Home Water Use

Water is something we seem to always take for granted, maybe because there are at times where it seems so plentiful. We go to a river and we see all this water available, or when the rain comes we feel it is always enough to replenish our supply. We open the tap and it is always flowing, easily available. This abundance of water is a gift that we take for granted, despite realization that there are areas of the world where the search for clean drinking water is a constant and often daily struggle.

In recent years, the occurrences of drought has become more often lasting longer than before. This and the ever increasing demand for water due to increases in population and for industrial use is going to continue to stretch the existing supply. It seems only right that we do our share to conserve this resource...and save a little money along the way.

Danco Perfect Match 36416B Faucet Aerator With On/Off Switch

I've always had this feeling of guilt whenever some one leaves the water running while washing their face or brushing their teeth. The reason for leaving the water running is understandable. You just took the time to get the right mix between hot and cold water so you have water at just the right temperature to wash your face, your hands or brush your teeth. No one wants to take the time to redo this a couple of minutes later, especially if you risk getting soap in your eyes! After searching through the local home improvement stores I finally found a possible solution on the internet, the Danco Perfect Match 36416B. I bought initially only to try it out and see how effective it is, and whether it was easy to use. First things first though, where to install it? There is really just two places in a home that you can install an aerator, the kitchen or bathroom. After considering our particular situation through the power of observation, I decided to try this in the bathroom.

Why the 36416B?

The 36416B is actually described as a kitchen aerator, and it is labeled as such. There are plenty of other aerator specifically designed for bathroom use. Most tend to have a lever that extends to allow an automatic on/off feature. Close observation of how we might use the on/off switch seemed to indicate that the lever may end up being an annoyance in the long run. The shorter switch of the 36416B located to the side of the faucet is actually a better option in our case. You may come to a different conclusion depending on your particular situation. I still do intend to try out the aerator with auto on/off feature at a later date. 
 

Installation and Use

The tools you need are simple, an adjustable wrench or pliers. That's it! Simply remove the old aerator and install the 36416B, then test. Start by hand tightening the aerator, using the wrench only as a last resort. Be careful not to tighten too much, and don't tighten it by pushing on the on/off switch, you may end up damaging the aerator.


 Performance

The aerator performed as expected. You adjust the hot/cold water supply and once you get that right mix, turn off the aerator. Not rocket science. The device sometimes drips but I can live with that, compared to what the alternative was. The hardest thing to learn is to remember to actually always use the device, not just for myself but the whole family.

A Word of Caution

While discussing the aerator with a buddy of mine, he had this idea to use the aerator as a permanent on/off switch, kind of like setting the faucet once, never turn the faucet off, and use the aerator instead to turn the water on and off basis. Something to remember, this is for short term use only, as needed. Do not expect to set your hot/cold faucet, and come back 8 hours later expecting the same water temperature. Leaving the aerator at the ON position is like connecting the hot water tank to the cold water source, there is going to be interaction between the two. You might end up spending more on heating water. And I doubt the device was actually designed to be used as an alternative to faucets.

 Simple Flush by Brondell

A major source of water use is the toilet. In the olden days, people would reduce the amount of water used per flush by adding bladders, or stones into the water tank. This reduced the volume of water and thus, the amount used. We've come a long way from those days, with the advent of those low water, 1.6gal/flush toilets, but more can be done.  There have been, in recent years, a push to use toilets that have dual flush function. Dual flush toilets use different amounts of water for handling solids and liquids. Depending on your usage, a family of four could be looking at saving a substantial amount each year. Let us do the math. If you save just 30%/flush, that amounts to 0.48gal/flush saved for low water toilets. For a family of four, using the toilet to flush liquids only, five times a days, that would equal 9.6gal/day or 3500gal/year!

Before deciding to use the Simple Flush by Brondell, I actually considered replacing my existing toilet. Price became an issue because most of the dual flush toilet cost over $300.00, not an amount I was willing to pay. The next option was a converted I ran across at the local HomeDepot store, the Drop-in Dual Flush Converter by MJSI. The concept was simple enough and I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, it did not fit my toilet. The device was too tall so I could not properly close the toilet lid. I also wasn't too sure that the seal was very good. What I needed to find was a different way of implementing the ½ flush. As luck would have it, I came across the Simple Flush while watching a “The Early Show”, or was that, or was that “The Today Show”? Doesn't matter, it looked right the right solution for me.

Installation

The installation instructions were easy to follow. And with the exception of the adjustable wrench, you pretty much got everything you needed with the converter kit. Unlike most other dual flush converters I know of, a device needs to be installed at the water source to control the direction of the water flow. That means a power source is required to operate the device and the flush adjustment, AAA batteries to be precise. 

I followed the instructions provided almost to the letter. I had to make some minor modifications (http://www.squidoo.com/dual-flush-toilet-converter) to make it work with the toilets situation. Other than that, the process is simple and straight forward.

Performance

The Simple Flush performed well, in my opinion. You do need to make some initial adjustments to the full and ½ flush levels. The default was set to 10 but after some tests I finally settled down to a full flush setting of 7, and a ½ flush setting of 4. I did a quick measure of the low level flush and estimated that I was saving around 30% on each flush. The trick is to push the right button consistently.

As with the aerator, using the Simple Flush requires some educating. At first I simply thought I would just install it, leave the original handle installed and let the emblem speak for itself. Nope, people continued to try to flush using the handle and called for help when it didn't work. I finally removed the handle and that seemed to work. With the settings I have, I have noticed that there will be times when there will not be enough water in the ½ flush to completely flush toilet paper. So effectively using this device may also include a change in the way toilet paper is used, perhaps throwing it in the trash instead of the toilet when you would normally just expect to flush down fluids.