Should You Really Put a Brick In Your Toilet to Save Water?

Toilets account for almost 30% of household water consumption according to the EPA, which means, that Replacing old models with newer, more efficient models can take a serious bite off your water bill. Unfortunately, the significant up-front cost is a deal breaker for many people, leading some to turn to creative water-saving solutions – like putting a brick in the tank.

Illustration for article titled Should You Really Put a Brick in Your Toilet to Save Water?

The idea behind this classic DIY hack is simple: putting a brick in a toilet tank takes up space and reduces water consumption for each flush. Done right, it works – but if you’re not careful, your clever low-flow setup may either do nothing at all or cause serious damage to your toilet and plumbing. Here’s what you need to know to get it right.

Figure out your baseline

If your toilet was manufactured and installed after 1994, it is already quite efficient. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (which became law in 1994) Set a federal standard of 1.6 gallons per flush (GPF).that still exists today. Before 1994 toilets can use more than 3 times that amount, and that’s before you think about it age-related inefficiencies such as leaks and slow refills.

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Illustration for article titled Should You Really Put a Brick in Your Toilet to Save Water?

On the one hand, the older your toilet, the more you can save by reducing water consumption. If your toilet is 30 years old, you (or your landlord) should really just replace it. Modern high-performance models use 1.3 GPF or even less, and no displacement can put an old toilet anywhere near that number. It saves about 0.25 gallons per flush at most – better than nothing, but not exactly a dramatic reduction.

Skip the brick and use a bottle

While this is a common suggestion, putting a brick in the toilet tank is not a good idea. Bricks are dirty to begin with and will break down over time, potentially adding all kinds of dirt to your toilet’s flush mechanism. It can help to wrap the brick tightly in a plastic bag or two and tape it over it. However, it is much better to fill a 2 liter plastic bottle with water, stones, or sand and use that instead. It displaces water just as well as a brick and has far less risk of seriously damaging your toilet.

Placement is important

Whether you are using a brick or a bottle, your displacer will not be able to do anything if it is below the bottom fill line of your tank. This is how SFGate Home Guides explains it::

“Before you flush a toilet, the water fills the tank to the higher water level line. … As you rinse, the water will drain to the lower fill line and slowly begin to fill until it reaches the higher line again. When your brick is completely below the low fill line in the water, [it] does nothing to save water. “

Remember, you’re not displacing an entire brick or bottle of water every time you flush – you’re just displacing the volume above the bottom fill line. If your bottle hits that line at the neck, you’re only saving water worth a shortage. For maximum efficiency, position the object so that most of its volume is above the bottom fill line.

Always think long term

The bottom line is that displacement can reduce your toilet’s water usage, but not by much. If you are serious about making your home more water efficient and able to improve the toilets, this should be your number one goal. Until then, think of your toilet stone (or bottle) like a band-aid, not a cure – and don’t forget to take it out before you move.

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