Dual Flush Toilets – Are They Any Good?

 Dual Flush Toilets – Are They Any Good?

So how do you feel about dual flush toilets? They seem to be popping up everywhere these days – whether in restaurants, hotels, leisure parks etc.

But how do you feel about one in your new bathroom? And how much would it cost in comparison to a single flush toilet? At My Beautiful Bathroom Installations we did a little research and came up with the following discussion points.

 First Off – What Do We Mean By A Dual Flush?

This is a toilet that allows you to choose two different types of flush depending on whether you are attempting to remove liquid or solid waste. For liquid waste less water is needed and as a result, less energy is expended.

The dual flush loo was invented by Australian Bruce Thompson back in the 1980s but it wasn’t until around a decade later that a version became available which cut water use considerably.

In fact, surveys show a dual flush reduces the need for 67 per cent less water in your average household (this is particularly important in countries such as Australia where water is currently in short supply, and in America which predicts 36 states will suffer water shortages next year due to inefficient water use).

It also means that if you live in a country that charges water rates (unlike Scotland) then investing in a dual flush toilet is certainly something worth considering.

The dual flush toilet also differs from its predecessors in that it uses a different type of flushing mechanism. In a standard toilet, a siphon-flush is used to pull water down whereas in the dual flush it’s gravity that’s required (as in a train or aeroplane toilet).

 Advantages of installing a dual flush toilet

• Uses 79 per cent less water, therefore more eco-friendly
• Need less power to flush therefore more energy efficient with lower water bills

 Disadvantages of installing a dual flush toilet

• More expensive to buy than a single flush toilet
• Flushing doesn’t always get rid of the majority of the waste due to the bowl containing less water than a single flush version
• Using the full flush button may still leak to the occasional bit of streaking in the bowl

Even if you’re not keen on the idea of a dual flush toilet at this moment, don’t rule out getting one in the future.

Shortages of water in the countries mentioned above has seen governments intervening and possibly in the future imposing regulations so that all households are obliged to install a dual flush unit.

Of course, with regulation comes incentives and grant funding. And that’s not to say that the same may not happen here in the UK one day. Meanwhile, the dual flush may be just the start.

Microsoft founder and multi-billionaire Bill Gates once held a competition to find the most eco-friendly loo. The winner was a solar-powered toilet that produced hydrogen and electricity. The commendable aim of the competition was to provide a toilet for third world countries that had no access to water or sewerage facilities.

If you’d like to know about whether a dual flush toilet would work for your home then please give us a call here at My Beautiful Bathroom on 0141 771 3640 and we would be very happy to help.

Thanks, My Beautiful Bathroom