Any kind of change is a challenge to human nature – this is especially true for things we use every day, like a toilet. Many Wisconsinites may shy away from dual-flush toilets because they are unfamiliar with the design and unsure how to use the two different flushes. To help ease the decision to incorporate water-conserving dual-flush toilets into homes, Kohler Co. introduces a new dual-flush toilet line featuring the familiar side-mount trip lever feature, but with an innovative two-piece design that makes it easy to understand the two flushing options.
“Consumer feedback on standard dual-flush toilets, where the flush actuator is on top of the toilet tank, told us two things: Homeowners like to store items on the top of toilet tanks, and they want a water-saving flush that is easy to use and easy to understand,” says Brian Hedlund, Kohler senior product manager for toilets and bidets. “Splitting the traditional trip lever into two levers – for light and full flush – frees up the tank lid and gives homeowners a dual-flush solution as easy to use as other lever-handle high-efficiency toilets.”
Actuating the bottom, or long portion, of the lever provides a 1.1-gallon light flush and pressing down on the two pieces together provides a 1.6-gallon full flush. KOHLER dual-flush technology boasts significant water savings of as much as 16,500 gallons of water annually for a family of four over a 3.5 gallon-per-flush toilet. The new dual-flush toilets carry the EPA WaterSense certification and their siphon jet performance is similar to existing 1.28 gpf toilets, providing exceptional performance and bowl cleanliness.
This new dual-flush trip lever is available on several KOHLER toilet models in both wholesale and retail distribution channels. The KOHLER Highline® Comfort Height® toilet and Wellworth® regular height toilet elongated- and round-front options are available at wholesale; KOHLER Cavata® Comfort Height toilet and Highline Classic Comfort Height toilet at retail.
Unlike standard dual-flush toilets with actuator buttons on the tank lid, the new KOHLER dual-flush trip lever is ADA-compliant, allowing the Comfort Height toilet models with this flushing system to carry the ADA compliance.