I don’t know, maybe 6months or so ago, some one posted a link to a Canadian study on toilets and how they rated as to “flushability”. I can’t seem to find it in the “infamous” archives
Can anybody provide me with that link? I need to forward it to a friend down South so he can make some decisions on to what he can find in his area. He is having some major problems with his waste lines and wants to try a new toilet before he starts calling in a plumber to trouble shoot the problem and he wants to get rid of the round bowl anyway.
Thanks…
Replies
Toto is a good choice.
They have a fairly cheap elongated bowl that works well.
Joe H
Was this what you were looking for?
http://www.cwwa.ca/pdf_files/freepub_toilet%20-report_june.PDF#search=%22%20toilets%20comparison%22
No, that wasn't it... It was one on 1.6 gal flushes and had about three pages of various toilets that were tested.
But thank you anyway.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4142417.html
You'll have to wait in line for this toilet
What's in its tank has made ritzy commode a must-have in Houston homes
By SHANNON BUGGSCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Sub-Zero refrigerators.
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Viking cook ranges.
Bose audio systems.
Now add Toto toilets to the list of brand-name fixtures that have become must-haves for fashionable homes.
The Japanese-brand toilets, which range in price from about $250 to $5,200, have a reputation for clearing their bowls with one flush and never needing a plunger.
Local demand for the cheapest Totos has grown so quickly that interior designers, architects and builders used to waiting no more than a couple of weeks for Toto's Carusoe or Dalton models have been quoted wait times of six weeks to six months this summer.
"They've created this huge demand and I'm not sure they can fill it," said Julie Koch, owner of Elegant Additions, a Houston kitchen & bath trade show room.
Customers don't buy Totos for their looks. The exterior design of most is not that radically different than commodes made by U.S.-based competitors Kohler and American Standard. But the guts of a Toto are another story.
"If you go to one of our toilets and you open up the tank, what you notice first and foremost is that nothing looks the same," said David Krakoff, vice president of sales for Toto USA.
What you won't see in all but one of Toto's 25 models is the customary ball cock — a lever attached to a floating sphere that opens a valve when lowered and closes it when lifted. You also won't find a lot of moving parts.
Battery operated
Just about all the mechanics in Totos differ from the technology in toilets produced by U.S. manufacturers, Krakoff said.
That's especially evident in some of Toto's commercial models found around Houston. The battery-operated automatic flushers at both Houston airports, for example, generate their own electricity every time water spins their small internal turbines.
The most lavish residential Toto — the NeoRest — has a heated seat, an automated lid opener and closer, self-cleaning and self-flushing systems — a washing and drying cycle that eliminates the need for toilet paper — and a $5,200 price tag.
No-frills versions, such as the Carusoe and the Dalton, retail for about $260.
"Totos are the only kind of toilet to have," said Carol Isaak Barden, a home developer.
Custom-home developers and remodelers often use the bare-basic Toto toilets in "spec" homes, houses built or renovated before they are sold. And homeowners want the cheaper Totos for their secondary baths, pool houses and other less-trafficked facilities.
Market leader
The market leader in Japan, Toto did not export its low-flow, water-conserving toilets to America until 1989 when California required new home toilets to flush with only 1.6 gallons of water instead of the standard 3.5 gallons.
Other states followed, forcing toilet makers to cut a deal with environmental groups in 1992 to get a uniform national standard.
The federal law banning the "procurement and installation" of water-guzzling toilets took effect in 1994 for homes and 1998 for businesses.
Despite helping to craft the law, toilet manufacturers said the short time frame from the law's passage to effectiveness only allowed them to reconfigure existing toilet lines rather than engineer new products that used less water.
That left a lot of people double and triple flushing and seeking better toilet options.
To make shopping for high-efficiency toilets easier, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon give out its WaterSense seal of approval to 1.28-gallon-tank toilets that pass a flush test.
The WaterSense program was expected to go into effect this month, but industry experts have asked the agency to re-examine its specifications for materials used in the flush test.
For years, American manufacturers used golf balls to test a toilet's clearing capacity. Toto engineers in Japan, however, used miso paste, a concoction of soybeans, salt and fermented grain, to create ersatz excrement for a more realistic test.
The EPA requires a test similar to the Toto one, but dictates that the soybean paste be encased in unlubricated latex. Some manufacturers have found that the casing creates unexpected problems.
However the final EPA specifications are written, Toto expects many of its toilets will carry the WaterSense seal, which will allow it to better market its products as necessities for eco-friendly consumers and status-conscious connoisseurs of comfort.
Ancient plumbing
For centuries, only the most wealthy had access to sanitary and convenient methods for collecting and discarding excrement.
Archaeologists have unearthed plumbing pipes in Egyptian pyramid temples and latrines in ancient Rome. King Minos of Crete is said to have owned the world's first flushing toilet 3,000 years ago.
Scatological technology solely aided royalty and the wealthy until scientists linked disease outbreaks to unsanitary waste disposal in the 19th century.
Dozens of tinkerers and inventors, including British plumber Thomas Crapper, contributed to the development of the modern flushing toilet.
American soldiers stationed in England during World War I saw Crapper's name on manhole covers and toilet tanks and used his name as a euphemism for the toilet.
Three plants in U.S.
Although Toto's marketing doesn't mythologize its toilets, the company is not opposed to them gaining legendary status with arbiters of home decor and interior design.
The company has three plants in the U.S. that manufacture more than two dozen different toilets. But the new plant being built in eastern Mexico will mainly manufacture the Drake, the least expensive Toto toilet with the patented G-Max flushing system.
"The Drake has actually become a model name that people know and use," said Toto's Krakoff.
And, he said, the Drake, which retails with an elongated bowl and regulated height for the disabled for about $430, is considered "the gateway to our company."
So it is unlikely Toto will ever have more than a limited quantity of the two models that are its cheaper cousins.
"We make enough Carusoes and Daltons to cover the bases," Krakoff said.
"But you don't want your sales to be emphasized at your lowest-end product. That's not what we are here to do."
But the company does not want to alienate loyal customers, and the official company line is that it is "doing everything that we can to keep everybody happy."
But that does not include offering discounts on back orders that took half a year to fill.
"At present there aren't any incentives," said Toto spokeswoman Lenora Campos. "Our customers are telling us they understand and that the products are worth the wait."
Maybe for some.
In her next spec home, developer Barden plans to use the entire contemporary line designed by Waterworks called .25 — including toilets. The posh retailer of luxury bath fittings and accessories opened a Houston emporium in Highland Village about two years ago.
Don't know about the study, but I'm a great fan of the Sloan Flushmatic system. It uses air pressure to improve the flush. Very effective!
http://www.terrylove.com/crtoilet.htm
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
I don't know about any Canadian study but Consumer Reports magazine did a big spread on toilets they tested. It came out last year and I kept a copy for a long time until I used it as a guide to buying one and then threw it away. They top rated several models and if I recall correctly they were in the 5 hundred dollar range. I settled for a cheaper lesser rated model and am very happy with it. If you have the time you can always order a back copy of the article from Consumer Reports.
Then it is probably available on CR website. But there will be a small fee for it.
Can't help you on the study but I've installed American Standard Champions in my new house and I love 'em. I got the "right height" or ADA models, which it's been said, flush better because of the added 1-1/2" height.
Maybe this is what you're thinking about?
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/downloads/NAHB-ToiletReport.pdf
Those other links are old tests, here is the 2006 update:
http://www.cwwa.ca/pdf_files/MaP%206th%20Edition%20Feb%2010%202006.pdf
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
That was it!!!
Thank you