WaterSense
Labeled Toilets
Toilets are by far the main source of water use in the home, accounting
for nearly 30 percent of residential indoor water consumption. Toilets
also happen to be a major source of wasted water due to leaks and/or
inefficiency. WaterSense, a program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), is helping consumers identify high performance,
water-efficient toilets that can reduce water use in the home and
help preserve the nation's water resources.
What
Are WaterSense Labeled Toilets?
Recent advancements have allowed toilets to use 20 percent less
water than the current federal standard, while still providing equal
or superior performance. The WaterSense label is used on toilets
that are certified by independent laboratory testing to meet rigorous
criteria for both performance and efficiency. Only high-efficiency
toilets that complete the third-party certification process can
earn the WaterSense label.
How Much Can WaterSense Labeled Toilets Save?
Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely flush the toilet
nearly 140,000 times. If you replace older, existing toilets with
WaterSense labeled models, you can save 4,000 gallons per year with
this simpler, greener choice.
What About Price?
WaterSense labeled toilets are available at a wide variety of price
points and a broad range of styles. EPA estimates that a family
of four that replaces its home's older toilets with WaterSense labeled
models will, on average, save more than $90 per year in reduced
water utility bills, and $2,000 over the lifetime of the toilets.
Additionally, in many areas, utilities offer rebates and vouchers
that can lower the price of a WaterSense labeled toilet.
And Performance?
Unlike some first-generation, "low-flow" toilets, WaterSense
labeled toilets combine high efficiency with high performance. Design
advances enable WaterSense labeled toilets to save water with no
trade-off in flushing power. In fact, many perform better than standard
toilets in consumer testing.
Look
for the WaterSense Label!
Whether remodeling a bathroom, starting construction of a new home,
or simply replacing an old, leaky toilet that is wasting money and
water, installing a WaterSense labeled toilet is a high-performance,
water-efficient option worth considering. If every American home
with older, inefficient toilets replaced them with new WaterSense
labeled toilets, we would save nearly 640 billion gallons of water
per year, equal to more than two weeks of flow over Niagara Falls!
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