World Toilet Day, coming up on November 19th, is a worldwide effort to raise awareness about barriers to clean water and sanitation. FACT: 3.6 billion people live without safely managed sanitation. It’s easy to take that porcelain throne for granted, but toilets and sewers are essential for public health. At home, it’s a good reminder to appreciate your toilet. Here are a few ideas:
Check your toilet for leaks twice a year. Toilets leaks can waste thousands of gallons per month! (No one wants to see that utility bill!) To check for leaks, add 10 drops of food coloring inside your toilet tank and wait 10 minutes. If the dye color shows up in your toilet bowl, you have a leak. No food coloring at home? Order your free leak detection tablets!
Repair leaks. Check out our guide to repairing a toilet or these short videos on how a toilet works and how to repair a leaky toilet from our partners at the Regional Water Providers Consortium. If you own your home and qualify based on income, we can replace your toilet for free through the free Water Leak Repair Program.
Request a credit. If you’ve found and fixed a leak, get in touch to request a bill adjustment due to water leak.
Replace older toilets and get a $50 rebate. Older toilets can use up to four times more water per flush. The Portland Water Bureau currently offers a $50 rebate for replacing an old toilet or urinal with a WaterSense-labeled high-efficiency model. If you’re enrolled in the bill discount program, your rebate is $100. Commercial, residential, and multifamily properties are eligible. The old toilet or urinal MUST be recycled at an approved recycling center. Get the details on our toilet rebate page.
Find out what happens after the flush. The toilet itself is important for our health and safety, and so is the sewer and stormwater system it’s connected to. Psst, we not only clean wastewater, the City also recovers resources from that waste! Learn how it happens.
Questions? Get in touch at conserve@portlandoregon.gov or 503 823-4527.