You probably don’t think much about the toilets in your home. So long as they are working properly, all you need to do is clean them every now and then, and little else. But did you know there are other styles of toilets you can get that are not only more water-efficient, but also significantly reduces the risk of clogging? They are called pressure assisted toilets, and many homeowners are choosing them over standard toilets in the home.
What is a Pressure Assisted Toilet?
As the name implies, a pressure assisted toilet utilizes more water pressure to flush solid waste. This differs from models that simply use a gravity system in that the waste is pushed further into the plumbing at a higher velocity, ensuring it doesn’t come back into the toilet and reducing the chances of clogging the toilet.
Pressure assisted toilets come in a variety of styles and options, including low-flow options to help you conserve water. When you first use a pressure assisted toilet, you may be surprised the sound of the flush — it’s louder than your standard toilet. However, the benefits of a pressure assisted toilet far outweigh the noise.
How Does a Pressure Assisted Toilet Work?
The pressure assisted toilet is designed with two tanks — a second tank within the first tank. Standard toilets, also known as gravity flush toilets, simply rely on gravity to pull the water down from the single tank into the toilet bowl, subsequently washing waste away into the plumbing.
The two tank system in a pressure assisted toilet is much more efficient, using compressed air that forcibly ejects water out of the tank. Pressure assisted toilets are often found in commercial buildings, but they are becoming very popular in residential homes as well.
The Pressure Assist Tank
The smaller tank, (called the pressure assist tank), sits within the main tank and contains an air bladder that is filled with both air and water. The water serves to compress the air, and when the toilet is flushed, the air pressure expels the water. This delivers a much more powerful flush, ensuring all waste and debris is completely washed down the toilet.
When the flush is complete, a fill valve similar to the one found in a gravity flush toilet opens, allowing the air bladder to refill with air and water so that the cycle can repeat.
Benefits of a Pressure Assist Toilet
There are many benefits of having a pressure assist toilet in your home, despite the louder noise of the flush. Consider the following and see if you’d like to replace your gravity flush toilets.
Pressure Assist Toilets Are More Efficient at Flushing Solid Waste
As described above, the two tank system is simply better at flushing waste than the gravity flush system. With a pressure assist toilet, you won’t be frustrated when waste comes back into the toilet as sometimes occurs with a gravity flush toilet.
Pressure Assist Toilets Reduce the Chance of a Clog
Sometimes nothing is more frustrating than a clogged toilet. It probably doesn’t matter how great your gravity flush toilet is, it’s likely you’ve experienced a clogged toilet at least once. But there is very little chance of a clogged toilet with a pressure assist toilet.
That’s because the high pressure is capable of pushing solid waste much farther than a gravity flush toilet. Clogs usually occur because waste gets stuck in various areas of the plumbing system where sticking points can impede the flow. The pressure assist toilet pushes waste beyond these sticking points, significantly reducing the risk of a clog, even with old, dilapidated pipes.
Pressure Assist Toilets Save Water
Believe it or not, pressure assist toilets actually use less water, not more. That’s because the high pressure flush is created from compressed air, and not more water. A typical pressure assist toilet uses 1.1 to 1.2 gallons of water per flush. When you compare this to the average of 1.6 gallons of water used by a gravity flush toilet, you can see how this would make a big difference in water use and your water bill. Depending upon how old your toilets are, replacing them with pressure assist toilets can save you thousands of gallons of water each year.
They Help You Save Money
As was just mentioned, you’ll definitely be saving a decent amount of money on your water bill. While you might spend a bit more on a pressure assist toilet than you would on a gravity flush toilet, it is definitely worth it if you plan on staying in your home for a few years. Additionally, you may even qualify for rebates with your utility company.
And, because the pressure assist toilet utilizes less moving parts, it requires less maintenance and parts replacement, so no more trips to the home goods store to purchase obscure toilet parts for a gravity flush toilet.
No Sweating
While this is only a minor nuisance with gravity flush toilets, it’s nice to see that pressure assist toilets don’t experience the condensation problem in humid weather that their standard counterparts do. But it’s also a benefit because you don’t have to worry about dripping condensation that can cause rot on your bathroom floor.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of pressure assist toilets, feel free to contact Black Diamond Experts. We can answer all your questions and install new pressure assist toilets for you should you decide you want to replace your gravity flush toilets with a superior toilet.
