Hi!

My husband and I have a modest condo and are looking to replace our 1/2 bath toilet. The last toilet he put in was an el cheapo one (American Standard) and has been sufficient, but never has enough water pressure? It flushes, but a lot of times, never fully, as it doesn't seem to take enough water in, (if that makes sense.) Plus, it's just cheap, but it works and was good when we were real broke! lol
Anyway, we'd like to replace it with a nicer one and one that works better. Can you guys please recommend a good, efficient toilet - mid range and nothing too fancy?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!



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A little fancy & pricey but the Toto ultramax 2 is really nice,Or go with the Toto Drake to save some money.

There's several models of the Ultramax 2 and some of them are poor flushers. Here's a pdf list of toilet test results. There's over 4300 toilets listed.
[www.map-testing.com]

steve….....It seems straight-forward. It should be simple for a consumer to take that info, and get a very good toilet. Then there's the reality that the retailer doesn't want to get stuck with a piece of crapper and hides the info from the consumer. The big box stores will say the toilet is not MaP rated. Heck, I wouldn't even feel confident walking away from a parts counter, that the guy on the other side hadn't just sold me a poorer flushing version within a line. It's a damn shame.

Thanks Steve. SHould I be checking for anything else, (other than high flush rating?)



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So the higher the number - 1,000, the better the flushing. Is this the important thing I should be looking for? I know that is the problem with the one we want to replace. This chart is great, as well as your explanation in what to check. Can't thank you enough, Steve!



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Munkin,Google TOTO Ultramax (or Ultramax 2) toilet and check out the real world reviews.Never had a Problem with hundreds I've installed.And that goes for the thousands of Toto Drake toilets too.

If you narrow down the possible models by design and price, check them out on the MaP list, and the only thing you really need to take from the list is the flushing ability.

My go to is the Toto Drake ( in California it is the Eco-Drake)....haven't don't thousands.....but easily a couple hundred.

No problems. Lot of repeat customers with positive history.

Thank you!!

And thanks, Steve. This makes sense.

One more question, please! Does the Toto Drake not come with a toilet seat? You have to buy separately? If so, what is the best seat to go with? Thanks again!

I'm with Curly ... a Toto Drake lover. I own one 1.6gpf and one 1.3gpf comfort height models and both flush great.

I was going to go with the Toto Drake, but I just read this review on Lowe's website:


Minneapolis, MN
55 to 64, Male
DIY

The trapway is not Glazed like the Specifications State. Do not buy this toilet due to this severe defect.
May 25, 2015

I would not recommend this toilet, the reason is that the manufacturer is lying about the fact that they have a glazed trapway. The fact is that it is not a glazed trapway at all. The trapway is completely unglazed. This means more chance of plugging due to higher friction of waste when flowing through the trapway. I find it unbelievable that this toilet could be so highly rated in spite of this massive defect.
I would recommend this toilet instead as it is half the price and it rarely clogs (I have owned one for the past 3 years):
American Standard Cadet 3 FloWise 2-piece 1.28 GPF Round Front Toilet in White.
They have the same size flapper, the same diameter trapway and it is glazed instead of unglazed.
Also, there are standard parts inside the tank that make maintenance easier.
I don't recommend the Kohler Cimmaron either as it is more expensive and the internal parts in the tank can only be purchased from the manufacturer.
The only positive about this toilet is that it does have a strong flush. Have not owned long enough to see how often it plugs though.

Ok, so I am now looking at this toilet: [www.homedepot.com]

The Kohler Cimarron gets good ratings of 1,000 for flushing. THe only negative reviews I see is that it has an irregular shaped hole and cannot be plunged. Are they all made that way now?

3 or 4 professionals on this site advise you to get a TOTO drake.
one DIYer from lowes talks about a different brand being better so you follow their advice and ignore ours ?
i suggest if you want an opinion on the kohler toilet that you look elsewhere.
(sorry vic but this is how i feel).

WELL! I guess you told me!

No offense intended. It's just that when you try to do your homework and read reviews like the one I posted, of course it's going to be scary. If there is an issue, you guys can assess it and fix it, I cannot.
I will, as you suggested, not ask for your help again, Packy.

Thanks and have a wonderful day!

Not a plumber but have bought and installed 5 Mansfield Summits in the last three or four years. They would flush your cat! 1000 on maptest. They have 2 inch (which is larger than many) glazed trapway and they CAN be plunged. Why would you buy something that is hard to plunge?

Packy ... it's ok ... I hope people will share their experiences regarding Kohler (my 3.5 Kohler elongated toilet in our guest bathroom has flushed great for 9 yrars).

I don't sell Toto toilets and was just sharing my personal thoughts. I bought my mancave 5 years ago. It had an Eljer 3.5 gpf toilet that I disliked. I replaced it with an Amrrican Standard toilet and never liked it either. Being that I can afford any toilet I decided to buy the same toilet that we have in our main bathroom and which in 9 years has always flushed well. It is a Toto Drake comfort height (I'm 73 and prefer "comfort" height and elongated toilets. When shopping for another one I tried like heck to buy another 1.6 gpf model. I found that's illegal to buy and no company was willing to ship one to me here in No California so I held my nose and ordered a 1.3 gpf one. So far (maybe only about 4-6 months ago) I love it.

If others love and/or point to different brands/models or tests, etc I'm totally fine with that. We all have different experiences and all (as long as no politics, religion, negativity or advertising) are more than welcome and I encourage them to share their thoughts, experience and opinions on toilets of any brand or model.



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I suspect that the review at Lowe's was written by someone that works for AS. The Toto Drake (I have one myself -- it's unstopable) is available either glazed (Sanigloss) or un-glazed. I think they've recently changed the term 'sanigloss' to something else.