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Toilets' flushing powers have been greatly improvedI bad rap the toilet manufacturers all the time. But today, I wanted to say something good about them. Toilet manufacturers have improved their product more than I ever thought possible. When the federal government decided to get into our toilets, I was dead set against it. About 18,000 of my radio listeners sent Congress sheets of toilet paper with the message, "Congress get out of my toilet." The House of Representatives held hearings, and I was called to testify. It didn't do any good, and 1.6-gallon flush toilets were the law of the land. Poorly flushing, plugged and overflowing toilets became the bane of most homeowner's existence. In 2002, the NAHB Research Center published a landmark study titled "Water Closet Performance Testing" for the Seattle Public Utilities and East Bay Municipal Utility District. The Research Center was too politically correct to actually tell the public what the performance of each toilet was, but published a sliding scale that indicated the best- to worst-flushing models. They tested 52 models. The rating scale went from a 0.0 for the best to 82.1 for the worst. The Toto Ultramax and Toto Ultimate Elongated Bowl tied for first with a performance index of 0.0. Homeowners wanted more specific information. A consortium of Canadian and American water departments collected the most popular toilet models and had them tested. The test was called Maximum Performance (MaP) Testing. The new testing protocol incorporated the use of soybean paste that closely replicated the real thing. In December 2003, the first MaP test report was published. It reported that 20 toilets flushed less than 250 grams of uniform soybean paste packets. Thirteen models flushed between 250 to 500 grams, and 11 flushed 500 grams or more. The Toto Drake EL and the Gerber Ultra Flush EL tied for first place, flushing about 900 grams. The Crane Economiser RF and American Standard Cadet EL tied for third place flushing 750 grams. Eleven toilets were able to flush 500 grams or more. This past July, the 10th edition of the MaP test results listed 142 toilet models that flushed 1,000 grams or more; 153 that flushed 900 grams; and an almost impossible to believe 356 toilets rated at 500 grams or more. The honor role of top flushing toilets (1,000 grams or more) included 58 models by American Standard; two models by Caroma; eight models by Crane; 12 models by Eljer; two models by Foremost; 25 models by Gerber; one model by Jacuzzi; eight models by Kohler; nine models by Mansfield; one by RAK Ceramics; one by Vitra; three by Vortens-Lamos; six models by Western Pottery; and four models by Zurn. The sad note is that most of the manufacturers in the "Best Flushing Toilet" category, also have models among the worst flushers. If you buy a toilet, you just can't buy by brand alone. Ask to see the performance characteristics of the specific model you want to buy. You can find the latest MaP test report on the Web sites of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association, www.cwwa.ca/home_e.asp, and the California Urban Water Conservation Council, www.cuwcc.org/MapTesting.lasso. I also have a direct link to the latest edition on my help site, www.MasterHandyman.com.Note: This article was accurate at the date of publication. However, information contained in it may have changed. If you plan to use the information contained herein for any purpose, verification of its continued accuracy is your responsibility. |
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