One Hour Towards a Greener Bath

****19 Month Update*****
December 16, 2009
Gerber Ultra Dual Flush 1.1/1.6
I first installed this toilet in May of 2008 in my powder room on my first floor for my family of five.  This it the bathroom that my family uses the most.  The interesting thing that has happened it that my children will go to the powder room and use the Gerber toilet even if they are on the second floor or in the basement (where other toilets are available).  If we are coming home from dinner or being out, my kids will "call" the powder room.

I was initially concerned with the more complicated flushing system and whether it would hold up. The flushing system has held up great. There have only been one or two minor issues where the tank didn't recharge, but jiggling the handle solved that.

The other maybe not so surprising thing we've found is, while the toilet has two flush modes, one for solids-- 1.6 gallons and one for liquid 1.1 gallons, the 1.1 gallon flush is more than adequate for most solids...I wont go into detail, but this toilet has some flushing power.

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Our house is about ten years old and our first floor powder room came with a builder's grade toilet (brand and model to remain nameless). Our endurance level for this toilet has been amazingly high. First, the finish on the seat began to corrode and wear off. Granted, the seat was made by another company, but clean-ability and a lasting finish are important, especially where you sit!

We replaced the seat with Kohler's Lustra K-4662-A anti-microbial seat that wont corrode or chip. About $65.00. This thing cleans nicely and absolutely wont corrode or wear through.

Okay, with the old toilet seat behind us, the other problem with this modern marvel of 1.6 gallon flushability was its propensity to clog even if you looked into the bowl the wrong way. Its kind of ironic that a 1.6 gallon toilet is meant to conserve water, but it sometimes takes two or three flushed for solids! This porcelain clogger had to go.

Enter Gerber's ultra-dual flush with its ultra siphon flushing system. This toilet can handle anything my paper wasting children can throw at it. The really cool feature, however, is the ability to select the flush for liquid or solids. Push down on the lever and you use 1.1 gallons and push up on the lever and its 1.6 gallons, both using Gerber's siphoning action. Other reviewer's claim that they have saved thousands of gallons of water using this system. We're a family of five and this is our main bathroom, so we'll see...Bye the way, toilet went in in forty minutes (not bad time for a non-plumber). The only minor drawback to the toilet is that it is louder than our old toilet, but I find it a minor inconvenience knowing that I am saving water.

The other step towards a greener bathroom was to change the light bulbs to florescent bulbs. Most of the bulbs in the house have been changed already.

These aren't huge, expensive or dramatic changes, but rather small steps. I know that these small changes will add up.
http://www.gerberonline.com/catalog.aspx?categoryID=2213&itemID=3576