How to Make an Efficiency Toilet

Purchase an adjustable flush flapper valve at the hardware store, making sure that the item is correct for your style of toilet. It takes only minutes to install, and it governs the amount of water allowed back into the tank after a flush. You choose how much or how little to allow.

Stop leaks from the tank to the bowl. Turn off the water supply to the tank, flush the toilet to empty the tank, unhook the chain and remove the flapper by popping it off of the pegs on either side. Wipe the seating where the flapper opens and closes in case there is any buildup spoiling a seal. Put the new flapper on the pegs, re-attach the chain and turn the water supply to the toilet back on.

Save water by the water-displacement method. The old-fashioned way was to put bricks into the tank so that it took less water to fill it up. Today, use commercial water-displacement dams or simply fill a soda bottle with water and sink it into the tank in an area where it will not interfere with the flushing mechanism.

Convert your toilet with a dual-flush kit. Dual-flush toilets use a smaller volume of water to flush liquid waste, and larger-volume flushes for solid waste. To install one of these types, remove the old flapper and slide the new dual-flush unit down over the overfill tube to seat over the flush valve where the old flapper used to be. The old handle is removed and replaced by the dual-flush handle. Other styles of dual-flush mechanisms are also available.