Dual-flush retrofit kit

• Manufactured by Brondell
• 888-542-3355; www.brondell.com
• Cost: About $130

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2 billion gallons of water a day could be saved if everyone replaced their water-guzzling toilets with WaterSense-labeled models. (WaterSense products are certified by independent, third-party testers to meet stringent water-saving specs.) That is a savings of about 4000 gallons per person, per year. But what if you don’t want to switch out your existing fixtures?

Perfect Flush is a retrofit kit that turns conventional commodes into water-saving, dual-flush models. Company founder and CEO Scott Pinizzotto says the product fits 98% of the 220 million residential toilets in the United States, and installation takes 15 minutes if you’re handy. Just remove the existing fill valve from the toilet tank and install the Perfect Flush components (shown in green in the drawing). A fill valve connects to the dual-flush system and half/full flush selector.

Water use in dual-flush toilets depends on the type of waste. The user chooses the water volume by pressing a large or small button mounted atop the tank. People who keep track of these phenomena claim that 80% of one day’s flushes are typically for liquid waste, which can be successfully flushed using 0.8 gpf (gallons per flush). Compare that to 3.5 gpf in a traditional toilet, and the water-saving math is persuasive.