Choosing a toilet

There has been only one toilet that I have used that works well for washing the sides; it was a Kohler low flow. It was in my hotel room on a week's stay; one of those expensive properties; a Biltmore or Four Seasons. I've never seen anything match it in performance.

Sue

Oh, the great toilet debate. I have older toilet in my condo which does a pretty decent job of rinsing so I'm okay in that department, but my parents have more recently installed the low flow toilets at their place, and I find they simply do not clean the back or the sides--and not even just a little; the water barely even runs in those areas. I find I spend a lot of time cleaning my parents' toilet when I am over visiting. Similar problem when I visit friends an relatives who have intalled low flows.

I can't recommend a brand that will do the job, but I can say based on experience that the low flow toilets aren't particularly good at cleaning the sides, so unless you can find one with a high power wash/flusher, I'd warn you off them. I obviously want to do my part for the environment, but I figure with all the paper and cleaner I'd be wasting on the newer low flows, I'm better with my old water hog which at least rinses 90% of the poopies away.

As far as I know only low-flow toilets can be purchased in the US. I didn't specify low-flow because I'm a fan - if you have to flush them four times they don't save water.

I have to hold the flusher handle down for a count of four in order to have the toilet flush completely. So much for the low flow efforts! If I don't do this I need to flush several times.

Like Sue I've noticed some specific models that just seem to do the job. Now I wish I had written down the names!

I've heard that Toto are the best for flushing completely. Their ads show a dozen golf balls going down with one flush.

Jan

Yes, I installed a Toto recently and it does the job pretty darn well. You still will need to get down in there from time to time, but it is the best unit I have experienced.

Best to go to a plumbing place showroom (Not a Home depot or Lowes...they have a horrible selection) with knowledgeable salespeople and check them out. Most toilets these days stink because they are all about saving water so you are really going to have to search.

So glad you asked....do an "enlongated" bowl rather then a "round" more room to work when emptying...as far as cleaning...I just keep a bowl brush hid behind the toilet and have to give it the occasional swish as its ending the flush...

TinCan, which model Toto did you get? I suspect they don't all work equally well.

ironic this came up as i am needing a new toilet for our master bathroom!

Scott - It was the Drake. Like the one shown here.

By the way, my coco bidet fits nicely on this unit. I don't think you will be disappointed with the Toto line.

I have had both Kohler and Toto low flow toilets elongated bowl toilets. Both worked well but the Toto needed less bowl brushing and was very quiet.

We just had our toilets replaced this week in our two bathrooms. Finally got fed up with multiple flushing of our low flow toilets to get the job done.

I did a lot of reading, and finally dug out my Consumer Reports (Sept 2012), where they rated fixtures for bathroom remodels. We wound up buying what was top on their list, the American Standard Champion 4, 1.6 gal/flush. It actually beat out the Toto and Kohler toilets in the review. I don't know how long they will be selling the 1.6 gal, since they are replacing most models with 1.28 gal these days (at least in California).
http://www.consumerreports.org...ets/buying-guide.htm

Yep, this is the one where they flush a bunch of golfballs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQLPXImsHQk

Anyway, it has a unique flush system that dumps the entire amount of flush water in less than a second. It really cleans the bowl completely. I only have to clean the rim (that stays dry) and the seat, if I am particularly messy. It is also extremely quiet, both on the flush, and the refill of the tank (nice for my husband when I make late night visits!).

The downside was that the toilet seat lid is flimsy (switched that out right away), and the handle is cheap plastic (switched to a nice metal one).

Funny the things we can get excited about!

Jan

I'm starting to think about the Toto "double cyclone" system, and the Washlet model that mists the bowl in advance. OTOH I could enjoy a nice vacation for the cost of that pair...

I'm imagining the late "Movie Trailer Voice Guy" intoning "in a world where you don't have to manually wipe the toilet every day..."

I wish I could remember where I recently used a toilet that had two buttons in the lid: Left button for # 1; right button for # 2.

I of course, pushed both separately....had to see what it was, ya know.

According to Consumer Reports, the double-flush models are not recommended, because they don't really save water. I was going to go with the Toto, but it seemed that the local hardware stores did not stock them and I did not want to special order one. Plus, the top rated American Standard was only $209 at Lowes.

It seems that the technology has improved a lot since we last remodeled in the early 1990s.

Jan