New toilets help stop flushing dollars away

We built our home 9 years ago and it was mandated by our town that we use HET's. Our kids would flush these things about 3 times on average to get anything to go down. After having them overflow, (with guests over), we replaced them. The new toilets, TOTO's, though pricey, have done the trick. Be very careful, try them out in a showroom before you spend the money on them. I figure I'm out about $5,000 on the difference. I don't think we'll live long enough to see that money again. Sometimes the "green process" is not all it's cracked up to be.

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Not sure who has gone out and did the studies. As fas as conserving...no way. The low flow toilet I have has to be flushed two-three times to get everything down. Basically, I a m flushing an extra gallon per use over what the old high volume toilets used to have. Granted, if it's only number one, it makes a difference. But a family of 4....not much savings.

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We updated both our bathroom. And put in water saving toilets. I'll spare you the details, just let me tell you that I had problems with solid waste being flushed away. I too had several mind bending episodes of toilet over flo. Beware!

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If you are serious about saving water, want a toilet that looks good, really works and is affordable, I would highly recommend a Caroma Dual Flush toilet. Caroma toilets offer a patented dual flush technology consisting of a 0.8 Gal flush for liquid waste and a 1.6 Gal flush for solids. Caroma, an Australian company set the standard by giving the world its first successful two button dual flush system in the nineteen eighties and has since perfected the technology. Also, with a full 3.5″ trapway, these toilets virtually never clog. All of Caroma’s toilets are on the list of WaterSense labeled HET’s http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/find_het.htm and also qualify for LEED points. Please go to http://www.caromausa.com for more detailed information or visit http://www.youtube.com/ecotransitions to see why they actually work better than any other US toilet. Best regards, Andrea Paulinelli, owner ecoTransitions Inc., a Supplier of Caroma Dual Flush toilets in Georgia

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The best Independent study of high-efficiency toilet performance is Maximum Performance or MaP testing, now in its 12 edition since 2003. http://www.cuwcc.org/MaPTesting.aspx

It is true that the first generation of low-flow toilets had lots of problems. In short, legislation got ahead of the technology. Older toilet designs simply could not work with less water. (Read more here: http://www.safeplumbing.org/efficiency/index.html#lessons)

However, MaP testing now shows many toilets that can flush up to 1,000 grams...on even less water than those early models! NO ONE can "output" 1,000 grams--and live to tell about it. Today's toilets are engineered differently, inside and out. Look for models that have come on the market since 2003.

Transparency time: My firm provides marketing communications services to American Standard and the Plumbing Manufacturer's Institute. We also own low-flow toilets from American Standard and one of their competitors. So I know my flushes!

Nora DePalma
Building Profits, Inc.

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New homes as well as renovated bathrooms are required by local codes and by Federal laws to have low water use toilets. These toilets are designed to save water by using less per each flush. There are even toilets on the market today with 2 settings for flushing one for liquid waste the other for solid.
I’m not so sure that the problem is so much the low use units as much as it is we, ourselves, what we are used to that is causing the problem. For us old geezers who may have started out with outhouses, no clogging problem there, but primarily we are used to the old toilets that used up to 10 gallons of water to flush and were wide in their construction so you could flush your old bowling balls, the left over Thanksgiving turkey as well as the most solid of waste materials that your teen age son could produce. Do you who have read my articles before see a pattern developing about the teen age son? I only had boys but I can imagine some of the things the girls could flush also. With this old experience we took it for granted that the toilets could handle massive loads of what ever you needed to eliminate.In modern times the standard toilet actually used about 3.5 gallons of water per flush but the US department of Energy mandated in 1992 that toilets be developed that could flush with as little as 1.6 gallons.
How can we tell if the toilet is clogged? Of course the first sign is that when you flush instead of everthing disappearing neatly down the toilet it pours out on your feet , on the floor and down the hall. Even more subtle signs are that the water level doesn’t return to the proper level after a flush, or the flush is slow and inefficient. You are better off catching the clog at this stage as opposed to the wet feet stage
Needless to say we are still trying to flush the same amount of waste with half the water so we have to adjust our thinking as to how we use these low flush toilets. Although it defeats the purpose of the low flow toilet we can flush more often while using the toilet i.e. flush the solids before using paper, we can be more aware of how much toilet paper we use, we can use paper that dissolves more rapidly or more easily and last but not least the idea, that has been used in Europe for years, we can invest in toilets such as the TOTO nearest, that actually clean our delicate areas with water instead of using paper at all. There are even “washlets” or toilet seats that can be retrofitted to your existing toilet that provide this same service. Visit my blogsite at www.nationalbuildersupply.blogspot.net to read this full article and others relating to plumbing issues

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We have had a low flush toilet for some years and have no problem with flushing - however, we had to have drains unclogged yearly until a helpful Roto Rooter man mentioned that in cities that require Palmer valves (keeps city sewer from backing up into your home) you often have to flush twice to move any solid waste out of the house. Since taking his advice we have not had to have the drains unclogged in eight years!

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Like the guy said when a friend and I were looking for a new toilet. If you're gonna buy a new toilet, you better buy a good plunger!

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About 6 months ago, we replaced 4 toilets in our home with low-flow (1.6 gal) Kohlers. It cost us about $2, 000 (including one special sized for a specific plumbing situation) installed. We have not had to re-flush or use a plunger yet. I think the Toto's are over-priced and over-rated.

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Forgot to add: We don't save water/sewer costs because we are on a septic system. However, it does save wear and tear on the system, the more water you put in them, the less effective they are and the quicker they wear out.

Also, Kohler is made in Wisconsin.

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A couple of ways to cut down on the amount of water you use.
Find a gallon glass container that will fit in the tank, fill it with water and let it set there.
Common bricks, just stack them up inside the tank till you get the amount of water to flush and do the job.

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I have the low flow toilet. I have a high volume and high flow a-hole. Depending upon what I have eaten (beans, which exit as very watery chunks or bread and cheese or oatmeal, which is close to brown dry-wall compound) I have found the low flow lacking. To solve this dilemma, I ran a 1" line off my main attaching a large hose with a high pressure nozzle. I then use this to spray down the sides of the toilet and force the largest turds, even those larger than the 3 1/2" trapway, out. This created another problem which was small pieces of shit flying all over the bathroom and sticking to walls and ceiling. I fixed that by putting a floor drain in and a waterproof doorway. Now I am so happy with my low flow toilet. It takes me 20 minutes to evacuate, 20 minutes for washdown, and 20,000 gallons of water to complete the task.

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I am a retired builder and have been around bath fixtures since the late 40s. After retiring, we bought a house that was built in the early 70s with the original toilets. They took about 3 plus gal. per flush and sometimes twice to go down. Getting fed up w / this, I checked to see if the proper venting was in place and not plugged (good venting is a must for any system to work correctly and safely ) and made sure the drains to the septic system were clear.I went on line and did some research on toilets-prepared to spend enough to get a good unit. I decided on the American Standard Cadet 3 - 2 pc. units that claimed to flush right each and every time on 1.6 gal. . That was 2 years ago, and they have never plugged and flush w/ about 1 gal of water. They worked so good that I talked another family member into installing one and they are very satisfied also. Did I mention that these units cost about $200- including delivery to my house !!!! And ,no, I don't have stock in A.S but I do like to give credit for something that is an excellent value !!

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LOVE IT. READ IT 5 MIN. AGO AND STILL LAUGHING.

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This is all well and fine. Besides having to flush them 2 or 3 times. (waste of water) Why would i want to spend the money on one of these things when my home is on a well. I don't pay for water. If you buy one of these and you have a well, your crazy!

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Brian, if you have a well, you probably (might?) be on septic, as well. If so, less is best, water that is.

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MY HOME WAS BUILT IN 2003 AND NO PROBLEMS WITH THE TOILETS - I HAVE ANOTHER COMPLAINT THOUGH. SEVERAL YEARS AGO BUILDERS HAD TO LOWER THE WATER PRESSURE IN THE SHOWER - THAT IS WORTHLESS BECAUSE NOW I SPEND TWICE AS LONG IN THE SHOWER AS BEFORE. ALSO THE KITCHEN SINK - IT TAKES FOREVER TO FILL A BIG POT WITH WATER - SOMETIMES I WISH THEY WOULD JUST LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE. I BET THE RICH HAVE ALL THE WATER PRESSURE THEY WANT.

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stop going to potty so much..that'll cut it back......lol

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