Local man invents water saving device

At 85 years young, Ed Sheneman is quite the inventor. With some help from his grandson Matt, they’ve got a nice little thing going. Sheneman said “I cut up an old drink box, and with some metal clips and rubber bands, I put it on my own float and it worked.”

He’s talking about the simpliest way to convert an older style toilet to a new energy and water saving device, without remodeling your whole bathroom. Toilets installed in before 1992 and feature a float ball consume anywhere from 3 to 5 gallons of water, each time they’re flushed. Compare that to the newer toilets that use about 1.8 gallons.

Sheneman’s grandson Matt Ham said, “Folks with older toilets have two options, fix that or continue flushing with three gallons every single time.”

So how about a three buck solution, that will save water and money. It’s called the Float Booster, and its sits right below that ball in your toilet. It simply reduces the water level by about an inch. “So for the family of four, it can save about 4500 gallons of water a year, not only is that saving water which is an environmentally nice thing to do with the little rain we have had, but it’s saving them money on their water bill,” said Ham.

It’s easy to install, and saves money as long as you keep it in. Ed and Matt already have two pretty big clients, the city of Fayetteville, and Wilmington. Sheneman said “It’s an ongoing thing, the bigger the population gets, the more demand there is on the water, and the good Lord isn’t going to make anymore water.”

But the best part about this hot new invention, it’s all in the family. “It’s just me and him, so it’s a real simply family operation,” said Ham.

So the next time you flush, think about saving some H20, so your money won’t go down the drain.