Toilet Insights

A 1994 Federal law requiring toilets to flush using 1.6 gallons of water has caused quite a stink. The reason for the law was to dramatically reduce water consumption. Older toilets use 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. Assuming most people flush about 5 times a day, water frugal toilets can save 10 to 25 gallons of water per day for each person. Multiply that by the number of people in your home and that’s a lot of water going down the drain. This law has the potential of saving our communities huge amounts of water. Unfortunately, many of these first 1.6 gallon flush toilets stunk. They clogged easily. They overflowed and flooded bathrooms. They made builders and homeowners “piping” mad! Legislation was presented to repeal this pathetic “1.6 gallon flush” law and get the government out of our bathrooms. The law was immoveable. Some people are still screaming that this law reeks!

Are these screamers right? Are 1.6 gallon flush toilets bad for bathrooms?

Answer: It depends on the toilet. Some toilets will cause you grief. However, toilet engineers and manufactures have been working overtime. The result is that we now have great flushing, low water consumption toilets. Most name brand toilets work just as well as the old water guseling toilets.

We have been selling and installing toilets by Toto, Kohler, American Standard, and Gerber for years now with few complaints from customers. However, some toilets have proven to be superior. “Toto” has designed an incredibly great gravity flushing toilet using a larger passage way with a huge “G-Max” flapper. All toilets by Toto use this simple yet efficient flushing system. We sell a lot of Toto Drake toilets, the least expensive in the “Toto” product line. A compliment to “Toto”, Kohler is also using this “Toto” technology in a toilet called the “Cimmaron”. Kohler’s “Cimmaron” eliminated all tank-to-bowl holes to make this two piece toilet a winner. American Standard, not to be out done, has created their “Champion” but designed their own patented great flush valve. Gerber has a toilet called the "Avalanch"  whitch also uses this huge flush valve. We recommend, Toto’s "Drake” and Gerber's "Avalanch", for great flushing yet affordable toilets.

The best flushing toilets are noisy. “Sloan”, famous for commercial flushing mechanisms, developed a pressurized cylinder that goes inside toilet tanks. Toilets employing this technology are called “pressure assist”. These toilets discharge water at about 60 PSI for an awesome flush. I have never seen a clogged “power assist” toilet. Kohler, American Standard, and Gerber have these incredible flushing “power assist” toilets. The only complaint I hear about “pressure assist” toilets is that they are noisy.    

The case for upgrading to a quality new toilet

Everyone hates plunging out a clogged toilet. Bad toilets are a huge embarrassment. Dirty toilets are humiliating. Many old toilets will not come clean. Beyond being the ultimate annoyance, inadequate commodes are a significant financial risk. Calling a drain cleaning company will easily cost you the price of a nice dinner for two at a quality restaurant. If water damage is included, the cost could easily be the equivalent of a very pleasant weekend vacation for the whole family. My recommendation is that no one should spend money or time repairing old toilets installed prior to about 1995. Take that money and use it as a down payment on a great flushing, beautifully clean, good quality toilet. It’s amazing how much peace of mind comes from a quality new toilet.  The money you save in water use alone will pay off the toilet. 

If you are looking for a gift idea that will be remembered and appreciated for a long time, consider a toilet. It will won't get lost or forgotten. Toilets make practical gifts that are used daily and are incredibly "intimate".