Berkeley Parents Network: Toilets

Berkeley Parents Network

Toilets

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Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Toilets

Dual flush toilet recommendation

April 2007

I am having a bathroom remodeled. I am considering to have a dual flush toilet. I wonder if anyone has experience with them and specially with the Toto Aquia dual flush toilet. I have seen some environment friendly toilets that you actually need to flush twice in order to properly work. I wonder if the flushing system of the Toto dual flush works well (specially the stronger flush) or if anyone has experience with other brand/model. Thank you in advance. Daniela

We've had a Caroma toilet that was wonderful. We now have a Toto dual flush/bidet combination that is good too. Caroma always comes out tops in reviews of toilets for the plumbing trade.... Believe it or not, they test toilets by the amount of tofu that will flush. Caroma has the largest discharge hole [where the water goes out when you flush] and has an excellent non-repair record. silverpenny

Check out this URL. http://www.terrylove.com/crtoilet.htm Very good overview of low-flow and dual flush toilets. We installed one in a bathroom remodel, but I can not remember which one it is. The 'liquid' flush (0.8 gal/flush) works fine for all liquid and sometimes small solid deposits. The regular flush (1.6 gal/flush) works fine for most others. Occasionally we need to flush twice. Check out the EBMUD website for possible rebates, too. We received $125 rebate ~ 2 years ago. Liz

Steve Ferguson of Mr. Rooter Plumbing (510-843-6378) would be a good person to talk with about the Toto. He has been in the plumbing business for many years and knows the evolution of low water usage toilets well. I believe he recommends Toto toilets, but he could offer good advice on the subject. Julie

We recently put in the Toto Aquia toilet that you're considering. We're happy with it and think that it does flush very well. We would have preferred a flush lever instead of a button, but that's not a big deal. The ''water spot'' is small and so sometimes solids may miss a bit and you may need to use the ol' toilet brush. I like that it has a half flush for pee. The only time i've had to flush twice is if i failed to depress the flush button the whole way - you can't just lightly touch the flush button. The only other downside was that it was a bit more difficult to install - if you buy one, google for additional installation instructions - they were helpful for our plumber. Enjoy the water savings and the $150 rebate! dan

I can't specifically address the newer dual flush toilets, but our Toto Drake, installed about 6 years ago, works perfectly. Although it is not officially a dual flush, the folks at Ashby lumber explained that a quick push of the handle dosn't use the full 1.6 gal of water, and is sufficient for fluids, while a firm push will result in a ''full flush'' for solids. This is not mentioned in the manual, but if you watch the flush with the top off the tank, you will see it is true. We have never had a clog, never had to flush twice (at least I haven't...), and only very rarely have any residue left in the bowl (not enough to warrant another flush, and it disappears the next time it's used). One of these days, we'll replace the water-wasting toilet in our older bathroom, and we plan to get the same model. R.K.

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