A brick in your toilet could be building a wall in your pipes

An example of this is the old practice of placing a brick in your toilet’s tank to save water. The brick displaces the water, taking less to fill the tank and therefore saving a little water on each flush.

While this practice has been around for decades, it’s time to ditch the brick. It can cost you more in the long run. Bricks will deteriorate as the water rushes in and out of the toilet, and where do you think all of that debris is going? Right down your pipes.

If your toilets are over 20 years old, your water consumption is beyond the brick trick’s help anyways. It’s time to upgrade because you’re likely using double the amount of water than what’s necessary, so even a cinder block wouldn’t help you.

If you insist on this method for saving a few bucks, you have a few other options. You can pick up a tank bag, which hangs off the side of your tank. Or you can swap out the brick for a water bottle. Fill a water bottle with rocks, then add water. Seal the bottle and place it in your tank on the opposite side of the handle components. This will displace some water, allow your toilet to flush just fine and will not put debris into your pipes. Beyond any displacement effort, you can replace your flapper. These deteriorate and are the cause of most wastefulness with toilets.

If you have one of the high efficiency toilets, we don’t recommend any of these displacement methods, as your toilet is already designed to operate with a low level of water.

Our best advice is that if you’re interested in saving on your water bill, install a high efficiency toilet or replace the valves and flapper regularly. Your toilet accounts for about 30 percent of your home’s water bill, so changing your most-used toilets out can make a big difference. Contact us or call for a free quote.