Dual flush toilets handle solid and liquid waste differently from standard style toilets, giving the user a choice of flushes. It’s an interactive toilet design that helps conserve water that has caught on quickly in countries where water is in short supply, and in areas where water supply and treatment facilities are older or overtaxed.

It really makes sense by using less water to flush liquid waste, but due to cultural differences that really make accepting more hands-on advances to personal waste harder to recognize.

The dual flush toilet has been designed with two options for flushing: one for solid waste and one for liquid waste. Flushing liquid waste naturally will use much less water than flushing solid waste.

The dual flush toilets work differently from standard toilets. Where a standard toilet will use a siphoning method to get rid of the waste, a dual flush toilet has a larger trap way in the bottom of the bowl and pushes waste out. The latter uses much less water – under a gallon is used for a short flush and about 1.6 gallons for a long flush – and waste goes out more easily.