'People flushing 10 times, 15 times': Trump takes aim at problem of US toilets

Washington: President Donald Trump told a White House gathering Friday that he's taking aim at the problem of US toilets that require flushing "10 times, 15 times."

Speaking in a voice and with a level of detail that suggested the importance he was giving the issue, Trump told the high-level meeting that the government was "looking very strongly" at water pressure troubles in the nation's bathrooms.

The president, who has spent most of his life in real estate deals and construction, used a major portion of his remarks to senior officials and invited entrepreneurs about the plumbing issues.

"You turn on the faucet and you don't get any water. They take a shower and the water comes dripping out. It's dripping out, very quietly dripping out," Trump said.

Painting an even more unusual picture for his audience, Trump then declared that "people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once." "You can't wash your hands practically, there's so little water coming out of the faucet," Trump said.

The president said he had instructed the federal environmental authority, known as the EPA, to loosen regulations on water use.

"We're looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms where you turn the faucet," he said.

While desert areas may need water conservation, he said, "for the most part you have many states where they have so much water that comes down -- it's called rain -- that they don't know what to do with it."

Still on the subject of regulations intruding on daily life, Trump renewed his frequent criticism of a drive to replace traditional light bulbs with energy saving variants.

"The light bulb, they got rid of the light bulb that people got used to," he said.

"It doesn't make you look as good. Of course, being a vain person that's very important to me. It's like it gives you an orange look. I don't want an orange look, has anyone noticed that?" Trump said.

Unlike when talking about the toilets, Trump was clearly joking as he said: "So we'll have to change those bulbs in at least a couple rooms where I am in the White House."