OK, I realize a photo of the inside of my toilet tank is probably not what most of you want to be looking at first thing in the morning (assuming you check this blog first thing in the morning, which I know you do). But here’s the thing: As my green change today, I’m going to be keeping a plastic bottle filled with water in my tank so it uses less water every time I flush and saves me money; however, I’m not sure I did this right.
Doesn’t it look a little… well… wrong somehow? I tested it out and it seemed to work fine, and I definitely don’t want to put a brick in there or anything (apparently it deteriorates over time and clogs up the plumbing), but I don’t know. Something just looks a bit funny.
Then again, the idea of a water bottle in a toilet tank is, in itself, pretty ridonkulous. I suppose I’ll just keep checking up on it to make sure it’s not interfering with anything or breaking down. Of course, all this could have been prevented had we Canadians thought like the Europeans and manufactured dual-flush toilets to begin with. Although it’s possible for me to buy one, it’s not really so possible for my wallet.
It ook me a while to figure this out, too. I thought I was being very smart by filling a milk carton and putting it in the tank. But it was too buoyant, and kept interfering with the mechanics of the toilet as it bobbed around with each flush. The standard method is still the best, apparantly: A brick works just fine (although it may discolor the water for a spell as it gets acclimated to its new home; I haven’t heard of it doing damage to plumbing). That’s what frugal folk have been doing for years.
Actually, there’s a cool little product that Gaiam.com sells that converts any toilet into a dual-flushing/water-saving one. It costs about $35 (way cheaper than a new toilet) and you can push/pull it depending on how much water you want to use to flush (a little or a lot). I”m definitely going to invest in one of these myself–you should check it out!
I’ve been keeping a 500ml yoghurt container in my tank for years. Works perfectly.
What about filling the bottle with sand instead of water? It wouldn’t deteriorate like the brick but it would probably be heavy enough to sit on the bottom of the tank so as not to interfere with any of the mechanics.
E to the M has it right. I have 20-ouncers in my tanks, and had trouble with them sliding around until I filled the bottoms with sand. No problems since.
We use a soda bottle with water in ours.
Gaiam also sells a little conversion kit that makes the top of the tank a little sink. So the clean water that fills the basin can be used to wash your hands. Pretty cool. They aren’t that cheep ($89), so I think I am going to make one with a nice bowl a drill some caulking and a plastic hose.
My grandfather kept full beer bottles in his toilet tank. He claimed it kept the beer at the perfect temperature, and my grandma couldn’t complain about all the room his beer took up in their littel fridge. This might work well for you since you have unplugged your fridge! Keep your beverages cold and save water too!
Pal…that is a super groovy idea for sure…wow…you know everyone is “going” to wash their hands, but if it’s part of the water already dedicated to filling the tank on a toilet you’re saving that water!!!!
Thanks for that tip dude…
Cheers,
eeeew! You do that INSIDE!?? lol. (just teasing, in case you weren’t sure.)
One thing you gotta be careful of is not putting too big a brick in. Some old toilets need that 16 litres to flush properly. If you reduce the water per flush too much, and have to flush twice on a regular basis, it doesn’t save any water really then does it?
But, other than that, and if clogging toilets or floaties aren’t a problem for you typically, brick or bottle away!
Make it a good day!
hello
will read it later
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