Flush Wisely: Saving Water and Cash with High-Efficiency Toilets

Unlock the mysteries of your toilet's water usage with Matt Black, the savvy owner of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Port St Lucie, who brings his wealth of knowledge right into your bathroom. Learn how the advances in toilet technology have made it possible to slash your water bill significantly, especially poignant for those of us feeling the pinch of city water costs for both supply and sewage.

During our enlightening chat, Matt breaks down the evolution from the old five-gallon guzzlers to the sleek, 1.2-gallon models of today. He goes beyond just the numbers, explaining the crucial role of the trap way size in ensuring a clean sweep with every flush. We cover the map rating system—a key player in understanding a toilet's efficiency—and discuss why that three-inch flush valve might just be the unsung hero of your bathroom. It's not just a conversation about conservation; it's a deep dive into the mechanics of modern plumbing that will empower you to make smarter choices for your home and the environment.

To learn more about Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, go to:
https://www.benjaminfranklinplumbing.com/port-st-lucie/

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Port St. Lucie
6945 NW LTC Parkway
Port St Lucie, FL 34986
(772) Call-Ben

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Podcast, where, if there's any delay, it's you we pay. Here's your host and owner of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Port St Lucie, matt Black.

Speaker 2: 0:18

I'll lock the secret of water conservation with our interview featuring the owner of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Port St Lucie. Join us for a quick dive into practical tips and expert advice on conserving water. Welcome back everyone. Garfield Boing, coal Slash producer of the show, back in the studio with Matt Black Matt, how you doing today.

Speaker 3: 0:41

That's been a good day today. How about you?

Speaker 2: 0:44

It's a little cold, a little warm, a little cold Can't make up his mind. My question for today is how can I conserve water with water saving toilets?

Speaker 3: 0:57

Well, it would depend on the current age of your existing toilet. Back in the day they used to be like a five gallon flush toilet, then they went down to a three and a half gallon flush toilet, then they went down to 1.6 gallon flush and now they're all the way down to 1.2 gallon flush. So they made the trap way bigger on a lot of these toilets so the water can leave the toilet quicker and that way you don't lose the functionality of the toilet. But yet you can really cut down on the cost of water, and if you're on city water you're paying for it to come in and you're paying for it to go back out. So then you can save some money by having a lower flush toilet.

Speaker 2: 1:38

You don't want to get too graphics. We're talking about the toilet bowl, you know, but you want to make sure everything goes down.

Speaker 3: 1:47

Yep, and there's different toilets. You know they're not all equal. They have different flush capacities. They do what's called map rating, m-a-p-p rating and that's how they do. You know how they rate the toilets that flush so you can get a toilet. You can go to Home Depot and get a toilet in the box that comes with everything, but it might only flush 250 or 300 grams of waste, and then you've got toilets that'll flush 600, 800, and then they max out at 1,000. So a lot of the toilets now with the new three inch flush valves will flush 1,000 grams of waste, which takes care of just about anything.

Speaker 2: 2:26

Okay. Does the amount of water have anything to do with it? Sometimes, I guess, if there's any clogging problem in there that you know people, I guess we can do an episode on toilet paper. So I'll leave that alone. I'll do an episode on toilet paper because I don't know the subject. But this is some great stuff. So you're saying it's going to low flush volume? The mechanism, it has a way of having the water go faster. Yeah, is that what it?

Speaker 3: 2:57

does, yeah, and basically when you flush the toilet, the water swirls coming out of the jets of the toilet. But when it comes out of the tank into the bowl, it now has a bigger flush valve. So they're making a lot of the toilets with three inches when they used to be two inches. So you weren't getting as much water coming out of them, but more water was going out for a longer period of time.

Speaker 2: 3:17

So we got to take advantage of this technology and save on the water and you're, like you said, city water. You got to pay going in and coming out. Great stuff, Matt. Listen, you have a wonderful rest of the day. We'll see you in the next episode.

Speaker 3: 3:29

Sounds great. You have a good day.

Speaker 1: 3:31

Thanks for listening to Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Podcast with Matt Black. To learn more, go to Benjamin Franklin Plumbingcom or call 772-CALL-BEN, that's 772-225-5236.