To see the article on Popular Mechanics, click here.

To see the article on This Old House, click here.

With the excitement around these events, Fluidmaster was asked to participate in several towns’ Christmas parades with Home Depot in Collierville, TN and Olive Branch, MS. Fluidmaster jumped at the chance to be involved with the local festivities.

 With Home Depot's float leading in front, Fluidmaster drove the  toilet go kart and then the race car behind the dancing elves, and the  tool man.

 The local floats were mostly  pick-up trucks and flatbeds  decorated with Christmas  decorations. One truck was  transformed into a reindeer  and another Santa. There were  fire trucks, elves, lights, music,  horses and mini horses; all the joys of a hometown parade. People lined the streets, sitting in their lawn chairs, drinking hot chocolate and cheering on the floats. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of these American Christmas traditions and to have shared in the joy of the local community celebrations. Thank you for letting us be a part of your parades. We appreciate your support of our products and brand.

We had an incredible time! We wish you Happy Holidays, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Now, depending on the problem, Fluidmaster has a solution for you. I’m focusing on our newest solution, the DUO FLUSH! Our brand new product was featured by This Old House magazine as one of the best new home products of 2011. The DUO FLUSH ™ can solve several problems at once; it can save you water, replace your leaky flapper and save you money all in about 10 minutes. You’ll never need another flapper.  It is super easy to install using the instructions, but the basic idea is that your toilet can become a water saving dual flush toilet by simply snapping the DUO FLUSH™ valve into place on top of the existing flush valve. Converting your toilet is easy because it fits more toilets than any other conversion kit. It may look a little strange when you first pull it out of the box, but trust me, you’ll love it. The dials are easy to configure and the handle is easy to operate. It maximizes your toilet’s performance and water saving efforts, saving more than 15,000 gallons a year!  All you have to do once you’ve installed it is use your judgment and pull up on the handle to use less water in a flush (we call it a half flush) or push down to get the full flush.

Now if you’re feeling like “Super Handy-man” and don’t mind spending a couple of extra minutes playing in the toilet tank (here at Fluidmaster we call it playing since it is what we do) you can turn your common commode into a high performing porcelain throne with a quicker and quieter refill if you swap your existing fill valve with a PerforMax™ fill valve.  This installs just as easily as the 400A fill valve and is designed to work specifically with the DUO FLUSH ™ making it the best performing dual flush system on the market.  The roller clamp allows you to regulate the bowl water to avoid inadequate or excessive bowl refills. Gone are the days when your guests jump every time your noisy toilet flushes. Hello to the days when your guests are impressed with how you are taking “green” to the next level with your dual flush technology.

There you go, an upgraded, water saving, high performing toilet in about a half hour. You can keep your environmentally concerned kids happy, your spouse happy, and/or yourself happy with just a few of Fluidmaster’s products for your toilet.  The best part about using Fluidmaster trim is NOT having to think about toilet problems.  You can now use that money you’re saving on your water bill to do something FUN! Just another way Fluidmaster enhances not only your toilet’s performance but your life as well, one full or half flush at a time.

Expert Review:

BEST PLACE TO FIND THE PRODUCT IS ONLINE! 

“The highest numbers of C. difficile were recovered from air sampled immediately following flushing, and then declined 8-fold after 60 [minutes] and a further 3-fold after 90 [minutes],” the researchers reported in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection.

C. difficile was spotted on surrounding surfaces 90 minutes after flushing, with an average of 15 to 47 contaminated toilet water droplets landing in the nearby environment, according to the study.

“Lidless conventional toilets increase the risk of C. difficile environmental contamination, and we suggest that their use is discouraged, particularly in settings where [C. difficile infection] is common,” the authors wrote.

Although the study focused on hospital toilets, experts say the findings extend to public restrooms and households.

“Almost everywhere we go, except in some public spaces, we have lids on our commodes. But not everyone puts them down when they flush,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Doing so will reduce this type of environmental contamination very substantially.”

A 2004 episode of Myth Busters found lidless toilets do indeed spray water onto surrounding surfaces — including toothbrushes — but concluded the health risk was negligible. In fact “control” toothbrushes removed from the restroom during the flush were also speckled with fecal bacteria.

In recent years, C. difficile infections have increased in number and severity — a trend Schaffner said might wane if more people opt to drop the lid.

“We don’t know this, but it is intriguing,” Schaffner said. “Just remember: put the lid down before you flush and always wash your hands.”

If you haven't heard, 20% of toilets leak all the time, up to 120 gallons per day, flushing up to $250/year on a municipal water bill. In case you're a visual thinker: In Canada, that's like 11 minutes of Niagara Falls of wasted drinking water. Everyday. These toilet stats should get our attention.

And so far, it seems to be working! At two weeks in, with over 120 volunteers trained and engaged, 3500 doors knocked on, and after 19 community events, The Blue Dot group learned some interesting things:

• An astonishing one in four people readily admit that they know that their toilet leaks, and yet they do nothing about it.

• The No. 1 barrier to fixing a toilet is the perception that the water in the tank is the same water that's in the bowl. We call this the "Gross Factor."  Watch for our upcoming campaign video where we dip a cup in the tank for a nice cool drink. Refreshing!

• Once people see how easy it is to diagnose and repair the vast majority of leaks (something we also teach), folks rush out to do it. Every day I'm getting emails from strangers telling me that they have fixed their flapper. If they are telling us, imagine what they are saying proudly to their friends and neighbors!

We’ll share more about this fledgling program, so stay tuned.