How Much Does It Cost to Flush a Toilet? Get Facts Here!

As you use the toilet every day, how much water do you use? Think about it, and you’ll realize that toilets consume the most water inside your house.

How much does it cost to flush a toilet? According to the Department of Energy, the average cost of every flush is 1.3 cents. It seems cheap, but a person can flush the toilet five times a day. You can round it up to $24 a year.

Aside from these calculations, learn other factors behind flushing a toilet cost in this article.

Cost to Flush a Toilet

Manufacturers produce toilets that work with 1.6 gallons per flush to meet the requirement of EPA. So, you may wonder about the cost of a low-flow toilet every time you flush.

The water consumption directly links to the toilet flush cost. Even though toilets are made to save water these days, you still have to pay your bill.

As stated above, you pay 1.3 cents for every flush in your toilet if you are in the US. It’s the price if you use the standard toilet with 1.6 GPF.

Meanwhile, in the UK, as the toilet uses 5 liters for every flush, it will cost about 1.8 Pounds.

Types of Waste

You also have to think that another thing affects the cost each time you flush the toilet. It’s the waste that you need to get rid of.

It’s not advisable to flush toilet paper and wipes to prevent damaging your plumbing system. Never flush facial tissues, pads, cotton buds, and dental floss. So, the focus is on liquid and solid waste. After all, toilets are made for them.

Let’s discuss if this water-saving type of toilet indeed lowers toilet costs for water consumption.

Flushing technology of a dual flush toilet

Bruce Thompson is the inventor of the dual flush technology in 1980. It allows the user to manually control the amount of water. There are two options: full flush for solid waste and half flush for liquid waste.

The redesigning of the toilet allows a household to save more water. A modern toilet only needs 1.6 gallons of water to send the solid waste to the sewer.

It’s the full flush and the half flush becomes 0.8 GPF. It can dispose of the liquid waste through less than a gallon of water which is 3 in litres!

How does dual flush get rid of waste?

The dual flush works with a washdown system. It’s the reason why dual flush toilets have notably wider trapway. This is essential as the force pushes the waste down in a washdown operation. It’s how toilets work in the UK and Australia.

It means that a dual flush toilet doesn’t rely on a generous water quantity. Instead, the washdown system features a force that sends the waste down to the sewer. Thus, you can save 68% more water with a dual flush toilet than with a low-flow toilet.

Number of Water to Flush Toilets and Prices

Every user does five average toilet flushes per day. But there are different kinds of toilets in households. The daily number of flushes in houses and the water bill vary.

The rate that is discussed here is for every flush. Note that the gallon of water, including the sewage charge, costs 0.8 cents.

This year, the Energy and Conservation Act came to life. It requires toilets to work with 1.6 GPF.

Rather than depending on water volume, the new toilets integrate the effects of velocity in flushing a toilet. This is the start of producing energy-efficient or high-efficiency toilets.

When a toilet operates with 1.6 GPF, each flush is only 1.3 cents, and the annual sum is $23.72 per year. As you can see, it’s down to more than half of the total for old toilets.

To save water, people continue to search for alternatives. So, some toilets end up worthy of the EPA Watersense label. The water usage is reduced by 60% because of the 1.28 GPF.

The lower the consumption, the lower the cost applies to these low-flow toilets. With only 1.28 gallons of water per flush, you’re only charged a cent for it.

The total for a year is $18.25.

This 1.28 GPF meets the requirements of the California Energy Commission as the Federal law approves the 1.6 GPF. If you’re not aware of it, drought occurs in California.

It’s true that multiple flushes daily consume more water than a bath. So, water consumption from toilets has a higher cost to shower.

California only requires the toilets sold within its territory to work with 1.28 GPF. You’ll only find low-flow toilets when shopping within the state, and you can get rebates for buying one.

Some instances require flushing the toilet to use electricity. First, it happens to you because you have an upflush toilet. This toilet is attached to a wall outlet. Electricity is necessary for the pump and macerating to process the waste and send it to the sewer.

It’s usually 10 to 20 cents per horsepower that runs every hour. You can’t just associate the running water with a toilet as there are other fixtures.

Frequently Asked Questions

The number of times the average person flushes the toilet in a day

According to Princeton University, an average person flushes the toilet five times a day.

How much money can you save by unclogging a toilet?

One of the consequences of having a clogged toilet is overflowing. You can compare it to a slow leak that can waste 30 gallons a day. With the rate of .80 per gallon of water, you can save $24 when unclogging a toilet.

You need to stop the overflowing first before you unclog your toilet. It means turning off the water supply. So, you can work without any disturbance.

Conclusion

How much does it cost to flush a toilet? The rate and total that are introduced in this article are for every user. If you don’t live alone, multiply the digits by the number of your family members.

As long as you have an efficient toilet that lives up to the expectation, it can help you save water. You’ll know it can eliminate the waste without flushing for a second or another time.