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Perfect Flush

Full/Half Flush?

Full/Half Flush?

I was reading my Popular Science last night when I saw the Perfect Flush device from Brondell in their "What's New" section.  They have this type of device all over Europe and Asia where you press one button for "number 1" and you get a tiny flush.  Then you press a different button for "number 2" and you get a regular flush.  Most of the toilets in the U.S. only have a single handle; which is the same technology we've been living with since the advent of indoor plumbing.  Why are we so slow to adopt conservation technologies?

I know the mantra of water conservationists is: "If it's yellow, let it mellow"  But let's be honest, when you have a few bathrooms all over the house and you like to distribute your time spent "going number 1" in all of them, you might sometimes let something mellow a little too long, and it just gets unpleasant.  (Sorry for the yucky details, but hey, we're all grown ups here)

Therefore, the mellowing principle really works best in a frat house, where it always smells like leftover cheap beer anyway (I know this from experience).

What makes the Perfect Flush so....eh hem...perfect is that it can be used on any existing toilet!  Why use a "number 2" flush when you only need a little bit of water to remove the yellow?  It's very common sensical. The whole concept of just one single handle always seemed extremely wasteful to me.  The product is due out in May of 2009 and an MSRP at $119, which seems to be fairly reasonable if you account for the water saved over the lifetime of the product.

Video of Perfect Flush demo. *** If you are an an immature male and giggle when you see a bidet demonstration you will probably want to stop the video half way through.

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Comments

I installed dual flush adapter kits in both our toilets, thanks to your heads up. Got mine at ACE Hardware. At about $25 they are affordable and simple to install, it took me about 20 minutes. This is such a simple step and so easy to do. Regarding Tommy's comment. Water may be everywhere, but only a fraction of the water on the planet is potable -- I believe the number is around 2%. Furthermore it is the energy required to deliver it that is a big part of the issue. Our home is on a well pump that draws over 1500Watts. Running water uses electric power in a very direct way out here in the country! In the city there is a disconnect and you don't see your electric bill spike if you run the sprinklers day and night. But you will see an elevated water bill.
Tommy, You seem to lack a basic understanding on sustainable principles. Do you really need a strong flush to wash away urine? You are exactly right that water gets redistributed! So you're saying it's fine if Las Vegas or Atlanta run out of water because of wasteful practices because Kansas City will have plenty of water! Realize that Earth is going to fine in the long run, it our (humans) interaction with Earth that may suffer. This site is about promoting sustainable practices that enable us to live easier with Earth. But I will agree with you on one point. Weak flushing is a problem for "number 2". If you have to flush twice to complete "the mission" then it sort of defeats the purpose.....
This is the worst idea ever. I love a strong flush more than almost anything. I hate the toilets in my house which given new construction codes have such a light flush. Besides, water conservation is the dumbest thing ever. There is the same amount of water on earth now as there was millions of years ago and it doesn't change, it just gets redistributed. Of all things to worry about sustaining this is the least of your concerns.
I will definitely buy this when it comes out!!!
Currently, I have four pre-1990 toilets in my home. (3.5 gpf?) I'm on septic and have upgraded to low-flow aerators and shower heads. I've hesitated upgrading the toilets to Eco-dual flush units because I'm concerned on two fronts: 1. will they flush as well? 2. will I have trouble selling the house if they can't figure out the two-position handle for flushing? Perfect flush is exactly what I'm looking for! I can install it on one of my old toilets and save the old hardware. If it works well, I can install them on all of the toilets and save the hardware in case I decide to move and want to take them with me and put the old-fashioned flushing hardware back in. This will let me test in stages. I can eventually upgrade toilets to the 1.6gpf units and add the Perfect Flush to them!

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