It's not that easy being green, part 1

When converting our building from a vacant shoe assembly plant to lofts, the forward-thinking developer installed a couple energy- and water-efficient technologies. In theory, this would seem like an excellent decision. In practice, however, each has provided more than their share of headaches. In part one of a two-part post, I'll talk about the first of these: The toilet.

We have a power-flush toilet, which uses air pressure to quickly (and loudly) drain the bowl, eliminating the need for excess water to be stored in the tank. The trouble started within

six months of move-in.

Part of it was my fault. Never having seen a power-flush before, I dropped a sanitizing tablet into the half-inch of water that accumulates under the flushing assembly. This actually caused the chain from the handle to the activator button to corrode and break. My wife was not amused when this happened while I was in Florida on business. Upon returning, I was able to fish the majority of the mostly undissolved tablet out of the tank and replace the chain.

The next headache was with the assembly itself. As a result of our water coming into the building through old pipes, the small amount of sediment it contains builds up over time and causes the stopper to stick in the open position. With this open, the system can't re-pressurize - and the toilet won't flush. Luckily, the sound of running water accompanies this, so I know when to fix it. While this is annoying, it's easy enough to take apart and clean.

The major problem is that I've taken that assembly apart so many times that at least four of the eight screws that hold the cap in place have stripped the plastic holes they fasten to. This also prevents re-pressurization and is more difficult to fix. To seal the tank, I put silicone around the rim of the cap (on top of the rubber O-ring) to hold it in place.

So far, my solution has worked (knock on wood), but I know it's only a stopgap. I've scoured the Internet for a more permanent fix, and so far, the only solution I've found is to use fatter screws. Having no other ideas, I'll try it.

So while our toilet is taking care of the Earth, it's certainly not taking care of us.

Next up: the wall-hung boiler.