MPWMD

HALF-GALLON PER FLUSH TOILET SURVEY RESULTS

Below are the statistics gathered from the water survey forms returned as of October 15, 2003.

Total: 259 Surveys mailed out. Received: 87 answered surveys Returned: 21

1. Installation: Years 1994 – 1999: 90 Surveys Years 2000 – 2003: 169 Surveys

Survey Received 1997 - 1999: 17 Survey Received 2000 - 2003: 60 Unknown: 10

2. Number of 2-liter toilets installed (87 responses):

one 72 36 41%

two 72 22 25%

two or more 72 25 29%

no answer or project incomplete 72 4 5%

3. Project Type (87 responses):

remodel 72 31 36%

addition 72 10 11%

new 72 36 41%

remodel/addition 72 3 3%

no answer or project incomplete 72 7 8%

4. Ordering experience with the Microphor company (44 usable responses):

good 72 20 45%

fair 72 16 36%

poor 72 6 14%

bad 72 2 5%

no response 31

toilets installed in house when purchased 12

5. Delivery of toilet(s) (43 usable responses):

good 72 23 53%

fair 72 15 35%

poor 72 5 12%

bad 72 0 0%

no response 29

toilets installed in house when purchased 15

6. Performance of toilet(s) (74 usable responses):

good 72 11 15%

fair 72 24 32%

poor 72 20 27%

bad 72 19 26%

no answer or project incomplete 10

7. Is the air compressor an inconvenience? (74 usable responses)

yes 72 57 77%

no 72 17 23%

no response 13

8. Air compressor location (80 usable responses):

garage 72 40 50%

back of house 72 7 9%

basement 72 22 27%

closet 72 3 4%

other 72 8 10%

no response 7

9. More than one flush (79 usable responses):

never 72 3 4%

occasionally 72 29 37%

daily 72 21 26%

every time 72 26 33%

no response 8

10. 2-liter toilet works with satisfaction (81 usable responses):

yes 72 10 12%

usually 72 20 25%

occasionally 8 10%

no 72 43 53%

no response 6

11. Required repairs (80 usable responses) :

yes 72 35 44%

no 72 45 56%

no response 7

12. Timely assistance (49 usable responses):

yes 72 34 69%

no 72 14 29%

self repaired 72 1 2%

no repairs needed 15

no response 22

not applicable 1

13. Microphor Company customer service (37 respondents had experience with Microphor):

good 72 8 22%

fair 72 15 40%

poor 72 8 22%

bad 72 6 16%

didn't need 25

no response 25

14. Recommendations (70 usable responses):

yes 72 25 36%

no 72 45 64%

no answer 17

15. Change in the amount of water (56 usable responses):

more water use 72 12 21%

less water use 72 4 7%

same water use 72 40 71%

no response 19

just purchased, can't compare 9

new construction, no history 3

Summary of Majority of Written Responses to Half-Gallon Per Flush Toilet Survey Prepared for the August 28, 2003 Board Meeting
SUBSTANCE of comments
Odor	37	32%
Noisy-toilet or compressor	37	54%
Power outages-no toilet use	37	19%
Cost/installation/repairs/damages/plumbers	37	62%
Splashes/waste spill out/backup in lines	37	41%
Requires more than one flush	37	51%
Embarrassment to guests/not user friendly	37	30%

NOTE: One positive comment was received after this draft document was prepared for the August 28, 2003.

Summary of Quotes from Survey responses:

32% of respondents experienced problems with odors from the toilet.

“Terrible smells; bad odor when flushing toilet; constant back odor; sewer smell; stinky; they smell; toilet smells bad with odor; smells like sewage; smelly!”

54% of respondents complained that toilets and compressors were noisy.

“Compressor is noisy; the noise is intolerable; children are fearful of using them; compressor is a nightmare; you can hear it cycling; it goes off in the middle of the night; noise is unacceptable in a quiet neighborhood; compressor is a nuisance; compressor is loud and noisy; toilet is noisy; it’s very loud, my kids are afraid. It scares hell out of me too!”

62% of respondents sited the cost of toilet installation, repairs to the toilet, plumbers or that damages caused by the toilet was high.

“We experienced numerous problems with leaks; a seal was defective and water soaked in to the drywall; repairs paid at our cost; costly because of the frequency of calling a plumber for repair; very expensive for installation and maintenance, two toilets and compressor were $2,600, that didn’t include installation; far more expensive to maintain than regular toilets; these are more expensive to purchase; we spent thousands of dollars on repairs, plumbers don’t want to have anything to do with these toilets; they are very expensive and we feel we were forced to buy them; toilet leaked and caused damage to the floors and carpet; these toilets cost six times the amount of a regular toilet; I spent approximately $10,00 to install these toilets.”

41% of respondents indicated problems with the toilets splashing out contents of bowl and back up of sewer lines.

“The lid must be closed when flushing because contents splash out; lid must be down to avoid spraying of contents; toilet sprays occasionally above the rim; every flush results in a spit back of the contents; my septic system has backed up in my house; splashes water onto the floor; our plumber suspects that our sewage lines are negatively affected.”

51% of respondents stated the necessity to flush the toilet more than once.

“They require multiple flushes for minimum results; please offer an alternative that is more reliable and uses less water; must flush two or three times every flush; flushing twice costs any savings that might have been gained; I believe I am using more water than I did with my 1.6 gallon toilets; takes more than one flush to work properly; we often have to flush three or four times to get rid of the smell; I flush at least four times per use; since I flush two to four times, this is the same water use as a low-flow toilet.”

30% of respondents experienced embarrassment when guests used the toilets.

“Toilet is not user friendly and an embarrassment to my guests who are unaware of its problems; having to explain to guests about the sound and frequent problems is embarrassing; embarrassment to our house, our guest, and us.”

19% of respondents affirmed that the toilets did not work during electrical power outages.

“During power outages our household cannot flush the toilet; we’re concerned that if there is en electricity failure or cutoff, the toilet will not work; any power outages, and we don’t have use of the toilet; unreliable when power is out; if you lose electricity, you have non-functioning toilets; if power is lost, the residence does not have the use of the toilets.”

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