DIY Low Flush Toilet

It's easy to make your home toilet into a low flush toilet!

1. Find a clean half gallon plastic jug with a lid.
2. Add enough sand, gravel, rocks or what-have-you to the jug to weigh it down so it can't float, probably an inch or two of material.  
3. Fill the rest of the jug with water.
4. You can add a few drops of bleach to the jug to prevent gunk build up.  
5. Add the lid to the jug.
6. Place the container into the tank of your toilet, away from moving parts.  
7. If you run into trouble, it will likely be from displacing too much water in the tank.  Don't get in the habit of flushing more than once, as that wastes more water than the original design.  This is an easy problem to fix... just try a smaller bottle, since every little bit helps.  When the time comes to replace the toilet, buy a WaterSense certified model and forgo the jug. 
8. Want to make it more fun?  Check your water bill before and after making this easy alteration.  Ka-ching! 

Photo: Happy Simple Living

Toilets use more water than any other item in the home.  On the website for The ABC's Of Toilets, it says, "If all U.S. households installed water-saving features, water use would decrease by 30%.  This would save an estimated 5.4 billion gallons of water per day, resulting in daily dollar-volume savings of $11.3 million or more than $4 billion per year." 

Have you tried this?  Please tell your story in the comments section below.