Dual Flush Toilets in Residence Halls?
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Hi All,
We are renovating the bathrooms in a large freshman dorm on campus and I'd like to have us put in dual flush toilets. There is some concern among my facilities staff that they will cause more trouble than they are worth if people are confused and don't use them correctly.
I think if we post a sign about how to use them it won't be a problem, but so far we've only found that they have been used in commercial buildings or public settings which aren't as high use as residence halls.
Has anyone done a res hall with dual flush toilets yet? Any data?
I think the key to the success of the dual flush toilets is instructions. In my experience, if people don't know that the toilet is dual flush or how to use it, your Facilities folks concerns may not be far off. I have seen a lot of multiple flushes when people don't understand that a toilet is a dual flush, or if it is poorly marked. I recently saw an excellent one that I wish I had a picture of at a local food coop. The instructions were clearly labeled right on the handle which made it easy to identify and use as a dual flush toilet.
Hope this helps.
-Roger
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Hi Amanda,
I did some searching, and there appear to be many campuses that are using dual flush tiolets in residence halls. Here are a a bunch of links for schools that appear to be using dual flush tiolets in dorms:
http://webb.nmu.edu/Departments/Housing/SiteSections/GreenandGold.shtml
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/housing/docs/begreen/index.html#N101A7
http://www.evergreen.edu/rad/sustainability/greenhousing.htm
http://www.du.edu/today/stories/2008/08/2008-08-22-nagel.html
http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/around-campus/buildings/175-green-residence-h...
http://www.colorado.edu/news/r/48843a5f857effd12db7a74ecd537b6e.html
http://www.plymouth.edu/sustainability/39/psu-residence-hall-is-first-in...
http://php.scripts.psu.edu/dept/iit/hbg/about/News/2009-06/06-24-GreenRe...
http://www.emory.edu/news/Releases/Turman_Hall1187894111.html
http://www.housing.hawaii.edu/halls/leed.cfm
http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/archive/2006/september/corner/index.shtml
http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2009/pearl_leed.html
http://public.elmhurst.edu/news/ecscene/31102584.html?tout=31102664
http://www.pacificu.edu/studentlife/housing/halls/gilbert.cfm
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/news/richmondnow/2007/12/Lakeview.html
I hope some of these schools will write in with their experiences. You might contact some of them directly. If you do get any feedback in this way, it'd be great if you could share what you learn here too.
Good luck,
Julian
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Julian Dautremont-Smith
MBA/MS Candidate, Class of 2012
Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise
Stephen M. Ross School of Business | School of Natural Resources & Environment
University of Michigan
http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliands