For an explanation of how we rank reviews, see our ratings criteria page.
by Editors of Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports tests 14 toilets using baby wipes, sponges, plastic balls and tubes designed to simulate waste. Industry tests typically rate toilets on a pass/fail basis, but Consumer Reports takes the… testing further by evaluating how well the toilet eliminates the items flushed in the bowl. Overall performance as well as solid waste removal, cleaning ability, and noise level are rated. This review is easy to understand while offering comprehensive information for toilet buyers. Oddly, the highest rated toilets in this review did not completely correlate with the majority of the results we found in other reviews.
by Nena Donovan Levine
In this special issue, editors devote six pages to toilets, complete with photographs, manufacturers' contact information, and lots of succinct sidebars. The review gives plenty of background on toilet… types, styles and bowl shapes while offering the names and prices for the top-rated performers in each category. Information on children's toilets, bidets, paperless alternatives, and toilets for home patients and the elderly are all included. There is information on power-assisted and pressure-assisted toilets, as well as toilets for basements and other situations. The Mansfield Eco-Quantum, the Kohler Hatbox, the American Standard Cadet, the TOTO Aquia dual flush, the Kohler Wellworth and the Eljer Titan are all recommended here. This review gives shoppers the foundation of information needed before making a decision.
by Veritec Consulting, Inc. and Koeller and Company
Engineers evaluate more than 700 toilet models in this review (now in its 13th edition). Editors state, "Non-realistic test media (sponges, plastic balls and beads, kraft paper, etc.) were replaced with a… combination of extruded soybean paste and wads of toilet paper" to accurately mimic real-world demands on a toilet. This review includes thorough details of the testing process, and is updated regularly. The results are charted by manufacturer, performance rating and flush volumes when adjusted to waterlines. The pitfalls of this review are that the detailed results make the charts difficult to read, and prices are not included in the charts. However, you can find information in this article on just about every toilet currently manufactured. This version of the report is hosted on the website of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, one of several American and Canadian sponsors of the report.
by Terry Love
Terry Love is a plumber in Bellevue, Wash., who offers a review of low-flow water-efficient toilets. The review is based on plumber and consumer tests using miso paste and human waste. Consideration is… given to plug resistance, completeness of flush, perception of sound levels and price. The TOTO Soiree, TOTO Guinevere and TOTO UltraMax are current favorites, while the Briggs Vacuity 4200 receives a rating of Not Recommended. The Caroma Caravelle 305 dual flush is said to save the most water. The majority of the toilets reviewed and recommended here are Toto. The downside is that this site also sells toilets, so recommendations should be compared with the opinions of more objective sources.
by Contributors to HomeDepot.com
The Home Depot has easily the best range of consumer reviews of toilets. The reviews posted by customers here are insightful and well written, and most of the best-selling toilets have at least a handful of… reviews posted. The site would be easier to use if you could sort all toilets by average rating or see the average rating on the results page. Reviewers at Home Depot particularly like several Kohler toilets, with several models getting perfect five-star ratings, although there are only a handful of reviews for each. The budget Glacier Bay 331-725 is also well liked, with above average ratings from more than 25 reviewers.
by James Dulley
James Dulley, an engineer, environmentalist and syndicated columnist, offers an easy-to-read comprehensive review of very low-water-usage toilets with unique flushing and non-flushing designs. Toilets are… not rated or ranked, but diagrams show how the different toilet types work. Manufacturers represented include American Standard, Biolet, Clivus Multram, Crane, Eljer and Gerber along with many more. A chart comparing combined water and sewage rates to annual water and sewer cost for toilets is included. Although no toilets receive ratings, the diagrams and explanations in this review are extremely helpful.
by Editors of Lowes.com
Home improvement retailer Lowe's offers a review of high-performance toilets in chart format. The toilets are not ranked or rated, but information includes bowl shape, rim height, toilet kit inclusion,… flush valve, toilet colors, SKU numbers, unique flushing system and other features. The review offers terrific diagrams of the toilets with a detailed key. Prices are not included but the review is written in both English and Spanish. This review does a great job of giving lots of information on high-performance toilets, but no testing or ratings are included.
by Contributors to HomeClick.com
by Contributors to Lowes.com
The Lowe's website allows consumers to rate toilets and other products in five topic areas -- features, value, design, quality and ease of use. Most toilets have only a handful of ratings. Although Lowe's… invites customers to leave comments, not many reviewers have done so. The Kohler Cimarron 11465-0 White Round Complete Toilet has received an above average rating, with the largest number of reviews.
by Editors of 3Luxe.com
by Editors of HGTVPro.com
HGTVPro.com reviews six high-end toilets from manufacturers like Porcher and Neo Metro. The review does not rate or test the toilets, but it does offer information on a variety of toilets from space saving… to stainless steel. Neo Metro offers the trendiest looking toilet with a tank that is covered with 0.75-inch-thick bamboo and stainless steel corner trim. Exterior tank covers come in cherry, mahogany and even leather. HGTVPro.com offers generic details on each product, but makes up for this by offering links to the manufacturers' websites.
by Editors of ToiletsThatWork.com
HM Wallace, the manufacturer of TOTO toilets, produces ToiletsThatWork.com; coverage is solely dedicated to TOTO toilets. This review consists of a list of individual models with corresponding photo and… manufacturer's specifications. Consumers post comments regarding a particular model and give it a flush rating, ease of installation rating, and overall rating based on a scale of one to 10. We were pleased to find that the consumers' comments included some negative feedback as well as the positive feedback you would expect to find on a manufacturer's website. We were also pleased to find such a volume of reviews, with some models featuring dozens of consumer reviews. There is also an editor's review of each model, but we found these reviews to be pretty generic; they just list the manufacturer's specifications and release date. However, this review is worth perusing if you are in the market for a TOTO toilet. You can also sort the list by the MaP score, price, height or depth.
by Editors of Flex Your Power
Flex Your Power, a statewide energy outreach campaign, is a partnership of California's utilities, residents, businesses, institutions, government agencies and nonprofit organizations working to save… energy. This review provides technology options, efficiency benefits, purchasing tips and emerging technology information. Unfortunately, the links in the manufacturing section are not working so we were not able to access the toilet studies listed. However, we were able to access a Consumer Reports-ranked list of water-efficient toilets from this review. The usual suspects show up on this list: American Standard, Gerber and Elijer, just to name a few. This website is worth visiting because it offers good information on how to conserve resources in the home, including a small chart of lifetime water savings to consumers using water-efficient toilets.
by Editors of Consumer Reports
by Editors of the Environmental Protection Agency
This section of the EPA site includes details about toilets that are certified as WaterSense models -- toilets that are both water efficient and high performing. Manufacturers who produce toilets meeting… efficiency and performance standards, including a maximum flush volume of 1.28 gallons and the ability to remove 350 grams per flush, may apply to have their products certified and obtain the WaterSense label. The site includes a list of WaterSense-labeled toilets.
by Editors of The Bottom Line
The Business Environmental Alliance of Sonoma, California gives a good review of low-flow toilets based on Consumer Reports' older October 2002 test results. The review ranks low-flow toilets based on… overall performance. The Briggs Vacuity 4200 was rated best overall. Other top performers were the Gerber Ultra Flush and American Standard Cadet toilets, among a dozen others. The review does a good job of briefly explaining the differences among toilets while listing prices for each model. This is a good review for low-flow toilets, though more recent articles rank more highly in our chart.
by Editors of Niagara Conservation
Niagara Conservation Corporation manufactures high-efficiency resource-conserving products such as ultra-low-flow toilets. The site features the two toilets the company currently manufactures: the Niagara… Flapperless and the more water-efficient EcoLogic. The toilets, which have a permanent 1.6- or 1.28-gallon flush, can decrease water usage by as much as 50 percent compared to traditional fixtures. There are also some nice resources for those seeking information on energy conserving toilets, including a Tests and Report Data page with links to several studies.
by Editors of American Modern Living
There is only one review here, and it is a general review of the American Standard Brand, but the review does mention both pros and cons for the brand. The main con cited is that the toilets can be… difficult to install, but there is no explanation as to how the reviewer knows this information except to say "some customers say" these things. There is some general information on purchasing a toilet, and visitors can submit their own reviews (although no one has as of February 2009).
by Editors of Composting Toilet World
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