I’m about to Reno my home and looking for a new toilet. My current toilet is modern and water efficient and really puts the crap in thomas crapper.
It stains easily and doesn’t do it’s one job: flush the poop!
I thought it was just mine but visited a family friend recently and when I went to their bathroom I was met with a floater that fought against their flush.
Can anyone recommend a good toilet that actually functions as it should?
Thank you
It was this one I put in:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/caroma-wels-4-star-3-5l-min-luna…
There's also a wall faced variant if that suits you (should have the same internal bowl design):
https://www.bunnings.com.au/caroma-wels-4-star-3-5l-min-luna…
If you know anyone with a Bunnings PowerPass that will save you a bit extra.
@stewy: Can confirm I bought a house with 3 of these Caroma (wall faced) units and was much better than the cheapo no-name units I had in my rental property.
This is one of the few useful comments that actually answer OP question.
Wow. Thanks for the inspo.
Caroma is good but I have found our Geberit's to be second to none. Solid commercial feel.
You should of grabbed yourself a German designed toilet - https://wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/…
I was alarmed the first time I used these, quite confronting to have your business laid out on a platter for your perusal.
sit on it backwards hahahaha
yair and my memories of using these in 1982-3 when I stayed in Germany was the stink !!
a fresh steaming pile high and dry on the rear platter for your visual inspection was hold-your-nose ~~!
when I asked a local they said Germans liked to check their doo for prospective health conditions
the fun part was flushing and watching the rear waterfall jet that baby over Niagara down the tube - whoosh !
I'm getting stressed just looking at that. That hole is not big enough for a quality dinner.
Postwar times: Everybody was obliged to count their own worms!
Modern loos, being so miserly with water cause more problems than not simply flushing poop away.
They flush inefficiently, so the water goes around the rim rather than attacking the problem in hand (or rather, in the bowl). So you end up with water splashing on the floor rather than a focussed torrent aimed at removing the turd.
Moreover, there’s a much more pervasive problem, that of dry pipes.
As the water used is so minimal, the sewer pipes are much more prone to getting dry & blocking up.
So if you have a particularly “large” obstacle to remove, or indeed your pipes are old ( maybe terracotta type), maybe you have tree roots trying to grow outside near your sewer pipe?
Whatever it is, dry pipes get blocked easily and need plenty of plumber attention, and call out fees.
The solution? Double full flush whenever you do number 2’s
Yep, bought a Reece and now a no. 2 requires a double pump of the full flush. Ridiculous!
Well go and try toilets in Japan or Korea, when you flush, it fills up the bowl and starts swirling your poop around, before it flushes down. Makes me think its overflowing everytime
Those are call siphonic toilets and are standard everywhere else on planet earth. They were standard in Australia until about 1990. The benefit, if you remember from your time in Japan and Korea, is that you don't need a toilet brush for every bowel movement. You see, the water catches the poo. Instead of it slamming into solid toilet. You can also increase or decrease the amount of water in the bowl depending on how much splashing you want or dont want.
They work on 3" drains, never fail on poop but struggle with female pads. California had them, best thing ever made!
yair - compared to Australia dump-on-top flush, US siphonic flush uses suction to swirl and draw the water from beneath somehow, and doesn't leave skid marks which is nice
but is more likely to clog due to the lower pressure - leaving you with plumber call-outs for clogged sewerage pipes - unless you get them cleared this way - https://youtu.be/aNKgFz4n2MU?t=47
Get a squirty bum gun. Flushes are less likely to fail as there's no paper to flush and some will be flushed during the squirting. If the flush does fail then you can blast it to bits with a jet of water.
easy easy fix, do half the poop, flush, then second half poop, then flush, problem solved,
pz do not overload the system, all good
Something similar happens when you need a pee after you hit 50. Tends to need more instalments though. 😒
If this starts to happen please make sure you have your doctor check your prostate (yes, I did assume the poster is a male so apologies if I am incorrect - but the advice stands for the males here).
It is a tiny bit uncomfortable but well worth finding out any potential issues early. You really do not want to find out late.
@Grunntt: As a women, whose had to get Pap smears and mammograms many times, the prostate check would appear to be a dawdle :j
Seriously, though, my man has these issues, as well as an elevated PSA. They check him regularly so they can intervene early if need be. Recently they did an imaging test to make sure there weren’t any masses; it is an alternative to the invasive biopsies. Most men die with prostate cancer rather than from it, but early detection and treatment gives you your best chance.
Don’t ignore stuff until it gets too big to manage. The same with the “poo test” for bowel cancer. Just get it done.
@try2bhelpful: This truly terrifies me. I hope they come up with like a blood test to check for this before I'm 50.
@idonotknowwhy: About 20 years ago I had a spot on my arm. I thought “you get old you get spots”. However, one day in the gym I wrenched my arm and was looking at it in the mirror and noticed my “age spot” had developed two little eyes.
The Age spot was a BCC; which is, reasonably, easily treated, but my two eyes were melanomas. They cut a chunk out of my arm, skin and fat, and now I get annual skin checks. If I’d ignored the spot for much longer I doubt I’d still be here.
It is OK to be frightened but you can’t let it stop you getting things checked out. It is fine to waste a doctors time. My doctor has said the hardest thing is seeing a patient knowing they could’ve helped them if they came in early enough.
The PSA is a blood test but the results aren’t definitive. That’s why all the manual checks.
@idonotknowwhy: Please don't wait for the magic age of 50. The earlier you find out if anything is happening the more chance of there being minimal impact on you.
If you have a few minutes this thread on Whirlpool is definitely worth browsing - it is people discussing there experiences with (B)enign(Prostatic(H)yperplasia ie the non cancerous prostate problem for many older males.
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2554245
It shows what other issues may occur and why it is important to find out as early as possible - in some cases symptoms are controlled by medication and in others there is a range of options.
Bum guns are the best, loved them in SE Asia. Cuts right down on toilet paper use.
we found one of these in a new hotel in Mumbai - luxury marble I think intended for visitors from the Middle East we saw in other rooms
the pressure was so strong it could wash the bathroom ceiling !
pretty scary around the back passage as I didn't want an instant enema.
With a strong enough one you can clean your teeth at the same time!
You need extra fiber in your food to make it soft
This is one of those stupid scenarios where the government thinks water will be saved but what happens is the poo gets stuck and we keep pressing flush for ages and have to get our poo stick in the bowl to divide up the next flush to ensure it doesn’t clog any more and after all these flushes, we’ve probably had to use more water compared to the bowls from back in the day.
If I ever need to build or reno I plan on finding a good ol big toilet and get the plumber to hook it up with big wide as pipes.
Plumber told me they aren't allowed to install the older type of toilet now.
They are.
You just wont be able to find an Australian plumber who knows how to do it because it hasnt been taught since the 1990s.
Wels bans all toilets that use more than a certain amount of water to flush. It does not ban anyone from installing anything. It stops retailers from being able to sell toilets that work. However, as rich people know, WELS excludes products which are user or imported for for personal use.
https://www.waterrating.gov.au/register/regulated-products
"The WELS scheme excludes second-hand or used products and products imported into Australia for personal use."
You can get them imported, and installed, but you have to avoid Australians at every stage of the process. Or you will be told stupid shit like that.
Do you mind sharing more detailed information on how to actually do that?
Find the product online (Amazon?) but then how to find the plumber? Don't say we have to import the plumber as well..
thanks for the reality check
I was in Bunnings one day and asked the staff about quarter-turn ceramic disk insert tap spindles for our kitchen tap as it seemed like a modern 'improvement'
a tradie nearby overheard and told me the ceramic disks were limited to something like 9 litres/minute and I might want to consider that
I went home and checked the original existing standard kitchen tap max flow rate - with no filter on the spout end, 24 l/m, with a medium filter 14 l/m.
I ended up putting ceramic on the hot to try (rarely use hot water at the sink) and kept the original tap washers on the cold tap - I don't want to be waiting longer than necessary to fill the jug/saucepan, etc many times every day.
Laxative will fix the problem…
Turbo Lax. Half a teaspoon for fast, effective relief.
Hotel toilets don't seem to have this issue.
Eating smaller meals could be an option to reduce the load on the toilet.
You get what you pay for. There are toilets that have better finishes than others. Sticking to the porcelain is price dependent because some are more slippery than others. If you’re buying one try and talk to a plumber and not just the sales person. Plumbers know all the tips and tricks. Also maybe eat more fruit and greens 😜
Asked a plumber and he had retro-fitted very plain $139 Bunnings bogs in his house because of the same problem. Did same for our house and delighted with the results. It is a crapper not a work of art, needs to work efficiently!
Just what I needed whilst having brekky…..
the short answer is the cost drive. Look at the Toto toilet
I do my turds on company time which costs them money and saves me water and toilet paper.
Plus. Someone else has to clean it.
how did that work out during wfh period
ATO fixed rate Working From Home deduction. Her majesty took up the cause bless her soul.
'Working From Home'
reminds me of a joke from a National Lampoon magazine around 1980
an accountant bemoaning the new-fangled electronic calculators
saying that in the old days when he was constipated he could just sit down and work it out with a pencil
'you can't do that with these new-fangled things !'
Work stalled a new toilet a few months ago. Asked the plumber why, while the old one still worked fine. He said the old one was just "old".
Expected the new one would flush better but hell no.
It may use less water on paper, but you need to hold the button longer to get a proper flush, which defeat the purpose..
Yes i can vouch for that too. Unless you going to bring in the big bucks the average man’a toilets quality have gone down… you know the crapper.
The problem I see is there are areas on bowl where water doesnt reach well. just do a food die test and you’ll see
The problem I see is there are areas on bowl where water doesnt reach well. just do a food die test and you’ll see
And then what, avoid these areas?
i was explaining the problem i’ve noticed. no solution other than good ol brush.
Maybe you can do the die testing before you buy?
Sounds more like water level adjustment. Ensure you have enough water stored in the tank to efficiently flush the system fully. You don't expect a "half flush" to do the job, so I suspect you "full flush" needs adjusting.
Just install a Pig Toilet
Once pig is large enough, eat the pig. Saves on grocery shopping… and water at the same time
Perhaps sell the pork to your 'favourite' neighbour?
Very interesting: Now we all know why Haval cars cost less!
I think it's the grey water, and water saving features.
Eat less/more fibre to get the right bouyancy and stickiness to match your toilet.
next there will be a book out how feed and care your toilet
Ecofundamentalists ruin everything. New toilets hold less than half as much water in the pan; sometimes it isn't enough to wash all the execrement away.
I wish we cold flush all of the greenies into the sewer where they belong instead of ruining life for everyone else. The goal of environmentalism is to severely impaired the quality of life of normal "unwoke" people.
Probably water saving toilets: and inadequate cistin height either via poor design where the cistin comes preattached to the lid or due to inexperience of the plumber or owner who failed to install the cistin high enough. For strong flush strength you need gravity to do it's magic.
Either way the 10 minutes saved on install, or reduced chance of leakage via less piping is not worth the daily grief of a toilet not performing as expected.
*cistern.
Don't buy a German toilet. They are literally shelves to inspect your outgoings.
They are not deep enough, so long logs cant seperate and fall. Then there is no water on the shelf so the smell is powerful.
Never bought a toilet, but if I did I'd go with a Japanse "sink-toilet", A design that has a hand sink built into the cistern, so the water is saved for the next flush. It's ingeniously efficient for water/space and I don't know why they aren't standard here given our water issues.
I had one of these Japanese toilets in my last rental place before I bought. They sell at Bunnings.
The problem was when I was looking at the price of one was over $800
and for those who want the full Toto Japanese heated toilet seat, warm spray and fan dry your bum
apart from costing $$$ from Japan, installation requires $$$ electrical and plumbing connections
so don't seem cost-effective in straya, unless you want to splash many doolars to befuddle your visitors
Whilst we are at it. We just moved into a house and the dunny is so low I feel like I’m sitting on one of those preschool shitters for kids.
I did not know this was a common problem, as I recently replaced both my toilet bowls cause of constant 'Klingons'.
They were the WELS approved 4.5L (lol) anti splash - flat base type of toilet bowls that look great but function wise they were terrible.
Replaced them with Caroma luna rim less bowls + modifications which I admit are bit illegal as the garage toilet gets the most issues.
Modifications = no cistern. Connected via the mains water (full pressure) with a solenoid shut off value in case the flush button was stuck.
(Cuts off after 45 secs even if the button is still depressed).
Are you a plumber?
This is brilliant. I was going to import American siphonic toilets and get an english plumber to install.
How do you modify a toilet to have no cistern / connect to mains water?
Is this something any plumber can do? is this something done in commercial buildings? Is there any information I can give to a local domestic plumber to show him how to do it?
Hey. Not a plumber. So its not exactly a legal compliant set up. :)
I doubt any domesic plumber will do this set up. It was a friend who actually is a commercial plumber install it for me. But it wasnt just done for the sake of it. He checked to make sure the pipes were wide enough etc.
I was going to import American siphonic toilets and get an english plumber to install.
american toilets have their own issues, their internal S-bends tend to be extremely narrow and clog easily. That's why clogging toilets is such a meme in American movies.
If you have never used an American toilet, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Clogging toilets are not a normal part of American life. If you’re going by movies, you’d think most Americans are beautiful. They’re movie stars mate.
Even if it were, a toilet clogging once every twenty years is better than a lifetime of cleaning up shit with a toilet brush.
@koalabargains: Yes I've been to america mate.
And frankly, you don't need to. Just look at the drawing specs for the toilets in america (siphonic) vs european (washdown). You'll plainly see the narrow trap.
It's literally the most talked about disadvantage of siphonic toilets - how often they clog.
To take your words: you have no idea what you’re talking about
@Odin: Modern siphonic toilets don’t clog and you don’t know what you’re talking about.
“It's literally the most talked about disadvantage of siphonic toilets - how often they clog.“ by people in australia that haven’t seen a siphonic toilet in a generation.
@koalabargains: A couple of things.
I’ve, actually, had an American toilet clog on me and the water go up over the edge of the bowl and onto the floor when I flushed it.
If you Google siphonic toilets a number of the articles talk about clogging being an issue.
@koalabargains: I thought I would include this reddit discussion. Some of the comments are hilarious.
https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/4dkwtm/ever_wond…
@try2bhelpful: Friend, this thread is about Australians in Australia complaining about Australian toilets not working.
You want to talk about imaginary problems with American toilets to make yourself, and stupid people, feel better.
That's deflection.
You want to look at forum posts? Okay, well whirlpool is the premier Australian forum.
There are DOZENS of posts with HUNDREDS of comments about how our toilets dont work.
-Guy seeking commercial toilet for poos because his Australian toilet doesnt work
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/9mj814q3
-Comparison of US vs Australian toilets with people wishing they had American
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2441017
-Australian complaining about toilet bowls getting smaller and not working
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2660061
Theres dozens. Then you get into the ancillary discussions like these:
-Australian discussion about whats the best TOILET BRUSH
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2098060
-Australian discussion about how to choose the best TOILET BRUSH and how often to replace
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2796615
-Australians discussion having a HOSE next to their TOILET instead of a TOILET BRUSH
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2506553
If you want to have an argument with yourself about whether American toilets clog or not- go ahead. If you want to look at a reddit post with other cringey Australians talking shit about American toilets, they have never used and are BANNED by their government from buying from a shop, go ahead.
It wont change the facts. You know what the facts are?
Australian toilets don't work and Australians spend an inordinate amount of time discussing problems which were solved a century ago. There are no dozens of discussions in America about overflowing toilets. But there are ENDLESS
END
LESS
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENDLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Australian discussions on how to CLEAN UP OUR OWN SHIT because our TOILETS DONT WORK.
It's pathetic.
@koalabargains: If you do some Googling you will find plenty of sites that talk about the American toilets clogging. There are plumbers that will discuss the design faults of these toilets that causes the issues. I’ve, personally, experienced American toilets clogging on my trips to America. I’ve travelled quite a bit in America and even lived there for a while.
I’m not sure what your obsession in trying to deny this issue but “whatever”. If you, actually, read my post you would see there were Americans commenting and people who had been to America.
Issues with Australian toilets don’t preclude that there are issues with American toilets. The difference, I’ve found, is a clogged Australian toilet results in a half full toilet bowl. A clogged American toilet can result in an overflowing toilet bowl.
@try2bhelpful: If your shits are clogging American toilets then maybe it’s time to change your diet or see a doctor.
@koalabargains: As I have, already, said if you do some Googling you will find plenty of sites that talk about the problem of American toilets clogging.
Garage toilet(imgur.com)
Goddamn that's an enviable flush.
You truly are… the Turd Czar.
Go with Villeroy & Boch and get the one with coating one. Not cheap but worth it
I’m willing to pay a premium for a good toilet
Yeah go check VB then, it's good. Ask for the one that has optional ceramic plus coating. Get their biggest one as they have many models
I don't believe this shit.
This is full of shit.
Holyshit
you mean verbal diarrhea
Get Toto Toilet :)
This triggered me. Water saving aside, they are definitely worse in terms of cleanliness and stain resistant. Toilet we had installed during a bathroom reno 7 years ago or so was pretty solid on the cleaning front. Basically no stains.
New ones from an extension early last year are stained to buggery. Not due to my over drinking either. Streaks from water stains. The bowl is also red from having those smelly rim blocks stain it. Looks like the inside of a compost bin.
Enough to give you the shits.
Yep I threw in one of those toilet cleaners that are coloured yellow and now the bowl is permanently stained yellow…. There are no words.
I find new toilets have a smaller target area too. That being the water area. Skid marks are inevitable when the drop zone is the size of a beer coaster.
Germans used to have "Shelf Toilets" You pooped onto a ceramic flat area and then had a good look if you had worms.
Flushing was a 5/4" ball valve with a large handle so you only used the ammount of water to see the load gone. The siphon started at the front and went under. Everybody learned to pee towards the front to save water. The double wing window was a must after every heavy load.
Then came the splash back ones. Every time you dropped a load some water would hit you. Needed a lot more water and lots of cleaning.
Americans had their own 3" piped system. You pooped into a huge lake and flushing sort of made a whirlpool and whisked the waste away.
Australia was leading the world in water saving. So Dual flush systems were designed in almost round pots with European 100 mil drains where females fit fine but males found to be sliding forward or backwards just to fit. Sit back enough the poop sticks on the back and needs extra brushing.
Heading towards the Equator the holes in the ground do perhaps the most hygienic job. At least for the body and serves as a reminder that when you got fat, squatting starts to hurt. Japan was perhaps the only country to fully study the female anatomy to find what direction the femal pee actually can go. So they have a dome catcher.
As to just why poop can float too much to become a flushing issue I was wondering myself. Perhaps with unleaded fuel now having cleaned up the environment there is not enough lead in the body to add gravity to the "drop". Simple: Do it in the shower. Stomp it down. Saves so many trees from being cut down.
I've had the exact same problem since the new toilet was installed. Most of the time you have to use the toilet brush to push things along because the poo gets stuck in the exit hole. It's embarrassing when you have guests. I did have the plumber change to a bigger cistern which helped partially.
I thought I was the first person ever to have to use the toilet brush to push poop along after getting a new toilet. I've felt dirty doing it and I always flush again to rinse it so it isn't as dirty every time.
I always used them for cleaning the toilet before.
Story of my life
This is now one of my favourite Ozbargain threads. The toilet education. The poop knife. The German shelves to inspect your belongings. The poster with the name 'Koala' in their handle losing their mind anyone bags the Americans.
Thank you Ozbargain, thank you, I am deceased from laughter.
Honestly, the sh1t that somehow makes it to the OZB front page…
Well this thread has taken me all over the Internet - I'm back - having decided the Propelair is the most awesome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxq6SgcMn-g
1.5 litres per flush! It shoots even the floaters straight into the sewer with compressed air.
It is same principle as an aeroplane toilet — pressure difference to propel the poop. However, this one pressurises the bowl so is compatible with a normal sewer. The aeroplane one applies vacuum to the sewer line.
If your toilet can't flush your shits, maybe your diet is the problem?
I have 4 Toto’s in my new home. They are soo efficient at flushing and not leaving stains/mess I have thrown out all my toilet brushes. They are worth the price
EDIT: I take large poo’s
Do you happen to have a model name or number? I'm interested in something like this!