http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh/video

Here’s the deal: When you flush a toilet outfitted with the SinkPositive system, a stream of clean water flows from the toilet-top sink faucet. It flows for one minute, allowing you to wash your hands without ever touching the tap. That greywater then flows off your hands and drains down into the toilet bowl to be used for the next flush.

The good news: you don’t have to expose yourself to germs by turning the faucet on and off before and after rinsing your hands. The better news: the limited stream of water reminds you to make the effort to wash your paws and dispenses only enough water needed to effectively clean both hands. The best news: the water is efficiently reused for the next toilet flush.

According to the sign (left), this little contraption can help each user save a gallon of potable water per day, and the leak detector on the device helps prevent additional water waste (not-so-fun fact: did you know U.S. toilet leaks alone account for over 12% of the nation’s water supply?)

Not a bad initiative for hoteliers to consider — nor a particularly expensive one: the SinkPositive system (shown here) runs $109.00 per fixture. Some hotels spend more than that on throw pillows. Just saying.

Link to the article on Oyster Hotel Reviews

19. SinkPositive

Design: Environmental Designworks
Price: $109-$119

Low-flow toilets are ubiquitous in the U.S., but every flush still wastes fresh water on a task that doesn’t require it—refilling the toilet’s bowl and tank. SinkPositive saves water by using a toilet’s freshwater refill cycle for hand washing, then channeling the dirty sink water into the bowl. The system fits as a lid on most standard toilets.

Link to the article in Business Week

Five Beginners’ Steps to a Greener Home

A RECENT Amazon.com search for “green home” pulled up more than 15,000 book titles. Who has time to read them all? So this week, The Green Home tracked down Eric Corey Freed, the author of “Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies,” and asked him to distill this growing cottage industry of green advice into five must-do steps.

Is there a simpler way to capture and use gray water?
Actually, there is. It’s a toilet-topped sink called SinkPositive (sinkpositive.com). You replace the toilet’s heavy porcelain lid with this sink basin, which has a built-in faucet. When you flush, fresh water comes out of the faucet and you wash your hands with it. The soapy water collects in the toilet tank for the next flush.

Forgive me for asking, but how does the SinkPositive look?
Like something you might find in a dentist’s office.

Link to the article on The New York Times

COURTESY SINKPOSITIVE

Here is an exciting new product we want to share with you. Years ago, a reader asked if we knew of a source for a sink/toilet combo. Unfortunately, the one we found had just gone out of business.

So, here we now have the SinkPositive – a cold-water-only sink mounted on top of the toilet tank. The used sink water goes into the bowl, so your toilet tank is never filled with soapy water.

The toilet lid sink is an innovative solution that conserves water as well as space and is very simple to install. It’s also available at Mother Earth News shopping and at Real Goods.

We’re sure you’ll find many uses for this unique fixture.

Link to the article on Mother Earth News