If you are planning to renovate your bathroom, or if you just have an old toilet that has seen better days, then you are going to need to buy a new toilet. Now, there are of course many types of toilets out there in terms of flushing systems, but another consideration to keep in mind is the GPF rating, or in other words, how much water the toilet uses.
Two main toilet types in terms of water usage include 1.28 GPF and 1.6 GPF. Today, we are here to figure out what the differences between them are, so you can make an informed choice about which type to get.
What Is GPF?
Ok, so for those of you who don’t know, the GPF rating of a toilet stands for gallons per flush. Simply put, this designation describes exactly how much water a toilet uses every time you flush it.
Of course, how much water you use is going to make a big difference in various regards, whether we are talking about environmental impacts, the cleanliness of your toilet, or how it affects your bank account. Let’s take a closer look at both 1.28 GPF and 1.6 GPF toilets, so you can decide which one is right for you.
1.28 GPF Toilets: Advantages and Disadvantages
In terms of appearance, a 1.28 GPF toilet looks the same as any other toilet you would use. You really would not be able to tell that it is any different just from looking at it. Sure, the tank might be slightly smaller than on a 1.6 GPF toilet, but this difference in size is negligible, and you probably won’t be able to see it anyway.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of 1.28 GPF toilets.
Advantages
First, let’s talk about why you may want to consider getting yourself a 1.28 GPF toilet. There are quite a few advantages.
1. Saving the Environment
The simple reality is that 1.28 GPF toilets are of course very efficient in terms of water usage. They can use around one-third less water per flush, and therefore help save up to 3,000 gallons of water per year. This is important for the environment because fresh water is becoming quite the hot commodity that is sought out more and more.
The less water you use, the less you waste, and the less of an impact on the world around you there will be. Remember, getting clean water to your home, and then processing the dirty wastewater, both require herculean amounts of resources. There are some areas in the world that often experience massive water shortages too, such as in California, thus making water-efficient toilets ideal.
2. Saving Your Cash
If you aren’t much of an environmentalist, then maybe we can convince you to buy a 1.28 GPF toilet for the sake of your wallet. Unless you live out by a lake or the countryside where you use your own private water source, the simple fact is that water costs money, and depending on where you live, it can cost a whole lot. Every gallon of water you use is money that comes out of your pocket.
3. Very Quiet
Another advantage of 1.28 GPF toilets is that they are quiet. If you have a child that is just learning to use the toilet, the quiet flush of these models should not scare them, and you won’t wake up the whole family if you have to go do your business at night, even if you don’t soundproof your toilet room.
4. The Dual or Power Flush
The other cool thing about this type of toilet is that many now come with a dual or power flush option. As you are going to see below, these toilets do have some problems related to not having enough power to flush down large amounts of waste. However, this problem has been solved for the most part by adding a second button or flush option that uses a bit more water. In other words, many of these toilets have a small flush for liquid waste and a bigger flush for solid waste.
Disadvantages
Now that you know why you may want to consider a 1.28 GPF toilet, let’s figure out what their drawbacks are.
1. Issues with Solid Waste
Due to 1.28 GPF toilets not using that much water, the flush is also not that powerful. If you had a big dinner the night before, you might find that 1.28 gallons of water do not create enough force to flush down the largest pieces of solid waste. A less powerful flush can leave waste behind, and it can end up clogging your toilet.
2. Can Leave Behind Waste
Due to the limited power of these toilets, there are often skid marks left behind in the bowl, which means more cleaning for you.
3. Flushing Twice
If you have a 1.28 GPF toilet that does not have a power flush option, you may find that you often end up flushing twice instead of once. Of course, this would totally defeat the purpose of using about 30% less water per flush, because if you have to flush twice, you actually end up wasting more water.
1.6 GPF Toilets: Advantages and Disadvantages
The 1.6 GPF toilet is the one you may be used to, especially if you have managed to make a couple of dozen revolutions around the sun. Let’s take a look.
Advantages
Let’s first figure out why it might be advantageous for you to get a 1.6 GPF toilet.
1. A Powerful Flush
The simple reality here is that 1.6 GPF toilets use quite a bit more water than 1.28 GPF toilets, but with that being said, this does of course mean that they do have a much more powerful flush. In other words, they have a much easier time flushing down large amounts of solid waste than 1.28 GPF toilets. It is much less likely that your toilet will clog or that there is any waste left behind with this type of toilet.
2. Fewer Skid Marks
Due to the fact that this type of toilet has a much more powerful flush, you can also count on the fact that this type of toilet will have much fewer skid marks than 1.28 GPF toilets at the end of the day, this means that 1.6 GPF toilets require a lot less cleaning than 1.28 GPF toilets.
Disadvantages
Now that you know why you might want to consider a 1.6 GPF toilet, let’s talk about the disadvantages that you were faced with.
1. Wasted Water
The simple reality is that 1.28 GPF toilets do use much less water than 1.6 GPF toilets. If you are using 1.6 GPF toilets, chances are that you can waste up to 2 gallons of water per day or more. Generally speaking, people who use 1.6 GPF toilets can use up to 3,000 to 5,000 more gallons of water per year. When it comes to both the environment and your wallet, these consequences are pretty big.
2. Noise
The other disadvantage that comes with using a 1.6 GPF toilet is the simple fact that they can be quite loud, which means that they can scare children who are just learning to use the toilet, and they will probably wake up your family when you flush it in the middle of the night.
1.28 GPF vs. 1.6 GPF: Which Type of Toilet Should You Get?
In today’s day and age where this world is faced with a growing water shortage crisis, the simple fact is that there is no good reason to use a 1.6 GPF toilet. Most 1.28 GPF toilets do also come with a power flush option to take care of any issues related to waste being left behind.
In short, 1.28 GPF toilets will end up saving you a whole lot of money and they waste a lot less water, thus being beneficial for the environment, at least much more so than 1.6 GPF toilets. Whether you need to save money or the environment, the fact is that there is really no good reason to get a 1.6 GPF toilet anymore. The days of wasting water are gone.
Can You Get a 1.6 GPF Toilet Everywhere?
There are areas of the world where you can no longer use a 1.6 GPF toilet and this is according to the law.
Two specific places where you cannot use a 1.6 GPF toilet due to water usage restrictions include various parts of Texas and California. This is also true of Colorado. There are also some other places in the world where there are water usage restrictions that will affect the type of toilet that you can use.
Are There Toilet with Other GPF Rating?
Very old toilets may use as much as 3.5 gallons per flush, but there are also much newer and more advanced toilets designed for people who like being environmentally friendly, ones that use as little as one gallon of water per flush.
Summary
There you have it people, the main differences between 1.28 and 1.6 GPF toilets. Now that you know what the story with both of them is, you can make an informed decision between the two.