Every new home is flush with good ideas and you've undoubtedly learned that contractors talk their own talk, but what exactly is a low-flush toilet? A toilet may not feel like a glamorous detail but it is one of the important items in your new home, one that you will undoubtedly use every day.

And when it comes to the royal seat, we actually have options. Since 1596 when JD Harrington invented the toilet, homeowners have been seeking the best seat in the house. Today we have options with respect to colour, design (how about a toilet with a self-closing lid or even a heated seat?) and even environmentally friendly options.

The Ontario Building Code was changed to enforce the use of low-flush six-litre toilets in all new residential buildings in 1996. Prior to the change, toilets were either the old-fashioned 20-litre or water-saver 13-litre toilets.

There's a lot of water difference here and you can easily see how low-flush units can save you a lot of money. A typical Canadian home will use 25 per cent to 40 per cent of its water consumption for toilet flushing. Since a toilet generally lasts 20 years, adding up the water savings on a low-flush unit and ensuring you are buying top-notch commodes is a wise investment for the new homeowner.

While the six-litre toilets are the best choice, there have been some problems. Some of the early low-flush units required multiple flushes to clear the bowl, defeating the purpose of a low-flush unit.

Fortunately over the last few years most of these problems have been ... flushed from the system, shall we say?

When you visit the supplier you will be presented with two basic low-flush options for residential toilets: Gravity-tank toilets, which are the most common and least expensive on the market. This type requires water in the tank and uses gravity to push water and waste through the bowl and tank.

The second is a pressure tank toilet. The units appear much the same as gravity tanks but house a secondary container inside the tank.

As water enters the main tank, it compresses air in the second, inner tank. Hence each flush is pressure assisted by the compressed air, pushing the waste material out of the bowl instead of relying on gravity to pull it out.

Both styles of toilets are generally made of vitreous china or porcelain.

A common complaint of the low-flush toilets is that they require more frequent cleanings and clog more readily than the older toilets. I never worry about the cleaning, since toilets should be spotless all the time and I find the latest models clear the bowl with one flush and seldom clog.

You can also consider the dual flush toilets, which will utilize the full six litres of water to flush solid waste but only use three litres for liquid waste.

Cheryll Gillespie is a nationally syndicated Design and Décor columnist.