Toilet Sink Combo Saves the Planet!
In my life-long quest to live more efficiently and eco-friendly, we’ve purchased and installed a toilet/sink combo. Undoubtedly, you’re asking yourself why anyone would need a toilet/sink combo. What’s the point and why would you wash your hands with toilet water? I find myself answering (as best I can) these questions to just about everyone. The first thing people tend to think is that you’re washing your hands with dirty toilet water (grey water).
Here’s the basic gist: When you flush your toilet, water flows from the tank into the bowl, moving your waste into pipes, out to the street, etc. The tank and bowl refill with fresh water for the next flush. The toilet sink combo acts as a middle man during this process. When you flush the toilet, fresh water is rerouted through a faucet into a small basin that drains back into the bowl, ready for the next flush. While the water is flushing and refilling, you wash your hands.
What’s the point? Think about this: Most toilets use about a gallon and a half of clean water to flush your waste into city pipes and out into the septic system. This is clean water, the same municipal tap water you walk over to the sink to wash your hands with. By cutting out washing your hands in the sink and using toilet water you save water; which over time, adds up to gallons and gallons over the course of a year (depending on how long you wash your hands for). You’re not using extra water to wash your hands. Get it?
I never quite feel like I’ve explain it very well, but it does make sense. In the end, it’s a better use of water. The water that ends up in the toilet bowl is the water you just washed your hands with. It’ll be a little soapy, but your poo doesn’t care. I figure, you get more bang for your buck this way. Plus, it’s a lot more pleasant than the “If it’s yellow let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down” method. I also can’t help but wonder if the soapy water will eventually keep the pipes cleaner. *shrugs*
The savings here are small, but green living is about doing small things that add up. I’ve always sort of thought that toilet flushing was such a waste of water. All that water, just to move your poop out of sight. Sure, the modern toilet is a miraculous invention, but it’s hardly efficient. Like I said, most toilets use about a gallon and a half of water to flush. That’s a lot. How many times do you flush your toilet everyday? Double that on Burrito Night and that’s a whole lotta water.
If I haven’t accurately described the wonders of the toilet sink combo, you can find more info here: Sink Positive
Toilet Sink Combo Saves the Planet!
2 Responses to “Toilet Sink Combo Saves the Planet!”
Heh, the store where I buy my bras has one of those, I always wondered where they got it. I learned the hard way that the spot on the back of the toilet is not where you want to put your purse. Heh.
Quick additions/corrections:
1. The clean water you wash your hands with technically becomes “grey water” after you touch it and add soap. That means it’s been used, but not for unsanitary stuff like poop.
2. It’s pretty easy to set up. We had it working in about 15 minutes.
3. But then we had to fiddle with the flush mechanism to get everything tuned up. Total investment: about an hour.
4. It’s cooler than it sounds.
xxx
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