It may be hard to believe, but Jeanette Marantos, a reporter with LA Times, has replaced her toilet tank covers with Sink Twice and has concluded that it has helped her save 30% on her water bills. She compared her water bills before and after installing Sink Twice and found that the claims made by Culver Van Der Jagt, the inventor of this simple yet innovative tool, are valid. It is one small step you can take to save gallons of water in every flush. You can read her detailed report here.
Curious? Read below to find out what it is, and how it helps save water.
Sink Twice is a toilet tank cover with an inbuilt faucet and sink
Made of durable ABS plastic, it is available in many different sizes, so you should be able to find the one that best fits your toilet tank. Installation is easy and doesn't require any plumbing work. All you need to do is to connect the faucet to the inlet valve of the toilet tank and then place the lid on the tank.
When you flush the toilet, the inlet valve redirects the fresh water to the faucet instead of filling the tank. The faucet is automatic. It will start running when you flush the toilet and stop when the tank is full. So, you get a hands-free handwashing experience with Sink Twice. The water from washing your hands will then flow into the toilet tank for storage.
The water that comes out of Sink Twice faucet is clean water
The inlet valve doesn't redirect the stored water to the faucet. Instead, it directs the clean water that was supposed to fill the tank. It is the same water that comes out from the other faucets in your home or from the shower. Sink Twice doesn't filter or purify the used water. It simply redirects the fresh water to the faucet and sends the water you used for washing your hands from the sink to the toilet tank.
Use unscented foaming hand soap
The recommended soap to use with Sink Twice is unscented foaming hand soap, e.g. Method brand soap.
Save water
By recycling the water used for handwashing, Sink Twice can help you save water.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, about 30% of household water is spent flushing toilets. Older toilets use 6 gallons for flushing, whereas the newer, WaterSense-certified models use about 1.3 gallons. On average, a person flushes at least 5 times a day. So, you spend 5 X 1.3 gallons of water a day only for flushing.
It may not sound like a big deal, but if you are a family of 4, you could save hundreds of gallons of water per month, which could be about 30% of your monthly water consumption. That's how, Sink Twice, an $80+ toilet tank cover, could help you save hundreds of dollars annually.