Plumbing for Gold - The Great Canadian Toilet Debate

Dave Barry, a humour columnist for the Miami Herald, recently wrote about Canada's high-flow toilets in comparison to low-flow American versions. Sensing a threat to national pride, Dave Barry has promised that if he ever gets elected president he will launch a full-scale attack on Canada. He has also made it his highest priority to seek the death penalty for whoever is responsible for making Americans install low-flow toilets.

Water Conservation
As Dave Barry points out, Canadian toilets use enviable amounts of water. Considering that many cities in Canada are forced to impose water restrictions every summer, can we really afford to flush away our water resources? There is a simple way to save water with every flush. First use a disposable cup to remove approximately a litre of water from the back of the toilet. Then place a brick or a one-litre sealed bottle of water in the toilet tank. With every flush less water will be required to refill the tank. Not to mention, your water use will be closer to being on par with Americans versions!

Leaks
Toilet leaks can waste hundreds of litres of water every year yet we never see a drop of it. Leaks often occur between the tank and the toilet bowl and go unnoticed. If you hear water filling the tank on its own or if you must hold down the handle in order to fill the bowl, you likely have a leak.

A simple way to test for it is to take the dye test. You can use several drops of food colouring as dye or your local municipality may be able to provide tablets. Take the lid off the tank and add the dye. Wait 30 minutes and ensure no one uses the toilet. At the end of 30 minutes check to see if any coloured water has entered the toilet bowl. A properly operating toilet should not show any signs of dye.

If you find dye in your toilet bowl you have a leak resulting from a problem with either the flush valve or the refill valve. Fluidmaster Inc., a toilet repair company, recommends the following simple test to find the source of your leak: Draw a pencil line on the back wall of the tank on the inside at the waterline. Then turn the water supply off, either under the tank or at the main shutoff. Wait 20 to 30 minutes. If the water level remains at the pencil mark, the leak is occurring at the refill valve, the unit in the left side of the tank. If the water level falls below the pencil mark, the leak is in the flush valve, the unit located in the center of the tank.

Replacement valves can be found at your local home hardware store. If you plan to do the repairs yourself be sure to turn off the water supply into the toilet.

History
There have been many versions of toilets starting as far back as ancient Egypt and Rome. Every modification was an attempt to add a measure of dignity, privacy and sanitation. One of the most inventive of these was the water closet by John Harrington in 1596. Oddly enough, it was not adopted on a large scale for almost 182 years. In 1738, JF Brondel introduced the valve type flush toilet. Alexander Cummings further improved the technology in 1775. In Cumming's design there was always water in the toilet to suppress odours much like today's models. Then Joseph Bramah, in 1778, substituted the slide valve with crank valve. In 1870, SS Helior invented the precursor of the modern version - the flush type toilet.

Today, most modern toilets work by pressurizing the water inside a container in the tank. Pressurized low-flow toilets need a minimum of 20-25 PSI of pressure at the toilet to operate.

If you are planning to purchase a new toilet consider the following. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, many toilets prior to 1980, flushed with 20L of water (the equivalent of about 10 2-L pop bottles for each flush). By the early 1990s most new toilets in Canada were designed to use approximately 13L of water. In recent years, some provinces and municipalities have imposed a 6-litre restriction on new toilets. Check with your local municipality for more information.

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