How Good are New Toilets?

[Lupus]

Hello

We have three toilets in our house, two are 25+ years old (with newer internals) and flush perfectly and will get rid of anything first time. The other is about 15 years old and requires about 3 flushes to do the job.

As a part of an extension we're moving our downstairs WC. We aren't on a water meter, so water saving isn't a priority of mine. For this reason we were initially planning on moving our existing toilet that we're perfectly happy with. However newer toilets do look so much nicer and will give a nicer finish to the room. Needless to say the toilet salesman says that new water toilets are just as good as the older ones; and it was just a dodgy few years when they first came out that they didn't. However, as a salesman he would say that wouldn't he?

I'd hate to replace it and then end up disappointed; but on the same note, logic would dictate water saving toilets would improve over time.

Could I please ask what people's views are? Especially if you've been in a similar position? Also does the brand matter? Any other recommendations?

Thanks

 

[oldbuffer]

1. It seems unlikely that water meters will not become compulsory over the next few years.
2. As you probably know, the issue is not so much the toilets as the 6 litre maximum flushing volume.
3. We have 2 modern (approx. 10 year old) and one old (approx 90 years old) WCs. All flush well and get rid of all waste all the time.
4. All are adjusted to ensure that the water in the cistern fills right up to the marked line, possibly even just above.
5. Personally I'd avoid the "bog in a box" type and go for a known brand like Ideal Standard / Vileroy & Boch etc.

 

[opps]

As an aside...

Not related to flush rates, but why are some loos designed such that they leave skid marks at the back?

 

[Johntheo5]

If, by the "bog in a box type" is like the one below then yes, I would agree, best avoided, as our one takes 2 and sometimes 3 full flushes, we have a 50 year one upstairs with the cistern mounted higher up with a connecting pipe and it gives a fantastic one time flush, only replacement was the syphon diaphragm which I made out of a bit of plastic.

 

[aveatry]

Yep - st upid environment rubbish again. Got a 9 ltr flush loo - job done on one flush - got a save-the-world loo 6 ltr needs 2 flushes = now using 12 ltr madness
Also if in an older house with salt glaze and such sewer pipes with calcium deposits or a few roots and you need a good flush when compared to new perfectly smooth plastic waste.

 

[Exedon]

Never got my head round water saving toilets you have to flush 3 times!
Had any number of conversations customers that rotate round ' you mean it won't clear the solids madam?'

 

[robinbanks]

why are some loos designed such that they leave skid marks at the back?

In Germany it's fairly typical to have a toilet where your output is held on a shelf for you to inspect before flushing. Can be a useful diagnostic tool for various serious conditions so not exactly an horrific idea

I don't have any complaints with any of my toilets, of various vintages from the last 30 years. I recall one in a friend's house when I was younger that filled the bowl up quite a lot and swirled before sucking nearly everything out with a siphon action - haven't seen another one since, other than similar, vacuum powered things on trains and aeroplanes

 

[Madrab]

If it's a concealed LL cistern then fit a Thomas Dudley and throw away the 6L box

 

[Munroast]

i often have to pour a bucket of water in at the same time to get it round the bend

Quite embarrassing if you at someone else's house and you have to ask for a large bucket and a stick

 

[big-all]

as an a side
a ton off water is 1000L costs around £3 so at a gallon/4.5L costs around 1.4p extra per flush so not a kings ransom

 

[Lupus]

The balance is 'prettier toilet that may or may not work' vs 'ugly toilet that definitely does'! Generally it seems that most people here prefer the older toilets!

 

[mattylad]

By "new toilets" do you mean the rimless design?
Or is it something else?

 

[aveatry]

as an a side
a ton off water is 1000L costs around £3 so at a gallon/4.5L costs around 1.4p extra per flush so not a kings ransom

Yes as compared to having a blockage in your old pipework due to lack of a decent flush

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

i often have to pour a bucket of water in at the same time to get it round the bend

Quite embarrassing if you at someone else's house and you have to ask for a large bucket and a stick

45 year old toilets here, well known make, with large capacity flush tanks, but still they don't flush reliably. We just use a 1L plastic jug to hand, to help out the flush.

 

[Lupus]

By "new toilets" do you mean the rimless design?
Or is it something else?

Yes, I think so. The latest type in HPS showroom.