The bathroom runs on a sturdy system operated by water. Water makes everything possible! From the flush to the showerhead, the quality of your bathroom experience is determined by water usage. It’s true – your toilet accounts for a large percentage of the water consumption in your home.
Think about this. Your toilet uses between 1.6 and gallons of water per flush, and this amount may increase or decrease based on the model of your toilet and the type of flush it has. When you factor in the number of people in your home and the number of times they use the toilet daily, the amount of water it takes to flush a toilet may seem astronomical.
Keep reading to figure out how much water you need to flush a toilet and how to do it manually, and learn why the amount of water used matters and what you can do to reduce it.
How Many Gallons of Water Does It Take to Flush a Toilet?
There are multiple ways to find out how much water your toilet uses for each flush.
The oldest and most basic way to calculate this would be to turn off the valve that fills the tank located to the left or right of your toilet. After you turn off the valve, flush until the tank is empty, then take a pitcher that you know the capacity of and start filling up the tank. This way, you’ll arrive at the exact amount of water your toilet uses each time you flush.
You can also resort to the water meter, which is usually located right outside your property. Check the meter before and after you flush. The movement of the dial hand will tell you how much water is needed to flush your toilet. Here’s a pamphlet explaining how to calculate the amount of flush water using a water meter.
Newer toilet models usually indicate the amount of water they use per flush on the toilet itself. Right above the toilet seat, you may see an engraving that says, for example, 1.4 gpf, which means 1.4 gallons of water per flush. Some models include a small label with some information about the toilet, like the type of flush it has, the serial number, cleaning instructions, etc. This label also contains the amount of water needed to flush a toilet in gpf.
Once you know how many gallons of water it takes to flush your toilet, you can calculate the water usage over a certain period of time online. Some websites offer an online toilet water calculator where if you input the number of people in your household and the estimated gpf, you’ll get the approximate amount of water your toilet uses daily, monthly, and yearly.
Why Do I Need to Know the Amount of Water Necessary for a Flush?
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the amount of water your toilet uses makes up 30 to 40% of your overall water utility bill. Knowing just how much water your toilet uses to flush helps you keep track of your water bill. If the amount of water your toilet needs is significantly higher than the average, then opting for another model might be better for your utility expenses in the future.
Alternatively, if you are worried about your ecological footprint and want to reduce the excessive use of water, you may opt for a toilet model that uses less water per flush. If you need some water-saving toilet suggestions, we have just the content you need!
This information can also come in handy when you are in a situation where you might have little access to water. Say you’re planning a retreat somewhere in the mountains, and you need to calculate the right amount of water you’ll need for your stay. Or let’s say you find yourself in a situation where the toilet you’re going to use lacks a water connection or the water is out, and you need to find a way to flush it without running water.
In order to avoid complications later on, it’s important to prepare yourself before it’s too late! On that note, you should really know how to manually flush a toilet.
How to Manually Flush Your Toilet
So, you’ve found yourself in a situation where there is no running water in the toilet, and you desperately need it to be running. Like, as soon as possible! What you need to do is manually flush your toilet.
Start by getting a bucket of water that contains a little more than a gallon. Slowly pour the water into the reservoir and watch the waste disappear. It is as simple as that!
Alternatively, you can also remove the lid of the tank and slowly pour water into the tank to imitate a flush up to the waterline mark. When you press the flush lever, you’ll find that your toilet flushes just like it has running water!
