Installing a dual flush system on your toilet could save you money with each flush. (Photo Source: Clean River Partners)

Once you’ve tracked down and fixed any water leaks at your house, there are other things you can do to save water at home. Many of these water conservation activities are easy for do-it-yourselfers and take just 30 minutes to install.

Toilets are by far the main source of water use in most home, taking up 30% of family’s water consumption.

Depending on when your toilet was installed, you could be using as much as 6 gallons of water with every flush. Most modern toilets (1994 and later) use only 1.6 gallons per flush.

One way to save water is to update your toilets. Depending on how old your toilet is and how much water it uses, you could save up to $110 per year on water bills with a new toilet, or $2,200 over the 20-year lifetime of a toilet.

But with toilets costing between $130 and $300, that isn’t always an option. Luckily, there are other, less expensive ways to save way at home.

Install an adjustable toilet flapper

An adjustable toilet flapper looks a lot like the red toilet flapper you already have in your toilet. The difference is that this low-tech water-saver has a dial on it. You can set the dial to use more or less water with each flush.

Google “adjustable toilet flapper” to find products to purchase. Fluidmaster sells one model, but there are others a well. Follow the directions on the package to set and install the flapper.

If you are using a toilet that uses 3.2 or more gallons of water, this $7 flapper could cut your water use for each flush in half, saving you $50 or more per year.

Installing a dual flush system on your toilet could save you money with each flush. (Photo Source: Clean River Partners)

Another DIY option is to install a dual-flush system. This involves you replacing some of the internal components of your toilet so you can install a system that will allow you to push one button for a smaller flush, to eliminate liquids and press another button to flush solids.

These systems are more expensive ($20-$40) but they can save up to 40% of the water you use when flushing.

There are other ways to save water with each flush as well. But they don’t involve putting a brick in your toilet tank.

Years ago, some well-meaning water conservation advocates suggested that people put a few bricks in their toilet tank to displace water and use less water per flush. Keep in mind, they was when our toilets used 3-6 gallons per flush. The problem with this approach was that the bricks broke down in the water and some of the sediment from the bricks could get on the toilet flapper, leading to a toilet leak.

While bricks aren’t the right material, the idea of displacing water in a toilet tank is still a good idea. Some products like toilet tank banks are plastic bags that you fill with water and hang in the toilet tank. They can save up to 0.8 gallons per flush. You could also fill a plastic bottle with water and put it in your tank to displace water.

Keep in mind that these water displacement methods work best with older 3-6 gallons per flush toilets. In more efficient models, displacing too much water in the tank might mean that all the waste doesn’t flush down the drain. And if you have to flush twice to flush everything down, then you’re not saving water.

So, there you go, lots of ways to save water. If we each do a little, then we can all save a lot.

Want to watch a video about saving water? Visit https://youtu.be/rKsZ7TGbF-M to watch on Northfield Public Broadcasting.

Kevin Strauss is the Clean River Partners community engagement coordinator.

Data included is taken from the Minnesota Department of Health Daily reports. Because all data is preliminary, the change in number of cumulative positive cases and deaths from one day to the next may not equal the newly reported cases or deaths.

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