Advice Needed On how to Pick out a Toilet. Seriously.
6This is the kind of thing I would of posted on the old deals, so I figure maybe some of the same knowledgeable folk could help here.
Who knew that buying a new commode was so complicated ?
I need to replace an early low flow model that clogs if anything other than liquid goes down it. I'm having floor replaced in this BR so a good time to do this.
Needs:
I need a higher (aka comfort ) seat for a senior.
I want one that will flush and be water friendly.
Quality/ reliable manufacturing. AKS no leaks.
I have been told that Home Depot has seconds or less than quality items. They might be made by the same people that make ones you get from a pro and look the same, but are not the same item. Is this true ?
Where do I find one ? What do I look for ?
I'm frugal as opposed to cheap. I don't want the most inexpensive. Those won't work well.
I want the best bang for my buck.
Any one able to help.
( yes, yes by all means post the prerequisite "crappy" jokes if you must)
- 28 comments, 40 replies
- Comment
Ok, sadly I can help. Here is the toilet I purchased. Has dual flush minimizing water for pee-pee, or full flush for those times when most others would get clogged ( EPA WaterSense certified toilet uses no more than 1.6-GPF). For the most part we only ever have to use the light flush. It also comes with a Q3 advantage seat and lid (see description). The toilet is also taller as you require.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_393794-20602-45989-0_0__?productId=4070737
Enough said - I was never here
So maybe not the best bang for the buck... but get a Jacuzzi brand toilet -- purely for the enjoyment of telling people you put a new Jacuzzi in your bathroom, and how much you enjoy using it every day, and how they gotta come over and try it out, and so on and such forth. Make 'em really jealous that you can be so extravagant, and then leave them sitting on your brand new crapper, pondering the fact that Jacuzzi makes toilets as well as tubs.
I don't see what could be second in an otherwise identical toilet as far as functionality (insert #2 joke here). They really are simple devices and the toilet itself is two pieces of porcelain. Corners could be cut on things like seats and innards (fill valve, flapper, etc) but I suspect someone was feeding you a line on that home depot comment. This is based on absolutely no research.
http://www.map-testing.com has a very thorough toilet search ranking toilets by grams of matter flushed, water consumption, ADA seat height, and more. Could be a useful resource.
So I did a little reading (i.e. googled and clicked the first result) http://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/does-home-depot-cheapen-their-toilets.37099/ contains many stories, anecdotal but some things make sense. Not specifically Home Depot related but big box stores in general, which could make sense.
So basically, I guess I've added nothing to the conversation, weighing in both against and for your question.
@djslack I bought a cheap toilet once and it rocked. The bottom wasn't completely flat so I had to shim it. But I've also had the same problem with a good toilet on a tile floor when the tile was a "rustic" pattern.
@djslack - That is the site I used to pick out our toilets for our remodel. I found it to be very useful.
@walarney Didn't you hear the sales guy say "This toilet rocks!"
@sligett @walarney I once rented a vacation condo that had 2 Bathrooms that shared a wall. The toilets teeter tottered . If you sat on one the other went up . They must of been linked through the wall somehow.
Anyways, it made for an interested feature and a lot of jokes.
Also the clog might not be the fixture at all, might want to check the drainage as well.
This thread is full of shit! :)
Obligatory "Don't forget to get a squatty potty for your new toilet."
@rileyper I enjoyed that far too much.
Look for a large and fully glazed trapway, and the largest flush valve (the flapper and connection between tank and toilet). But as @thismyusername mentioned, the drain pipes might also be part of the problem. If the pipe is too small, or the elbow too sharp, or if you have elbows feeding into a vertical and they don't merge in but go straight in like a tee connection, all of that can cause problems (and its not all that uncommon with crappy contractors or plumbers).
We bought American Standard Champion 4s a couple of years ago and are happy with them so far.
As to early low-flows: Dave Barry on those
I just bought a niagara 2 months ago from Home Depot and I'm very happy with it. It's a tall one with really fast .8 gpf flushes not a lazy swirl like our old one. Our water co. had a $100.00 rebate so I got it for 50 bucks. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Niagara-2-piece-0-8-GPF-Ultra-High-Efficiency-Single-Flush-Elongated-Toilet-Featuring-Stealth-Technology-in-White-77000WHAI1-N7714-N7717/205611735?keyword=1001263564#
Just throwing out my $.02.... Costco sells a unit that is a dual button one.... so you can use a little for liquid, and more for solids... But... I don't know how well they work.
@sohmageek To tie in to this, don't think you MUST stick with the innards that come with your toilet. Costco (And other stores like Amazon.com) sell replacement flushing components. We purchased a dual flush system from Costco ~4 years ago and installed them in the two toilets in my home.
For those of us frugal people, price check the cost to buy a dual flush already installed vs installing it yourself.
@Bogie Pretty much all of the retrofit dual flush mechanisms say they are not compatible with drop-in type cleaners. Might be the same with OEM mechanisms -- don't know. If that matters to you...
@walarney You went way over my head on this. Dunno what a "Drop-in type cleaner" is. All I know is I bought two thingies, pulling out the old thingy from my toilet tank (After turning off the water feed and draining it!), and put the stuff from the box in following the directions.
@Bogie
?
For when your having "company" over. And you want to have that fancy blue water.
@Bogie I think drop-in cleaners refer to tablets that you put inside the tank. They clean up stuff that grows in the tank (hard water yuck) as well as provide a dilute cleaning solution every time you flush, so the bowl is a little easier to clean. I use cheap denture cleaning tablets. They do eat plastic flapper mechanisms, but those are easy to swap out.
@OldCatLady @walarney I had been told years ago that these were bad for the tanks/fittings so I've never used them.
@Bogie I don’t use them because I cannot convince my friends to CLOSE THE FUCKING TOILET and although my dogs have never drunk from the toilet it’s not worth the risk.
I haven't heard anything about toilets being different; maybe names/models, but not functionality.
I like the Niagara flapperless toilets for their simplicity; they've worked fine at my parents' house for years. They have the 1.6 gpf model.
I would've gone that route myself, but then found someone selling on CL a couple new-in-box American Standard Champions 1.28 gpf for $35/ea., so that's what I have. They work waaaay better than the 5.0 gpf water wasters that were in my house when I bought it.
I found your problem
@MEHcus Well, doggone it.
We recently purchased two Kohler toilets on the advice of our plumber. One is the Cimarron and the other is the Memoirs. Happy with both.
@parodymandotcom I love that somebody had the gall to call a porcelain bowl your put your shits in 'Memoirs.'
@brhfl Well, I don't know about yours...
@brhfl - Then how about Toto's "Soiree" toilet? (Or their "Carrollton"?) Haha.
Our toilets are Toto, 1.28gpf. Toto makes good toilets. You can get them with heated seats, etc. Ours are plain.
The facilities guy at one school I work in swears by American Standard. He mumbles something about a youtube video showing flushing a bucket of golf balls. That could be relevant in a school, I guess.
@sligett Thanks to this forum, it helped me a lot deciding which toilet brand I should buy as a replacement for my old one. Toto wins!
The best thing to do is go door to door in your neighborhood, explaining your dilemma to each occupant, and asking to use their toilet. Pick the one you like best, and boom, you're done!
Consumer Reports magazine has a list of recommended toilets on their website but you need paid access to see the test results. Your local library might offer access to that site. There are also some recommendations on http://www.consumersearch.com/toilets
@aguyinct I found this particularly helpful (so far) Thanks.
Why has no one suggested the obvious. Just try them out at the store and see what you like best. Or, ask for the demonstration if you're not comfortable trying them yourself.
@zacatac Are the rules for who gives demos the opposite of those that determine who goes first in Cards Against Humanity?
@zacatac
I can tell you what not to buy. Mansfield Alto. The plumber put the wrong toilets in the house we built. Well we used them for about a week they clogged and were by far the loudest toilets I've ever owned. Stay away.
All of a sudden, I'm in the market for a new toilet as well. The current one leaks at the floor and can't be fixed. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding a 14-inch rough-in round bowl model for my very small bathroom. From what I've been reading, a taller bowl is a nice feature as well.
@KDemo It's not the wax ring or the flange that's leaking?
14" rough-in aren't as common these days, but at least you can use a regular 12" rough-in and other than the tank being a bit further from the wall, it can fit. A 10" rough-in, OTOH, that's more limiting.
@narfcake - Thanks. There's a history, I have had the bathroom floor replaced several times. It may have always been leaking, but it becomes apparent every few years when the floor damage appears. The plumber ground down the flange yesterday because it was a fraction of an inch too high. Started leaking again almost as soon as he left. All we can think is that there may be a problem with the toilet, though he took it outside and inspected it all over. There is a 2-3 inch gap behind it now, he said that a 14 inch one would allow a little more room, so I was hoping to find one. it's all so expensive. sigh
@KDemo Ah. Well, it's possible it's the toilet itself, then. And yes, they're much more expensive because they're much less used these days (aka supply and demand).
Even with a 12" rough-in, some toilets aren't as long front-to-back. I'll see if I can find a few options for you tomorrow.
@narfcake Thanks! You are too nice. I have been doing lots of research today. I also have a subscription to Consumer Reports online. My head is just swimming right now - I'll look more tomorrow.
@KDemo Do you think that CR subscription is worth it for toilets -- more/different/better info then is here or on the links provided here ?
I have subscribed before for other purchases and have been disappointed.
Thanks
@ceagee You need to make a decision! You have me sitting on the edge of my seat and because of that I piddled on the floor! Thanks.
@mfladd I'm actually going on monday w/ the handyman to shop for it. So I have a couple days yet.
Try to keep your legs crossed a little more or maybe do a funky little dance. That should help you.
If not, there's always depends ;-)
@ceagee Not necessarily. I think that with toilets, what you get with CR is opinions/experience from lay product users, not expert advice as with some of the other sites referenced here. It may be good to consider both.
On other products, I have found their testing helpful. Sorry you were disappointed.
Toto makes the best toilets. My super-picky engineer friend and super-pick engineer brother-in-law independently did super-picky engineer research and came up with the same conclusion. The Toto Eco Drake is $256 at Amazon (http://smile.amazon.com/CST744EL-01-2-Piece-Toilet-Elongated/dp/B003OFA738) and works great. The ADA-compliant version is the high-seat model. I bought one fifteen years ago and it has been flawless. I bought another when we added a master bedroom and another one for our vet clinic when the old one failed.
And you've gotta like anything whose price is a power of 2.
@SSteve -
Awwwww… can’t beat the power of 2…
The Final Four. Now in a bind (NO that was not meant to be a pun), cause only 2 can be picked up now. My handyman didn't want to go too far in advance and now we may be stuck. But I haven't heard from the floor guy so maybe reschedule. Never a dull moment.
Anyways. comments on comparisons welcome.
Yes I do know I have to measure !
@ceagee I'm not going to the site to check, but three of the four reference 'right height' or 'comfort height', not ADA. You'll want to verify the actual height of the seat when installed; there are some toilets that are intermediate between 'standard' and ADA tall. Include that in your measurements.
The Vormax is American Standard copying the Toto design with a second outlet in the bowl to create more swirl; the older Champions had water from the rim and a jet right into the trap but no 'swirl' outlet. A little more finicky to clean that area but potentially less likely to have streaks left behind.
Here’s an odd consideration. My toilet tank broke and I had to replace my toilet. The toilet that we replaced it with does not have a good slick glaze inside. The glaze doesn’t let things slide off as one would desire, and instead undesirable things stick to the sides of the bowl. So make sure any toilet you buy has a good slick glaze on it.
@moondrake unfortunately a spammer bumped this thread.
@RiotDemon whoops, didn’t notice the ancient lore.
/giphy Spam Toilet
Ditto on the Toto Drake II. Not likely that you will find it in stock locally (at least not at a good price) but seriously, do whatever you have to and wait for it.
These were put in at a small commercial building that I frequent and the maintenance guy raves about how they absolutely never clog despite being 1.28gpf.
I bought two of the Drake II that do 1.0gpf (not a typo) for my home a few months ago and they have been really impressive. Never once have they clogged nor even required a double-flush, no matter how much “material” needed to be flushed. Defies logic.
The main performance differences between these and others is that they have larger than normal flush valve holes which sends more volume down in one go, next is the way the water enters the bowl, these don’t have the bunch of little holes under the rim, just two channels that cause a cyclonic action that has more pressure than a normal flush. Lastly, strategic parts of the trap are also glazed porcelain so as to reduce resistance to the water velocity, but oddly enough I learned on a video of theirs that you don’t want the entire trap to be slick because it would actually clog more easily. In a nutshell, these folks know what they’re doing. Get a Drake II.
Grrrr, just noticed this was bumped from the dead.
Potty talk never gets old!
@jester747 That’s okay. I just got to watch that Squatty Potty ad again! Well worth a bump!
I always pick the handicap stall if it is open and has paper if I’m going to be doing any serious business.
Toto makes the best toilets. I buy the Eco Drake, elongated bowl, ADA height. I have a couple in my house and one in our vet clinic.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/TOTO-Eco-Drake-Transitional-ADA-Compliant-2-Piece-1-28-GPF-Single-Flush-Elongated-Toilet-in-Cotton-White-CST744ELN-01/300818461
Never poop alone again!
@daveinwarsh That’s some kinky shit.
Hey guys if you want to discuss toilets could you start a new thread? Seeing ceagee’ name at the top makes me sad.
@sammydog01 @ceagee is no longer with us I take it?
@therealjrn
https://meh.com/forum/topics/rip-ceagee
@RiotDemon Thanks. Sorry @sammydog01, I wont post in the thread any more.