New hope for toilet water saving

To be honest, Taiwanese do not save much water, and the amount of domestic water consumption is increasing every year. According to the statistics of the International Water Association (IWA), in 2016, the domestic water consumption of Taiwanese cities ranked 8th (Taipei City) and 14th (Kaohsiung City) among the major cities in the world, especially Taipei, which consumes 326 liters per person per day. The city is more than twice that of Busan, which is also an Asian city.

In many European cities, the average water consumption is only slightly more than 100 liters per person per day.https://www.shineful.com.tw/ma58.htm, In many water-scarce areas, the daily water consumption per person is less than 20 liters. So why don't Taiwanese save water? Many experts have pointed the finger at Taiwan's water tariffs.

The Taiwan Water Company announced that the minimum per kilowatt hour (per 1,000 liters) is 7.35 yuan, which means that the current average monthly water fee is only about 70 yuan per person. According to the IWA survey, Taiwan’s water tariff in 2014 ranked 5th from the bottom among 30 countries. With such cheap water charges, it is no wonder that the water company has to shout "no money" in the face of pipeline renewal and water purification construction.

Review the rationality of domestic water use

Having said that, how much water is called "enough"? According to data from the European Union, including drinking water, laundry, personal hygiene, and cooking, etc., each person uses at least 60 to 70 liters per day to meet the "medium-range maintenance water consumption." So where do Taiwanese who use nearly 300 liters a day use water?

In addition to possible pipeline leaks, according to statistics from the Water Resources Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, toilet flushing accounts for 27% of daily water consumption. Calculating with 300 liters of daily consumption, the average person uses more than 80 liters of flushing water per day, which is equivalent to allowing a refugee to maintain a comfortable day or satisfying 40 people for a whole day of clean drinking water.

In view of this, coupled with the long-standing problem of uneven rainfall distribution in Taiwan, which has led to frequent water restrictions and water shortages, the Water Resources Department not only implemented the water-saving mark, but also imposed mandatory regulations in 2018 that the toilets and washing machines that marked the water-saving mark can be used. Sell.

Water saving challenges for domestic toilets

Washing clothes can reduce the frequency and accumulate more clothes before washing. But toilet flushing is related to hygiene and environmental comfort, not to mention shared spaces such as office buildings and tourist attractions, no matter how small the amount, you still have to flush.

Since 1998, Taiwan has continuously added provincial water label items and revised the content. In the current laws and regulations on water-saving toilets, the old-style toilets are flushed with about 12 liters each time; the ordinary water-saving mark requires that the large size be flushed below 6 liters; the gold-level water-saving mark must be below 4.8 liters. Under the continuous promotion of the provincial water label, the Water Resources Department estimates that the water-saving toilet alone can help Taiwan save 7.91 million tons of water a year, which is more than the water storage capacity of an entire Baihe Reservoir.

Worry about not washing clean

However, the traditional toilet saves water, but it encounters many challenges, most of which are related to the old pipelines in Taiwan. There are roughly two types of toilets on the market, one is the flush type (flush type) and the other is the siphon type. The former is to flush the excrement from top to bottom with water, and the latter is the pulling force between the water to "suck" the excrement from the drain to the septic tank of the building.

Although the straight-through type saves water and is less likely to be blocked than the siphon type, it has the problems of easy splashing, adhesion and dirt, and the flushing sound is very loud. Most apartments in Taiwan use a siphon type with low sound. Also because the "sink" at the bottom of the toilet is relatively large, dirt is easily taken away and will not stick to the surface of the toilet. However, it consumes more water and is more likely to be blocked. The problem.

Regardless of the type of toilet, there will be a problem in the design of "the less water is used, the less clean it is." Today's general siphon toilets consume approximately 6 liters of water for large and 3 liters for small, and they will also be affected by the building's pipeline structure.

Technological innovation brings new hope

In addition, in addition to the fecal pipes that lead to the toilets of each household, the house septic tank should also be equipped with an exhaust pipe to prevent partial blockage of the fecal pipe or overfilling of the septic tank, causing the toilet to be blocked or the septic tank. The backflow of "feces" makes the toilet smelly.

However, some old houses in Taiwan did not design a vent pipe, or the vent pipe was sealed because the top floor was covered for fear of smelling, resulting in an increase in the air pressure in the siphon toilet pipe. If the water pressure during flushing cannot be higher than Atmospheric pressure drives the water flow down to form a siphon effect, and the excrement cannot be flushed down, and instead it is suspected that the toilet is blocked.

After switching to a water-saving toilet, the situation is more obvious because of the low water consumption and the low water pressure when flushing. It even takes a few more flushes to flush it, which runs counter to the purpose of saving water. Therefore, Taiwanese hydropower masters generally do not recommend installing water-saving toilets when encountering this situation.

Water saving value that is difficult to measure

In recent years, Hennessy & Hinchcliffe, a provincial water toilet brand in Canada, has obtained a patented technology to use its brains to improve the siphon toilet, and launch a pneumatic siphon toilet similar to an airplane toilet, which uses vacuum suction to flush water.

The slight difference is that the aircraft toilet uses a vacuum motor to create a vacuum to suck away solid waste; H&H's technology uses water in and out adjustments to allow a vacuum in the pipeline to automatically pump air when flushing to make flushing. It is easier to form a siphon effect, which can smoothly take away water and solid excrement. As a result, the amount of water used for a single flush is reduced to less than 3 liters, which is equivalent to saving nearly 60 liters a day, and the detergency also passes international standards.

If you save 60 liters a day, you can save about 20 yuan per month in Taiwan (perhaps more people can save a little more). Since Taiwan’s water bills are too cheap, the money may not seem to be much. However, it is an indisputable fact that Taiwan’s water consumption is among the top and has increased year after year. Water cuts and restrictions have also become part of life in Taiwan. The convenience may far exceed the value of 20 yuan.

Of course, taking the responsibility of being a citizen of the earth seriously and saving resources without excessive waste is a common issue every day. Next time when you’re in the tub, don’t bring your phone in. Try to think about the days when the water was cut off and imagine a life without water. Oh! Remember to flush! Text / taken from Environmental Information Center

Water saving tips for toilets

If you can’t update your home as a super-saving toilet, you can use the following water-saving tricks recommended by the Water Resources Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which can save water to some extent and be friendly to the environment.

❶Please use a 6-liter water-saving toilet for new houses; replace the water-consuming toilet with a two-stage flushing fitting.

❷Always pay attention to and check whether the toilet is leaking. First close the water inlet triangle valve and observe whether the water level of the water tank is lowered. If there is water leakage, replace the water-stop rubber cover as soon as possible.

❸If it is determined that the capacity of the toilet tank is too large, a bottle filled with water can be placed to reduce the amount of flushing.

❹Use rainwater storage equipment on the roof to collect rainwater as an alternative water source for general watering, car washing and toilet flushing. Or collect water used to wash your face, hands, baths, and vegetables on weekdays and use it as toilet flushing.

❺Change the urinal flushing device to an automatic induction type, and adjust the proper flushing time.

❻Institutions, schools, factories, etc. can plan the waterway system. Treat domestic sewage to meet certain water quality standards and use it as a water reuse system for garden watering, playground sprinkling, toilet flushing, and fire fighting water.

❼ Do not put disinfectant or deodorant in the toilet tank to avoid strong acid and alkali from corroding the water stop rubber cover and causing toilet water leakage.