Our toilet is no longer the mild-mannered everyday toilet that you’d assume it was. Thanks to being born on the planet Krypton some simple DIY projects that we tackled last weekend, our former Clark Kent of a throne now boasts two new super powers. Can’t you just picture the comic book?
Here’s a rundown of the two blissfully “tool free” (more on that later) projects that we took on. The first was to convert our toilet into a dual-flush tank using a simple $20 converter kit (search HydroRight on Amazon.com or check to see if Home Depot has it) that a reader mentioned to us (thanks Allison!). The second was to add a Bum Genius diaper sprayer to make our cloth diaper clean-up a bit easier (that toilet add-on was $45, but we luckily got it as a shower gift). Oh and our toilet truly isn’t any fancy or special model, so both of these john-upgrades are projects that anyone can tackle in about an hour using any ol’ toilet to start with… although we do realize that a diaper sprayer isn’t high on everyone’s “must have” list.
Let’s start with the dual flush conversion kit. If you find yourself thinking “whaaaa?” let me explain. Splitting the flushing power of your toilet is a water conservation trick that allows you to tell your toilet when you need either a little or a lot of water to, um, take care of your business. Since flushing “liquids” doesn’t require as much water, a dual-flush toilet has a setting that uses a lot less of it. Word on the Interweb is that a dual-flushing function allows your toilet to use 30% less water, which can save the average household 2000 gallons of water a year. And the box that came with our dual flush converter states that the average family can save up to $100 a year just by adding one of them to one toilet in any household (which means it pays for itself five times in the first year alone). And just imagine how much you can save installing one on every toilet.
The box also claimed that this installation would be totally tool-free. But sadly my experience quickly required a tool to remove the tightly-screwed old handle (although it can easily be argued that some toilets wouldn’t necessitate one- ours was just super tight). The good news is that it was still a super easy undertaking. And the next step of removing the flapper (the gray thing that you can see a sliver of in the bottom-right) was far less involved (no tools required at all). Oh and turning the water off was optional, but I did decide to do that so I didn’t have to keep sticking my hand into tank water.
With the old pieces removed, the first task was to slide the bottom part of the dual-flush tower into place where my old flapper had been.
Then I wiggled a tight, black rubber band over the fill tube to keep the dual-flush piece in place and firmly pressed against the opening. There’s also a zip-tie at the back of the piece that I pulled tight to help keep things in place. I had accidentally cut the tie off at first, thinking it was part of the packaging, but thankfully the kit actually supplied a back up! They must have known people would jump the gun like I did. Lesson learned.
Then it was time to set the rest of the tower. It looks like quite a beast, but it clicks into place very easily with a simple drop-and-twist motion. You can see some of the technology in this shot – the adjustable blue slider is what helps to regulate how much water should be used in the quick flush function, and the green switch does the same for the full flush.
My next task was to put in the new button where the old handle had been. I was able to securely hand-tighten this (again, no tools required). Oh and hand-tightening is always a good approach because over-tightening things can potentially crack the porcelain of your tank or bowl. Not good.
Here you can see what the button looks like. It’s split for what we’ve been calling a “single flush” (for liquids) and “double flush” (for, as the packaging describes, “when you need more power”).
From there you just pop the button device (the white box at the other end of the blue cord) onto the back of the button. And there’s no electricity or battery involved, despite the fact that it all started to look somewhat bomb-like at this point.
It took me about 20 minutes to get this far, but my eagerness to start flushin’ was damped by the fact that the buttons didn’t work at all at first. But through a few minutes of trial and error (which is pretty much how we do everything around here at Casa Petersik) I realized that the level of my blue slider was very important. If it was too close or too far from the water level, my button pushing wasn’t strong enough to lift the tower’s built in flapper. Fast-forward about ten minutes and this John was happy with his john. Both buttons worked every single time once we found that magical placement of the blue slider.
To demonstrate exactly what this dual-flushing function means when it comes to saving water, check out the difference between how little water is used at the single flush setting, and how much more goes out on the full flush setting. There was definitely an obvious difference in the water level, and you could even hear the toilet working a lot quicker for the single flushing action. Score.
As for our toilet’s second super power, the installation of the diaper sprayer also would’ve been completely tool-free had I not needed a wrench to unscrew my previous work. Other than that, the task was so simple that it barely requires step by step photography. The “Mini Shower” simply installs on the bottom of your tank right between your water line and the tank itself. Then a clear, plastic tube (which you can cut to a desired length) attaches with a firm push into the device on one end, and the sprayer on the other.
Here it is installed – you can see it even comes with a handle to adjust the water pressure. Very handy indeed.
If you’re still wondering what the heck a diaper sprayer is (as I admittedly was at first) it’s supposed to be a huge help for cleaning cloth diapers. In fact, many of you even recommended it to us on this post. Without getting too descriptive, it lets you spray “stuff” off of the diapers and into the toilet so it doesn’t go into the laundry (which is then done at a certain temperature to completely sanitize the diapers for their next use). Here’s a demonstration photo (and yes, I did accidentally spray the ceiling while attempting to take this picture).
The kit even comes with a little sprayer holster that can be installed onto a wall, but we opted to use the more subtle hook that hangs on the side of the tank since it feels less permanent (hopefully we won’t be diapering for the next few decades). You can also see that we chose to run the tube behind our tank to make the whole thing less of an eyesore, and this way we can keep the sprayer on the right side of the toilet (which is virtually invisible from almost every angle of our bathroom- plus it’ll also come in handy on that side for two right-handers like us).
So here’s our pimped out potty one last time in all of its super-charged glory. We love that the upgrades were fast (60 minutes max), easy (almost 100% tool-free) and cheap ($20 converter + gifted $45 sprayer). And since the changes are fairly inconspicuous, our little loo can still keep its secret identity mostly under wraps. In fact, our half bathroom will be getting the same dual-flushing treatment asap because we’re so in love with the eco friendly (and wallet friendly) benefits of such a simple $20 upgrade. Especially when you consider that people pay big bucks for dual flushing toilets and this kit allows you to keep the toilet that you have out of a landfill, but upgrade it with the same cost and water saving technology.
I don’t know if it’s the man in me, but the idea of an upgraded throne is actually quite appealing. It’s the whole “my toy is better than your toy” frame of mind. And since I’ll never win the award for the biggest flatscreen TV or the biggest biceps, at least I can brag that my toilet is smarter than my friends’ toilets. Have any of you tackled either of these john-centric projects (or others like ’em)? We’d also love to hear if you have other tips for conserving water, saving money with an easy upgrade, or heck, cleaning cloth diapers for that matter. Share and share alike.
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great tutorial! I figured a dual-flush conversion was something we wouldn’t be able to get until our next future/dream house – becuz of the cost involved. I think we can definitely swing the $20 installation! Thanks so much for sharing.
Very clever, I didn’t even know such conversion kits existed. When our three old toilets bit the dust, we replaced them all w/euro/dual flush from Costco (~$150/ea-on sale) and we LOVE them! Happy flushing! (the sprayer looks very handy too! :))
I love this dual-flush concept, such a great idea! Genius really.
So…now that the little one is home, how is the sprayer working? And would you recommend cloth diapers to new parents?
Hey Angela,
Other thank playing around with the sprayer for testing purposes, we haven’t actually used it yet for our little one. See the cloth diapers we got are just a wee bit big for Clara, so we’ve been using Seventh Generation disposables to tide us over until she’s big enough to fit her cloth ones. After she gains a few pounds she’ll be in them for the long haul (they’re one size fits all from around 12 lbs up- which we LOVE!) so we’re sure we’ll get tons of use out of the sprayer. We’ve heard nothing but great things about how it makes cloth diapering a whole lot easier.
xo,
s
AH! I MUST buy a cloth diaper-sprayer-downer! What an amazing invention. I just yelled out to my husband in the next room that we had to purchase one.. he didn’t seem as enthusiastic…. o well!
So happy for you guys, by the way. You’ll have to update us on how the cloth diapers work out for you. When I told family and friends that I was planning on using cloth diapers they all rescinded their babysitting offers!
How nifty, I’d love to have one of those! We save water the old fashioned way right now….”If it’s yellow let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”
Our local Costco has dual flush toilets in the public restrooms. Between the three shopper girls in the family, we get plenty of chances to try them out. I do have a question, though. How often do you find you have to flush twice when you’ve thought once should have been enough? Maybe you used the light flush and it just didn’t take care of things so you used the stronger flush the second time. From our family’s experience, it doesn’t have to be “waste” posing the problem when flushing, but toilet paper instead. (It is my dream to one day get them to understand that less toilet paper is just as effective. sigh…) The double flushing at Costco is the main reason we haven’t tried this at home yet.
Oh…and congrats on the cutie!
YAY. I love the dual flush idea!! I need to install one on my toilet — I never knew about these before this post! And, when we start a little family, I’ll be sure to grab one of these sprayers – thanks for showing me the How Tos! I can’t believe you are still blogging – you two are the most prepared couple the world has EVER known.
Fantastic ideas and tutorials! Thanks!
Huh! I was wondering how that whole cloth diaper thing would work with your washing machine. You two seem pretty tidy, and I was finding it hard to believe you’d just throw that whole mess into your washer. I work in an environmental field, and if the hubs and I decide to go down that baby route, I wasn’t sure even I could handle cloth diapers. Now I’m a bit more convinced.
I’m glad to see the dual flush is working out. I didn’t know that was such an easy DIY – we’ll have to do that! Are you still really liking it from the time you intalled?
Congrats on the new little one! I’m not just saying this because it’s obligatory – she really is adorable. :)
~Kate
Thank you so much for this post! I was wondering how I could make cloth diapers easier when the time comes. And the dual-flush kit is just as awesome.
Congrats on your new baby!!
Dual-flush? That is very cool. Gotta talk to the hubs!
I know you can put a brick or some other kind of water-displacer in your toilet tank to save water, but I like yours much better! Because sometimes you really do need the “double flush” for a little more power. I’m glad to know its easy to install… I might just have to do that. And that button! Seriously, could flushing the toilet be any more cool?
That diaper sprayer is so neat! I just sent this post to a friend of mine who’s expecting and plans on cloth diapering.
I’m buying that dual flusher this weekend! My husband likes to flush anything down the chute even if there isn’t any “stuff” that needs to go down with it. A tissue he sneezed in, a q-tip, a paper towel(!!!)… it all gets flushed when he’s around. I think he has waste basket blinders on or something.
Do you know if they make a converter from the handle flusher to the button push flusher (without dual flush)?
I just have to say that I laughed out loud when I read the word “Interweb.”
My husband insisted on buying the toilet that could flush a bucket of golf balls…a man thing, I guess. Do you know if the dual flush converter is a good option for all toilets?
Thanks so much for the great tutorial! A dual flush toilet is…or I should say…was on our bathroom remodeling list. Now I have a new DIY project for my hubby and I!
I just thought I’d mention that you can actually make a DIY diaper sprayer. A friend of ours installed ours as a gift and blogged about how he did it here: http://kickert.info/blog/2010/03/16/do-it-yourself-diaper-sprayer/
And, not to get too graphic, but if you decide to breastfeed, you don’t even have to use the sprayer until Clara starts solids. Breastmilk is water soluble, so it all comes out in the wash! (That would be why my five month old still hasn’t started solids!)
Just thought I’d mention it! (Sorry for grossing everyone out!)
Thank you, thank you, thank you SO much for this post! So very helpful for when we will use cloth diapers!
Diaper Sprayer, really? Never knew that existed…is it easy to remove once you are done using diapers? or do you then use it as a makeshift Bidet? ;P
Love the dual flusher–why they’re not standard in the States when that’s all you see in Europe is beyond me. Quick question, is your toilet already a low flow, so that you’re further reducing your water usage?
Sooooo excited about the dual flush conversion kit.! I already hopped over to amazon and bought one! I have been wanting to buy a dual flush toilet – thanks for the info!
Great way to save water…this may be our next purchase since our toilet is huge and uses SO much water.
Question, with cloth diapering what will you do when you go on a trip with the baby, or are out for the day, when cleaning the cloth diapers may not be an option. Will you have a supply of disposable ones, or carry the dirty ones around? Must be hard when traveling..
Thank you so much for this post! I just ordered the dual flush kit. Never knew it was that easy!! LOVE this blog!
I have a 13 month old who has discovered the toilet (as well as how yummy toilet paper tastes?) anyway…what are the chances your little miss will discover the diaper sprayer and choose to shower the bathroom? I’m sure she would never do anything like that…but mine would.
We will never live without a diaper sprayer again. It is the BOMB for cleaning out little potties during potty training and for rinsing out buckets after mopping the floor.
I have another toilet upgrade suggestion for you for when the lovely little Miss Clara is older – at Home Depot we saw they have toilet seats with a much smaller toilet seat for little bums built right into the lid. That way when they’re still learning, you don’t have to worry about them falling in!! And, I believe it was only $18 or so.
Dena – We haven’t had an issue yet with a single flush not doing its job. The nice thing about this adapter is that you can adjust how much water is used in each scenario, so if your family finds you need more power on the single flush you can put a bit more water power behind it. Great that you got to try it out at Costco too!
Kate – We are still loving the dual flush, though I’ll admit I haven’t quite totally trained my hand to not hunt for a handle.
Keren – I myself haven’t seen a button flusher conversion kit that doesn’t involve the dual flush part of it too. Doesn’t mean it isn’t out there. Anyone know of one?
Melody – I can’t speak to whether or not the converter is 100% universally adaptable to all toilets, but unless your golf-ball-sucking toilet has a really special contraption inside, I don’t see why you’d have any trouble.
Catherine – Thanks for the link about the DIY sprayer. Might be a good option if we decide we need a sprayer for the half bath too. And don’t worry about grossing us out, we’ve had our share of gross lately. Guess I can’t speak for everyone else though… :)
Amyks – It’s super easy to remove it once we’re done with (and if we choose not to go the bidet route – ha!) because we can just reconnect the water supply as it was before and unclip the sprayer from the side of the tank.
S – To be honest, I don’t remember if our toilet was a low-flow when we bought it a while back. I’d check now but I’m giving Sherry a much needed chance to shower! :)
[email protected] – Good question: we’re planning to use disposable Seventh Generation diapers when we’re on the go because, as you noted, it’s probably hard to do the BumGenius while traveling.
Nikki – Little hands finding the sprayer and giving the room a good shower is definitely something to consider. The water pressure valve on the mini shower can be turned all the way down, effectively turning off the sprayer until it’s ready for use so that’s one way to help prevent “mishaps” like that.
Amy – That’s an awesome tip about the smaller toilet set right in the lid. Thanks! Those are exactly the type of the solutions we’ll need in our tiny bathrooms.
-John
You will love your diaper sprayer! We didn’t use it much in the beginning – soiled diapers from a breast fed baby can go right in the wash – but now that Ellie is on solids, there are some real stinkers! We rinse out her overnight diaper (we use BumGenius and Tiny Tush pocket diapers) so it doesn’t stink up her room until laundry time. We tried several methods to eliminate the smell but ultimately, giving the overnighter a dunk in the morning solved it. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this post! We are currently upgrading our half bathroom, and were about to spend quite a lot of money for a dual flush toilet. Now I’m going to buy a “regular” one and add this device to it. Thanks!!
We haven’t needed a diaper sprayer so I’d be interested to know what you think of it after the cloth diaper experience. Also, I’ve had soooo many problems with the stink issues of bum genius (didn’t happen till baby was a year old). You’ve probably read about this problem online. I tried so many things. Finally lime juice worked but ruined the waterproof layer. We gave up on them and now use prefolds, a snappi and covers like we did when baby was an infant. For us, the cheaper simpler way ended up being better than the more expensive supposedly convenient new way of cloth diapering.
Congrats on the little one!
Holy crap! I just read Sherry’s response above, and thought, “who is Clara?”. Hadn’t gotten to that post yet – congratulations!! She’s a beauty. Babies born on Friday the 14th are extra special (mine was born 8/14/09). Don’t worry – we used disposables for the first few weeks, too. Adjusting to life with a newborn is crazy enough. The cloth can be mastered later. Get some rest and enjoy your little girl!
Great post! Have any guests used your new dual-flush flush feature? I think it would take me a few minutes to figure out how to flush – having never seen one unti now!
Hey Megean,
Actually since Clara has arrived we’ve had tons of guests using the new feature. If we’re lucky we remember to explain how it works, but the button is divided in a pretty explanatory manner, so the only misunderstanding is that sometimes people think it’s just a button flush (and don’t see the two options within the button) so they just push it randomly (and it might half-flush or totally flush depending on what part of the button they push) but so far it hasn’t been a big deal at all since everything that they’ve been doing in our bathroom has gone right down (if you know what I mean). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
The pressure regulator on the diaper sprayer is a wonderful thing! Too much pressure and you end up with sprayed diaper “bits” all over you and your walls! Voice of experience… ;)
Hey guys! Great post! I have seen the dual flush all over Europe and thought what a great idea, good to see we have a cheap and easy option here.
I am an apartment dweller and therefore can not do any permanent modifications, do you think this would be easy to switch back to the old flush handle for if I move on (hopefully to my own charming DIY house)? Thanks much!
Hey Christa,
Yup, just save the old pieces (or buy a new standard kit) and it should be just as easy to switch it out again when you move. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Awesome upgrades guys!! I had no idea there were dual flush kits out there. And I am not a parent but I for sure will be using the diaper sprayer for my cloth diapers when the time comes, I am curious to see how well they wash the crap(no pun intended!) off.
I love this idea – will definitely be going out to get one of these. Sadly, we are in a condo where our water bill is paid out of our HOA fees, so I won’t see the direct savings, but it still feels good to know that you are using less water.
Oh – and I think it is biceps, not “bicepts” – I know how much you guys hate typos!
Great catch Caroline! All fixed.
xo,
s
Dual flush is awesome…I had no idea they existed till last week. I saw a installation of one of these also on This old house on pbs a few days ago.
Good luck with the diapers!
What a coincidence… I JUST installed a HydroFlush this past weekend in our only bathroom. I haven’t been able to get the single flush to work every time though. I guess I need to play with the blue piece some more…
Did anyone else notice that Amazon has a USED dual-flush converter for sale? That made me laugh. No thanks, I’ll spend the extra $2 to get a new one!!
I am going to google now to see what options I have. Our toilet has a pull-up flusher that’s on the top of the tank, right in the middle.
This is a very handy thing to know. Thanks YHL and Allison!
I’m glad to now have a visual of what a diaper sprayer actually looks like. lol. If I show this post to my fiance, he’s going to want to install one for use as a bidet. Haha.
Cool diaper sprayer! I wish I would have had one when I cloth diapered my kiddos, it would have made things a tad easier!
Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl!
Great finds, just placed an Amazon order for both!
Great post. My little guy just started fitting into his size small Fuzzi Bunz (11.5 pounds and 10 weeks)this week so I am sure we will refer back to this post once we are done nursing. Thanks again!
these are great tips! we’ve been having ongoing conversations about cloth diapers and just can’t decide what to do. if we were having one baby, it would be a no brainer, but we feel like it might be a little overwhelming to manage with twins. over the weekend, our friends were raving about the ‘g’ diapers with the biodegradable/flushable liners, so right now we’re leaning towards those, but if we go with anything other than that, this sprayer will be a MUST!!! i also asked for a new utility sink for my b-day (so mature, aren’t i?!?! ;) ) so we have a cleaner, prettier place for heavy duty rinsing, soaking, etc.
Now I feel the need to rush out and buy the dual flusher!! That thing is so awesome, and now I have another pro for cloth diapers when/if we have kids.
Can’t wait to see more pics of Clara, she’s gorgeous! :)
We’re renting right now, but I have a list of all the awesome stuff y’all have profiled on here to help reduce waste and “save the planet” and I can’t wait til we’re in a more permanent place to install stuff like the water saver! And just like a few other readers I was totally wondering about the whole “straight from the bottom to the washing machine” with the cloth diapers and now that you’ve tipped us off on the sprayer, it makes a lot more sense. ha!
I hope y’all are doing well with sweet little Clara! She’s cute to boot!
We went the DIY route for our diaper sprayer. Kind of like this:
http://blissfullydomestic.com/2008/diy-tutorial-make-your-own-diaper-sprayer
You will love it when Clara is big enough to need it! However, if she’s exclusively breastfed, you don’t have to rinse the “stuff” off at all!
I didn’t know these converter kits existed. How cool!
Thanks for the great tutorial – I’ve never heard of this converter kit but it seems like such a great idea for only $20!
I’ve been using cloth diapers for 3 years now on my two boys and I just wanted to chime in that for day trips it is very easy to just bring along a waterproof bag for dirty diapers and throw them in your diaper pail for laundering when you get home. Even for weekend trips, I’ve just brought along a trash bag to keep the dirty cloth diapers in and laundered them when we got home. If you keep the bag sealed up tight, I’ve never encountered many smell issues. And other commenters are definitely right about breastfed babies – their diapers aren’t bad at all until they start solids.
Hope you’re enjoying every minute with your new baby girl! She’s beautiful!