What to Consider When Buying a Toilet

Bathroom renovations are always popular. Whether selling your home or simply looking to do some upgrades, the bathroom can provide the ROI you are looking for. During a remodeling project, there are many details and decisions to be made – and choosing a toilet doesn’t rank as one of the more exciting tasks. Still, buying a toilet does afford you some style and efficiency options. Let’s take a look at some of the facts and factors involved.

1. High price does not always equal high performance. After a certain point, performance stops contributing to the increase in toilet prices–fancier toilet models get made with higher-end materials and come with additional features like warmers or bidets. In some cases, the different materials or sleeker designs can actually impede functionality. The toilets that reliably perform the best during product testing are usually mid-priced.
2. You can choose between gravity-feed versus pressure-assisted. Most toilets use a gravity-feed system to flush the waste down the drain and then refill the bowl. This system is reliable, relatively quiet, and less expensive compared to pressure-assisted models. However, if you opt for one on the very low end of the price spectrum, you might find that they sometimes have a hard time flushing waste. Pressure-assisted models are more expensive on average and are noisier since they use air and water to force waste down the drain. While great for high traffic bathrooms (such as in an office building), overall they tend not to perform as well as gravity-feed models.
3. Check out the new WaterSense features. Toilets can be a big drain on your water usage. If you’ve got an older toilet model, it’s likely that it uses multiple gallons of water for every flush, which adds up as each person in your family uses the toilet a few times per day. Almost all new toilet models have some sort of low-flow technology, but if water conservation is important to you, opt for models certified with a WaterSense label. This certification shows that they have been rigorously tested in multiple criteria to make sure they use as little water as possible and use it efficiently.
4. Dual-flush technology may help with conservation. Along the same lines of water conservation is dual-flush technology. This is a two-button mechanism that gives you some control over how much water is used to flush depending on what is needed.
5. The toilet height matters to some family members. Based on your family’s needs and the layout of your bathroom, you might opt for a taller or lower toilet. If you know you’ll have lots of young kids in your house for the next 10-15 years, you might choose a lower height. On the other hand, if you are aging in place or have family members with disabilities, a taller model might be easier to maneuver.
6. Concealed trapways help streamline cleaning. If you look at the side of your toilet, odds are that you can see the shape of the curved piping going from the bowl to the floor. Not only is this unappealing to some, but this area is also quite difficult to access and clean. If you find yourself struggling to clean them, consider getting a toilet with a concealed trapway–the piping is hidden behind flat siding that is much easier to wipe down.
7. The bowl shape should match your space and dimensions. Standard bowls are round but can be uncomfortable for some. Elongated bowls tend to provide better support, but they are about two inches longer than a round bowl; be sure to measure your space carefully before upgrading to an elongated bowl.

When designing a bathroom, there are hundreds of decisions that affect the style and function of the room. If you are ready to renovate your bathroom or kitchen, don’t go it alone. Call in the team of experts at West Coast Design Build Florida. From vision to execution, you can trust us to apply professionalism, skill and accountability to your home renovation.