Flushing the toilet wasted too much water, David Wilks thought, and something had to be done about it. So the Yorkshire technology teacher went to his garage and set himself a challenge – inventing a flush that would release the precise amount of water required to clear the toilet bowl. His answer, a device called the Interflush, was ignored by lavatory manufacturers and failed to impress the sharpsuited business gurus on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den. Now Mr Wilks’s Mirfield-based company, Varyflush, has received its 10,000th order and the Interflush has been fitted to toilets in unlikely locations including the National Portrait Gallery, Windsor Castle and a Maltese government department. Mr Wilks, 56, said the product could reduce the UK’s water consumption by up to 20 per cent if introduced across the country. The average person uses 60 litres of water for toilet flushing each day, but much of this is wasted, he added.

“I used to be a technology teacher and schools were always banging on about alternative energy and protecting the environment,” Mr Wilks said, “but it’s all well and good talking about it; in the end, you need solutions.” The Interflush ‘retrofit kit’, made from plastic, stainless steel and brass, is fitted to a toilet siphon to offer interruptible flushing, whereby water is released for as long as the flush handle is pulled down but stops when the handle is returned to its original position.

It is a smaller version of Mr Wilks’s prototype mechanism, which was developed in 2000 and employed a full siphon that was modified to give users more control over the volume of water they flushed.

The inventor said the interruptible flushing process was forbidden by Government regulations until his prototype device proved to be successful in tests.

“In 2002 I got the authorities to agree to test my invention. It passed all the tests, so Defra then had no choice but to grant a relaxation in the regulations.

“Unfortunately, the day after I got the regulations changed, my worldwide patent rights ran out.

“I couldn’t afford to persist with the full-siphon model so I began working on a smaller retrofit product, and it has proved very successful.”

Mr Wilks promoted his product on Dragons’ Den in 2005 and, although he failed to attract investment through the show, he gained 10 minutes of valuable airtime.

This convinced him he should give up teaching and pursue the project full time, following the principles of Thomas Crapper, the Thorne-born inventor who devised the siphon flush in the 19th century.

His system was the only flush mechanism allowed in Britain until 1999, when rival valve-based mechanisms like pushbutton or dual-flush were legalised.

Mr Wilks said: “Britain is the last place on Earth to still have the siphon in any numbers.

“If the siphon goes from Britain, it is gone from the world forever.

“The siphon was invented by a Yorkshireman, and it’s going to be another Yorkshireman who saves it.”

Related posts...

• June 22, 2010 -- UK Business Energy Prices: (3)
  A new survey carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit has revealed that over 80% of British firms expect energy and fuel prices to rise sharply and almost 50% have great concern that the UK coul...
• February 21, 2010 -- Identifying a Half Hour Meter: (0)
  How to find out if you have a half hourly meter – So how do you know if you have a half hour meter?  It’s actually quite straight forward, and all you will need to find this out is a recent copy o...
• February 10, 2010 -- UK Business Gas Prices: (0)
  Business Gas Prices can be difficult to understand, as there are many different types of pricing structures available.  You could simply ring around and obtain gas prices direct from suppliers, but it...
• February 7, 2010 -- Oil Prices Back To $70 Range: (0)
  Oil prices plunged in a busy trading session on Friday, triggering big losses across the commodities markets, as investors went back to buying into the US dollar.  Crude oil prices did have a partial ...
• February 5, 2010 -- CRC Business Lights: (1)
  The era of the 'on-all-night' illuminated high street could end, the Environment Agency is predicting. The agency says new rules will force businesses to switch off lights and displays at night to mee...
• February 3, 2010 -- Bglobal Smart Meter Deal: (3)
  Bglobal Plc said it has signed a new agreement to supply and install smart meters for British Gas Business during 2010. The contract value is anticipated at more than £12 million. In addition, the com...

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

CAPTCHA Code *