Let’s put this in perspective!
With older toilets, an average flush uses about 3.6 gallons, and the daily use is nearly 20.8 gallons per person per day. In a home with ultra-low-flow (ULF) toilets, with an average flush volume of 1.6 gallons, the daily use is 9.24 gallons per person per day. A family of four using an older toilet will use approximately 29,286 gallons per year in toilet flushes, while a family with a ULF toilet will use approximately 13,000 gallons per year in toilet flushes, achieving a savings of over 16,000 gallons per year.
New, High Efficiency Toilets (HETs) use 1.28 gallons per
flush (gpf). With an HET, a family of four will use approximately 10,400
gallons per year in total toilet water use.
Look for the WaterSense label to ensure your new toilet has maximum efficiency
and high performance.
Older Toilets
Toilets made from the early 1980s to 1992 typically used 3.5 gallons per flush or more. Toilets manufactured before 1980 generally used 5-7 gallons per flush.
Ultra-Low Flush Toilets (ULF)
An Ultra-Low Flush toilet flushes a maximum of 1.6 gallons per flush. Federal law currently mandates that all toilets manufactured in the U.S. must use an average of 1.6 gallons per flush or less. This law was enacted in 1992 and put into place in 1994 to improve water efficiency nationwide and coordinate various state standards.
High Efficiency Toilets (HET)
An HET is a toilet that flushes at maximum of 1.3 gallons per flush and HETs outperform their ULFT (1.6 gpf) predecessors as well as the 3.5 gpf toilets that were installed in the 1980s.
Dual-Flush Toilets
Dual-Flush toilets are a type of HET with a full flush and a half flush capability. The average flush volume of a modern dual flush toilet is 1.1 gallons or less, meeting the WaterSense label requirement.
WaterSense Labeled Toilets
The WaterSense label is used on toilets that are certified by independent laboratory testing to meet rigorous criteria for both flushing performance and water efficiency (20% less water than federal requirement). Only toilets that complete the third-party certification process can earn the WaterSense label.