Toilets: Comfortable and efficient
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SITTING TALL This model combines a taller rim with a gravity system that flushes both powerfully and quietly.
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Even the utilitarian commode is getting a revamp as toilet manufacturers strive to make this most basic of bathroom elements
more accommodating.
Trends include more comfort-height models, which raise the rim from the usual 14 inches to as much as 17 inches above the
floor. The added height makes getting on and off easier, especially for aging boomers, who have helped boost sales. But their
added comfort is likely to appeal to younger buyers, too.
Some of the most capable models blend their higher style with high performance at a moderate price.
Added efficiency is another selling point as major brands attempt to improve upon the 1.6 gallons per flush that has been
the legal threshold since 1994. A growing number of models with dual-flush technology use a mere 0.8 gallons.
Flushing an array of baby wipes, sponges, plastic balls, and tubes designed to uniformly simulate a toilet’s worst nightmare
revealed that some toilets still can’t handle the tough stuff. We also found that many top performers share a common annoyance.
Here are the details:
Pressure has the power. Pressure-assisted toilets dispatched our simulated solid waste with the fewest clogs, thanks to their powerful thrust. For
sheer flushing power, none of the vacuum-assisted toilets we tested and only a few of the gravity models came close.
Better is usually noisier. The loudest of our pressure-assisted toilets emitted an emphatic “whoosh” as they worked. Gravity and vacuum models were
much quieter. While that typically means less-effective flushing, some gravity toilets, worked nearly as well as the pressure-assisted
models with far less fanfare.
Dual-flush requires discretion. Dual-flush models we tested did a fine job of thoroughly removing liquid waste when we used their optional water-saving,
0.8-gallon mode. But none of these toilets are meant for solid waste in that mode.
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