I've always been an environmentally conscious individual and as such have always made some attempt to keep my household eco-friendly. I've used compost heaps and recycled my plastics, papers and aluminums, but it wasn't until recently that I decided to make an effort to try and save water.
I wasn't quite sure what method I wanted to try in order to cut my teeth on water conservation so I did some research online first. I found low-flow showerheads, HET toilets, tips on how to check various taps and toilets for leaks, and even suggestions on various heavy items to place in my toilet tank, so as to displace water and use less per flush. The showerheads looked appealing at first, but then I stumbled onto something called a dual flush toilet. These dual flush systems, where one lever flushes a full tank and one lever flushes half a tank, caught my imagination. They're unique, and in my opinion add a certain amount of style to your bathroom.
At first I thought I would have to replace my entire toilet. I consider myself fairly handy but I'm no plumber. I also had no intention of paying someone to tear my bathroom apart. That was when I stumbled across something called a dual flush toilet retrofit kit. These kits are quite cheap and I really had no problem installing one. I'll leave it up to you to find a kit you want to install, but the following are the steps I took to install my own dual flush kit, and if you would like to try it yourself, they will hopefully be quite easy to follow.
1. Turn off the water supply to the toilet and drain tank. Use a sponge to remove the excess remaining water from the tank.
2. Disconnect the tank's inlet fitting from the water supply. Unscrew the two bolts that hold the tank down to the toilet.
3. Disconnect the flush handle from the tank. Lay the tank down on a towel and, using a channel-locking plier, unscrew the large flush valve holding nut.
4. Install the dual flush toilet kit valve - the tapered rubber gasket goes on the inside of the tank to prevent leakage. Tighten large nut until secure.
5. Install the two rubber gasket tie-down bolts and their lock nuts to the bottom of the tank. Bolt the tank down to the toilet using the second set of rubber gaskets and nuts. At this stage I recommend using completely new tank tie down bolts. They are inexpensive to purchase at any hardware store.
6. Assemble the new arms as per required length between the handles and the new flush valve. You may cut them with a hacksaw if necessary here.
7a) Insert the small and large handles into the handle-hole in the tank. Insert spacer if needed.
b) Hook long arm into overflow tube, and short arm into release pole.
c) Slide short and long arms into place on the handles and use clip to secure.
d) Connect the refill tube from the fill valve to the nipple on the long arm.
8. Open water supply to the tank. Fill slowly while checking for leaks. You may want to label the large and small handles as "full" and "half", but that is personal preference.
The way my dual flush kit works I flush my full six-liter tank with the large handle, and the small handle gives me a four-liter flush. I don't have any problem with the four-liter flush performance and I'm quite satisfied with the way everything turned out. You can imagine that people usually have something to say when they emerge from my bathroom, which always gives me a chuckle.
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