by Trevor Woods |
Last Updated: February 20, 2020 Did you know that the average person spends almost two hours a week on the toilet? That’s over 100 hours annualy and nearly a whole year spent on the can over the course of your lifetime. Maybe even more if you’re scrolling through social media while on the Loo (we know you do it!).
With all that time on the old water closet, you might as well get comfortable. But buying a new toilet can seem like you are flushing money down the drain. Especially if you don’t know what kind of porcelain you are looking at. So when it comes to purchasing your new throne let this guide help you pick the best water closet for you!
The 5 Most Important Factors For Buying New A Toilet
1. Find The Best Flush Rate
When you purchase a new toilet you want one crucial thing, you never want it to clog and overflow. We have all created a logjam in our lifetimes and it is a horrible experience to suffer through. The embarrassment, the shame, the humility! This can all be avoided if you look for a toilet with a high flush capacity.
Luckily for you, the plumbing industry has quantified the ability to flush solid waste by creating the Maximum Performance (MaP) score. The MaP score represents the number of grams of solid waste a particular toilet can remove completely in a single flush.
Essentially, the MaP test is a test to failure. But keep in mind that MaP testing is an independent and voluntary program so the testing is not mandatory but most reputable brands submit their toilets for testing. You can search for all the toilets tested here to see how the toilets compare.
Also, do a little research online to see what others are saying about the toilet but keep in mind personal biases and installation issues. You can buy the world’s best water closet but if the installation is botched, it will never flush correctly and will result in an unwarranted negative online review. When in doubt, rely on MaP scores.
2. Will This Toilet Save You Money?
The toilet is not a glamourous fixture in a lavatory but it is the powerhouse of the powder room. Consider this purchase an investment, in your home and in your water consumption. The two ways that a toilet will save you money is reducing water usage and limiting the number of repairs required in its lifespan.
In terms of wasted water, if you are replacing an older toilet, chances are you are upgrading from a water closet that uses 1.6 US gal/1.3 Imp gal (6 liters) per flush to 1.3 US gal/1.1 Imp gal (4.8 liters) per flush. That’s about 20 percent!
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program claims that by replacing old inefficient toilets with WaterSense labeled models, the average family can reduce water used for toilets by nearly 13,000 gallons of water savings for your home every year! They could also save more than $140 per year in water costs, and $2,900 over the lifetime of the toilets.
An additional way to reduce wasted water is by purchasing a dual-flush toilet. Such equipped toilets will use 1.6 USgpf for a full flush to remove solids and a reduced 1.28 USgpf to remove only liquids. However, by making a toilet more complex these models are increasingly susceptible to needing repairs. Which brings me to my next point.
The second way a top-notch toilet saves you cash is not needing to be fixed constantly. A service bill from a plumber can quickly negate any money saved on reduced water consumption. So my advice to you is to stick to the big brand names in toilets: American Standard, Kohler, and Toto. These three manufacturers combined make up over 60% of all toilet and urinal sales.
I’m not saying buy one of their toilets because they are large companies, rather buy from them because they typically provide the best warranty and have repair parts and readily available. Not only will the parts be cheap and easy to find now but will stay that way for years to come.
You don’t want to have to replace the entire toilet down the road because a lesser company went bankrupt and no longer provides warranty, parts, or services for the products they sold. Heartbreaking buyer’s remorse!
3. Cleaning
Cleaning is one factor that continually gets overlooked when contemplating your next toilet purchase. Whichever water closet you buy please check the manufacturers’ specifications to ensure the porcelain finish is high quality and that they mention that the toilet cleans the bowl with its own water.
When switching to a high-efficiency toilet these two things are important to keep in mind as with less water used there is less of a “wash down” effect in the bowl. So to save you from constantly scrubbing find a model with self-cleaning flushing action.
Now that the inside of the bowl is covered, what about the outside? For years I scrubbed grime, mildew, and backsplash from all the curves and crevices of the molded and visible trapway, but no longer! The sleek sides of a concealed or skirted toilet saves me time and the disgusting chore of scouring the base of my toilet bowl.
The drawback of a concealed trap toilet is that they are made with more porcelain than your standard model and that comes with added weight and ultimately price. But for me, a few extra dollars and a “grunt!” during the install were well worth it!
4. Comfort
Let’s talk about creature comfort when answering nature’s call. When you’re visiting the restroom you want to be able to relax a little. A toilet that is too short or narrow can be an unpleasant experience.
Fortunately, comfort height toilets exist to provide you with a couple of extra inches to give you a more “chair-like” feel. The standard ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant toilet or sometimes called a Comfort Height toilet is 17″-19″ from the floor to the seat. Whereas a standard toilet is around 14-15″ in height.
This increase in height will feel more comfortable when sitting and will help when standing up. If you or someone in your household is tall or getting close to their golden years, this is a great option for you. Just be warned that shorter individuals or children might not appreciate the height of this toilet.
Without sounding weird, I’d advise you to head you your nearest hardware store and pop-a-squat on a few floor models to see which height is right for you.
Next is bowl shape. The style of the toilet bowl not only changes the look of the toilet but also the seat profile. An elongated bowl is more comfortable with the longer seat preventing the bowl from digging into the back of your legs causing your feet to tingle and fall asleep while you scroll through social media. We’ve all been there!
When choosing an elongated bowl, remember to consider how the added few inches in length may impact your bathroom floorplan. Will the bowl hit a door, prevent a cupboard from opening, or bump into a set of drawers? Take a quick measure before you buy, you won’t regret it.
The last customization for comfort you can make is with the seat. You can pick from all kinds of materials; wood, plastic, acrylic, padded foam, and plush covers to keep your behind warm.
My personal preference is for plastic. They are inexpensive, easy to clean, come in a variety of colors, and are low maintenance. Whichever you choose, splurge and get a “slow close” seat. These hinges prevent the toilet seat from slamming down during your midnight bathroom break. Busted!
Plumbers have a sick sense of humor, here’s my next toilet seat:
Washlet and bidet seats are a whole new topic and I will cover them in another article later.
5. Will It Fit?
Last but not least is figuring out whether your new toilet will match up to the plumbing of your old water closet. This is arguably the most important of all the information on this buying guide. Your existing toilet rough-in will dictate what toilets can be installed in your bathroom.
A toilet rough-in refers to the distance from the finished wall to the center of the toilets drain or waste outlet.
Most toilets have a rough-in dimension of 12 inches. Some older homes may have a 10″ rough-in size so please check what fits in your washroom to be sure your new toilet is compatible.
You can do this by measuring the distance from the finished wall (not baseboards or moldings) to the center of the toilet bolt caps. These bolts are what secures the bowl to the plumbing flange in the floor and typically there are two, one on either side, so measure whichever one is easily accessible.
Now that you have the toilet drain measured, now is a perfect time to check the waterline location. The standard location for the water line is on the left-hand side of the toilet when standing in front of the bowl looking towards the back wall.
Pay attention to if the waterline sticks up through the floor or the rear wall. Sometimes when buying a toilet with a concealed trap or one with a wider base will interfere with a waterline coming through the floor. When in doubt, refer to the manufacturer’s rough-in specifications.
I had mentioned previously that about special considerations with elongated bowl toilets but another dimension to be wary of is overall height. This toilet dimension is especially important if you have a “banjo” style countertop or shelving that is directly above the toilet tank. Too tall of a toilet might make it impossible to install.
Conclusion
Toilet talk is not always in poor taste of manners. In fact, I could chat all day about new toilets. But I’ll save you the time and hassle with this buyer’s guide. Flush, Fit, Comfort, Clean, and Save are the five most important factors when purchasing a water closet. Now you’re toilet savvy and ready to shop like a plumber!
Happy Plumbing!
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