The past 18 months has seen a mad lot of home renovation work at This Old Farmhouse. It culminated this week with the installation of a lovely pair of dual-flush low-flow toilets. Not so exciting to many, perhaps, but then we don’t get out much… In fact, He Who Hogs The Power Tools just sent out the following “news release” to family and friends, trumpeting our green plumbing triumph. Enjoy! ~Jen
Upgrade to “Dual Exhaust” System
No, it’s not what you might be thinking — we’ve just completed the changeover to more environmentally responsible dual flush toilets in our two bathrooms — which is the last item on our list of upgrades for the government-sponsored Home Energy Retrofit program.
No, it doesn’t increase performance in a ’68 Mustang kinda way (although as you can see in the pictures below, we’ve temporarily got “four-on-the-floor”!) but by replacing two thirsty 20-litre-per-flush toilets (driven by two coffee drinkers), we’ll significantly reduce our water consumption — and cut back on the electricity that’s used to pump that water, too.
The dual flush comes down to the basics we all learned as kids — #1 or #2. 4 Litres / 6 litres. Nuff said.
In the past 18 months we’ve made significant improvements to reduce our heating and energy costs, as well as adding a couple of quality-of-life items like a new veranda and fencing in the side yard so the dogs can be “relieved on their own recognizance.”
In return, the Feds will reimburse us about 3% of what we’ve spent (think Canadian Tire Money on the value of a slightly-used Lincoln Navigator). It’s not a lot, but along with the reduced fuel bills and the “feel good” factor — it’s well worth it.
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