.
LikeLike