“Bathroom humor” may have a bad name, but bathrooms - and their most important feature, the toilet - are just a fact of life. Let’s take a look this month at the environmental implications of the “porcelain throne.”

Keeping It Clean - and Green
You can’t avoid it - the toilet has to be cleaned. But do you really need those fancy, new, heavily-marketed toilet bowl brushes, with the disposable or “flushable” heads? Probably not. Those replacement heads get expensive, so you’ll save money using a traditional, reusable toilet brush. Despite what the commercials say, using the old-type brushes does not seem any grosser or more unsanitary to me than using the new disposable ones. And they’re much less wasteful.

Many folks use a chlorine cleanser like Comet or Ajax to clean the toilet. But consider switching to a cleanser without chlorine, such as Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend. Reducing the use and production of chlorine helps the environment.

Be Kind to Your Sewer System
You’d be amazed what people flush down the toilet. But flushing the wrong items can clog your pipes, create problems for the wastewater treatment system and harm the environment. King County Wastewater Treatment Division has a great website that tells what can and cannot be flushed, and gives alternate disposal solutions for each item: www.dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/community/oldstuff.htm

Water Guzzler
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the toilet accounts for the largest single use of water inside the home - 41 percent.  Reducing the water needed to flush the toilet can save an average household about 7,500 gallons of water per year, says the Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service.

Toilets made before 1970 use five or more gallons of water per flush. Those made between 1970 and the early 1990s generally use 3.5 gallons. But the latest high-efficiency toilets mandated since 1993 for new installations use 1.6 gallons per flush, or less.

To make sure you’re not wasting water, check regularly for toilet leaks. A Kansas State University expert says about 20 percent of all toilets leak. Also consider flushing less frequently when you’re dealing with liquid only.

For more tips, including details on how to detect and repair toilet leaks, visit this informative California Urban Water Conservation Council website: www.h2ouse.org/tour Click on “Bath,” then “Toilet.”