Shower/Bidet Toilets

[shaky1105]

I'm going to be buying a wall-hung Shower Toilet for my bathroom refurb but wondered if you guys have any likes/dislikes about certain makes ? I've originally been interested in either the Vitra or Grohe products, which retail for between £1500 and £2000 (+wall-frame) but recently I came across a brand called Purificare from Better Bathrooms dot com that is only £700 including a Grohe wall-frame !

The only problem I have is that although the wall-frame is from a respected brand, I've never heard of Purificare before. Better Bathrooms site are honest enough in saying that the toilet is manufactured in the far east (tbh I bet most of them are anyway) but that price difference makes me think that although it appears to have all the same features as the more expensive units, it's quite possibly made from less durable materials.

The reviews on their site seem to be very good but whether or not they're false or paid-for reviews who can tell ?

Has anybody either fitted any of these units or know anyone who has had one for a while ?

TIA

 

[shaky1105]

*bump....I take it there are no takers for this question ?

 

[just pumps]

It is not a name I`ve heard of before.

 

[cheezyeazy]

I'm going to be buying a wall-hung Shower Toilet for my bathroom refurb but wondered if you guys have any likes/dislikes about certain makes ? I've originally been interested in either the Vitra or Grohe products, which retail for between £1500 and £2000 (+wall-frame) but recently I came across a brand called Purificare from Better Bathrooms dot com that is only £700 including a Grohe wall-frame !

The only problem I have is that although the wall-frame is from a respected brand, I've never heard of Purificare before. Better Bathrooms site are honest enough in saying that the toilet is manufactured in the far east (tbh I bet most of them are anyway) but that price difference makes me think that although it appears to have all the same features as the more expensive units, it's quite possibly made from less durable materials.

The reviews on their site seem to be very good but whether or not they're false or paid-for reviews who can tell ?

Has anybody either fitted any of these units or know anyone who has had one for a while ?

TIA

@shaky1105 - wondering how this worked out? I have the same question!

 

[geoffers1]

@shaky1105 - wondering how this worked out? I have the same question!

@cheezyeazy , @shaky1105 - I'm just in the process of installing the Purificare one: will probably be several weeks before I've got it functional, but all seems to be of good quality and at <⅓ the cost of some of the "leading" brands looks to be a great deal.
Will post more later...

 

[Rodders53]

The seat and lid are quite flimsy. Don't sit on it with lid closed to dry your feet after a bath or shower.

The supplied inline 'filter' clogged up a mesh filter after it causing issues and overflow into the pan from the water tank, despite being fed from a water softener. Sorted that out, eventually with some reverse and forward flushing of pipework and filters. Say to replace every 6 months... still on the original almost 12 months later. They supply two filters... should I risk using a new one?

Swmbo is quite happy with it, functionally since then. It loses 'memory' of the settings in use if mains is off for a period (e.g. away on holiday) so we laminated the remote control / settings page from the manual to keep handy. The light is handy for finding the ensuite at night.

 

[ktuludays]

Holy thread bump batman

 

[geoffers1]

@cheezyeazy , @shaky1105 - I'm just in the process of installing the Purificare one: will probably be several weeks before I've got it functional, but all seems to be of good quality and at <⅓ the cost of some of the "leading" brands looks to be a great deal.
Will post more later...

Ok - finally got it installed and very impressed so far...

For the benefit of anyone searching for details of this smart toilet:

The "washing" functions are as expected (and very effective too ) - it's simple to use, and the remote handset allows adjustment of spray temperature; strength; direction etc

It even has a night light illuminating the bowl

It's reasonably easy to fit but I must emphasize to check and check again with dry-fits before tiling to ensure the bidet water supply locates correctly through the back of the pan.

A couple of points on the instructions to be aware of...

Where it says the mounting bolts should extend 48mm from the finished wall: it means it! Initially I didn't think this was far enough as I couldn't get the nuts to mount, so extended them an extra 10mm. However the supplied protective shrouds compress as you tighten the nuts so I was unable to reinstall the seat/tank due to the bolts now extending too far, and had to remove/readjust to the recommended length.

There is a recommended torque setting for the nuts of <10Nm in very small writing which is easy to miss - I tightened mine to 9Nm with a torque wrench (which in fact was slightly more than my "unmeasured" tightening)

The described connection of the water supply and filter in the instructions is pretty poor - they suggest fitting the filter before installing the pan which is wrong.

I found what worked was connecting a 200mm flex hose with a compression joint at the wall; adding the supplied stop tap to the end of this and feeding through the back of the pan as you install. Then connect the filter from underneath, plus the supplied flex hose for the reservoir. Now feed this flex hose from underneath around the internal-front of the pan, and push the filter up inside the pan too. You can reach inside to turn the stop tap on once you're connected to the tank.

 

[Nige F]

There are regulations regarding bidets and water connections - so a WC that has spray/hose sounds Very Dodgy possibly illegal and a health risk to the mains supplied water.

 

[opps]

Wow, one of my customers paid £5000 for 4 TOTO japanese loos. They should have been £2500 each but the retailer offered 4 for the price of 2 ( I think it was end of line).

 

[Rodders53]

Your suggestions sound like it is wall-mounted and not on the floor-standing model that I have. No access from below on mine

There are regulations regarding bidets and water connections - so a WC that has spray/hose sounds Very Dodgy possibly illegal and a health risk to the mains supplied water.

They have an air gap water tank fill system to the heater and spray pump.
Same design as those with WRAS approvals... https://www.wrasapprovals.co.uk/approvals-directory/?section=0278&perpage=all

The https://www.easycaresystems.co.uk/products/bio-bidet-bb-1000 is not listed in the search, above, but claims WRAS approvals from 2007 and 2012. Sold and supplied to LAs https://www.pdshygiene.com/ so are they OK?

 

[muitommy]

Wow, one of my customers paid £5000 for 4 TOTO japanese loos. They should have been £2500 each but the retailer offered 4 for the price of 2 ( I think it was end of line).

This sounds like a bargain, where your customers get it from I wonder?

 

[bernardgreen]

Water Regs UK Limited Don't be a douche about hand showers

Don't be a douche about hand showers Amended July 2024 What the installer needs to know - Nobody would expect or want to find water from the WC pan coming out of their kitchen

www.waterregsuk.co.uk

Well worth reading

 

[geoffers1]

Well worth reading

Good point however the Purificare model meets the following requirement preventing backflow in bidet-style toilets

... incorporate an interposed cistern with an air gap (Water Regulations G15.9 & G15.10, section 6 pages 28,29,30,31). By doing so, it becomes impossible for water from the bidet or toilet bowl to travel past the air gap and into the clean water supply.

 

[opps]

This sounds like a bargain, where your customers get it from I wonder?

To be honest, I don't know. When I said end of line, I don't mean a discontinued product line, I meant that the retailer had possibly decided they weren't selling well enough and wanted to get rid of them.