A low-flush toilet is a toilet that uses less water than a standard one during flushing, for the purpose of conserving water resources. The units are about the same size as older designs but use about half the water – 1.6 gallons instead of 3.5 gallons per flush – and consequently have less flushing power. Replacing conventional toilets with low-flow models has the potential to save up to 12,000 gallons a year in a typical household. However, the benefits can be offset by the need to flush more than once to remove solid wastes, and by difficulties caused by stoppages and overflows. These problems of low-flush have been largely fixed by manufacturers that modifying the passageways to move a reduced amount of water more vigorously into the bowl.