Conventional Gravity-Fed Toilet - Inexpensive and Easy to Install
Conventional Gravity-Fed Toilet - Inexpensive and Easy to Install
Who had any idea that toilets could be so complicated? Until I began looking into the issue of toilets, I thought there was only one kind. After hours of research, I concluded that there are at least 7 major types of toilets you can buy--irrespective of manufacturer--and which offer different pluses and minuses.
The major categories are:
The most common and cheapest type of toilet is the gravity-fed toilet. Water from the tank is released by the lever and moves by gravity into the bowl. These types use between 1.1 and 1.28 gallons per flush, and don't always do the best job of fully expelling the waste. For that, you'll probably want a toilet we discuss later: the pressure-assisted toilet.
Shop Direct - American Standard Titan Toilet
Elongated Toilet - For Greater Maneuverability
You've used elongated toilets before, most likely in public bathrooms. Elongated toilet is just the fancy term for an oval-shaped toilet. Rather than the smaller, rounder conventional bowl and lid, the elongated toilet is almost egg-shaped--much easier to sit on and do your business on.
Elongated toilets are about 2 inches longer than conventional toilets and cost only slightly more.
Shop Direct - Kohler Elongated Toilet
Dual Flush Toilet :"A One and a Two..."
Now, if it's possible to get excited about a toilet, the dual-flush toilet is one to get excited about, particularly if you're interested in green home remodeling.
Not just that, but dual flush toilets make complete sense. See why:
Dual-flush toilets average fewer gallons per flush than conventional toilets because they are capable of two different flushes: light and heavy.
(Do I need to explain when you might need a light flush vs.
a heavy flush? I didn't think so.)
In some cases, dual flush toilets have a single lever that moves either up or down, depending on the type of flush you want. In other cases, dual flush toilets have two different levers or buttons.
Dual flush toilets are slow in making their way to the United States. But we're getting there. Dual flush toilets are definitely something to install if you live in a water conservation zone.
Shop Direct - Dual Flush Toto Toilet
Pressure Assist Toilet:When You Need a Little Extra Help
Pressure assist toilets use significantly less water per flush than either conventional or dual-flush toilets.
Pressure assisted toilets forcefully expel waste by means of highly charged water pressure in the tank. The water pressure is created by pressurized air.
Another green remodeling product, pressure assist toilets are difficult for the do-it-yourselfer to install and tend to be costly.
Shop Direct - Gerber Pressure Assist Toilet
Power Assist Toilet - Need a Little Power While Doing Business?
Not to be confused with pressure assisted toilets, power-assisted toilets help push your stronzo down the chute with even greater force.
As Kohler states, power assisted toilets are the "only toilets with horsepower." This is because power assist toilets have an actual .2 horsepower motor in the tank to force the waste products away, saving the average family 2,000 gallons of water per year.
One-piece toilets are coming more into fashion in the home, and I can think of two reasons why.
It's not clear when, or if, Americans will ever adopt the bidet toilet as their own.
Bidet toilets make absolute sense. Instead of wiping endlessly and still not coming up clean, you simply shoot a "refreshing jet of water" in the main area of activity.
Bidet toilets require an additional water connection, and sometimes even an electrical connection. Bidet toilet installation is not recommended for the beginning DIY remodler.
Bidet toilet seats are available which allow you to retrofit your existing toilet.
Shop Direct - Toto Bidet Toilet
Who had any idea that toilets could be so complicated? Until I began looking into the issue of toilets, I thought there was only one kind. After hours of research, I concluded that there are at least 7 major types of toilets you can buy--irrespective of manufacturer--and which offer different pluses and minuses.
The major categories are:
- Gravity-Fed Toilets
- Elongated Toilets
- Dual Flush Toilets
- Pressure Assisted Toilets
- Power Assisted Toilets
- One-Piece Toilets
- Bidet Toilets
The most common and cheapest type of toilet is the gravity-fed toilet. Water from the tank is released by the lever and moves by gravity into the bowl. These types use between 1.1 and 1.28 gallons per flush, and don't always do the best job of fully expelling the waste. For that, you'll probably want a toilet we discuss later: the pressure-assisted toilet.
Shop Direct - American Standard Titan Toilet
Elongated Toilet - For Greater Maneuverability
You've used elongated toilets before, most likely in public bathrooms. Elongated toilet is just the fancy term for an oval-shaped toilet. Rather than the smaller, rounder conventional bowl and lid, the elongated toilet is almost egg-shaped--much easier to sit on and do your business on.
Elongated toilets are about 2 inches longer than conventional toilets and cost only slightly more.
Shop Direct - Kohler Elongated Toilet
Dual Flush Toilet :"A One and a Two..."
Now, if it's possible to get excited about a toilet, the dual-flush toilet is one to get excited about, particularly if you're interested in green home remodeling.
Not just that, but dual flush toilets make complete sense. See why:
Dual-flush toilets average fewer gallons per flush than conventional toilets because they are capable of two different flushes: light and heavy.
(Do I need to explain when you might need a light flush vs.
a heavy flush? I didn't think so.)
In some cases, dual flush toilets have a single lever that moves either up or down, depending on the type of flush you want. In other cases, dual flush toilets have two different levers or buttons.
Dual flush toilets are slow in making their way to the United States. But we're getting there. Dual flush toilets are definitely something to install if you live in a water conservation zone.
Shop Direct - Dual Flush Toto Toilet
Pressure Assist Toilet:When You Need a Little Extra Help
Pressure assist toilets use significantly less water per flush than either conventional or dual-flush toilets.
Pressure assisted toilets forcefully expel waste by means of highly charged water pressure in the tank. The water pressure is created by pressurized air.
Another green remodeling product, pressure assist toilets are difficult for the do-it-yourselfer to install and tend to be costly.
Shop Direct - Gerber Pressure Assist Toilet
Power Assist Toilet - Need a Little Power While Doing Business?
Not to be confused with pressure assisted toilets, power-assisted toilets help push your stronzo down the chute with even greater force.
As Kohler states, power assisted toilets are the "only toilets with horsepower." This is because power assist toilets have an actual .2 horsepower motor in the tank to force the waste products away, saving the average family 2,000 gallons of water per year.
One-piece toilets are coming more into fashion in the home, and I can think of two reasons why.
- The one-piece toilet, as the name implies, is a unified chunk of toilet: not the bowl plus tank combination that you find in most homes. As such, it is easier to clean because there is not that dreaded seam between bowl and tank.
- The bowl-and-tank conventional toilet can leak between those two units. The one piece toilet cannot leak there.
It's not clear when, or if, Americans will ever adopt the bidet toilet as their own.
Bidet toilets make absolute sense. Instead of wiping endlessly and still not coming up clean, you simply shoot a "refreshing jet of water" in the main area of activity.
Bidet toilets require an additional water connection, and sometimes even an electrical connection. Bidet toilet installation is not recommended for the beginning DIY remodler.
Bidet toilet seats are available which allow you to retrofit your existing toilet.
Shop Direct - Toto Bidet Toilet
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