# 1.6 GPF toilet, I HATE YOU! You dispose of poop very poorly! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 5, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592 "2005-05-05T20:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/21 "2005-05-06T21:40:51Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > I remember that thread, along with the video clip of the red balls being flushed down to the pits of hell. Was it a kit, or did you have to buy a whole new toilet? No, it was a complete toilet. All things considered, no more or less work to install than a traditional one, provided you don’t suffer from very low water pressure. But I see you found that old posting… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/22 "2005-05-06T21:42:08Z")
The problem happens when a 1.6 GPF toilet is installed in a location that was originally intended for a 5 GPF fixture. In new construction, the drains are designed with a 1.6-style flush in mind, and they work like a dream. But put a new toilet in an old building, and you have a recipe for disaster. In that case, you’d really better go with pressure assist. My new house (construction completed in December) has two 1.6 GPF toilets, and they have performed marvelously, sluicing away everything I’ve thrown at them. Which is saying something, some days. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/23 "2005-05-06T21:46:35Z")
Dangit, I meant to link to [the search results which show all the toilets with the Champion flusing system](http://www.americanstandard-us.com/ProductThumb.asp?kw=champ&brandID=1,2,3) available from American Standard. I put the wrong link in my previous post. Sorry about that, the “Best Flush” system is available in several styles, heights, and bowl configurations these days. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/24 "2005-05-07T05:47:14Z")
I went flushmate with all three toilets in my house. They are the best out there by far. One flush wonders indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/25 "2005-05-07T12:06:32Z")
We had 1.6 gallon Kohler toilets installed at work a few months ago, and I’m assuming they’re “pressure-assisted” because the first time I tried one of 'em I yelped in fear from the horrendous screaming I unleashed simply by flushing the damn thing. And other than an unfortunate tampon-applicator incident I have tried my best to forget, I’ve never had any problems with them except for the noise, which I still find jarring. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/26 "2005-05-07T13:08:49Z")
The problem is that most people, when faced with buying a new toilet, get the “Toilet in a Box” kit at the Home Depot/Lowe’s. Which runs ridiculously cheap. If you want an excellent toilet, a toilet of your youth, you need to become a toilet bowl smuggler out of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/27 "2005-05-07T14:08:44Z")
My home was built in 1978 so I still have the old, reliable ones. I recently remodeled one bathroom and replaced everything – floor, lights, mirror, towel and t.p. holders, faucet, vanity, counter top – everything with the exception of my 1978 toilet. That, my friends, says it all. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/28 "2005-05-07T14:15:45Z")
FYI - The pressure assist toilets at work are noisy. Sounds like a jet taking off. First time I used one really, really surprised me. But they do work. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/29 "2005-05-08T01:14:02Z")
Said before in other threads: not all 1.6 GPF toilets are created equal. The toilet you buy from a big box store might look like the one I’d sell you from a plumbing supply house, but inside, it isn’t the same. When the 1.6 law was on the horizon, Kohler and American Standard put their R & D hats on and got to work. The rest of the companies figured out some hokey way to make their already inferior products meet the 1.6 spec, whether or not it worked in reality was another issue. I installed a 1.6 Kohler 10 years ago when I bought this house, and it has a split handle to accomplish the same function **calm kiwi** is talking about. It flushes on 1.1 GPF for liquid waste, and 1.6 for solids. It works great! Sadly, Kohler stopped manufacturing it because people thought it was confusing, and plumbers didn’t like a more complex flush mechanism. Cry me a river, folks. :rolleyes: I had to replace two perfectly good old style high gallonage American Standard toilets last year for one of my commercial customers because too many people insist on using 3/4 of a roll to wipe their asses. Do these people shit tar? Or do they enjoy wiping their asses? In any event, now they have 2 pressure assist American Standard 1.6, and they work fine. Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with a 1.6 if you buy a quality fixture, but you ain’t gonna get it from Home Despot. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/30 "2005-05-08T04:12:44Z")
Wasn’t this an episode of _King of the Hill_? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/31 "2005-05-08T05:56:57Z")
See, there is no good reason for low GPF toilets. They push them because us Americans (and others) have been brought up to think that urine is nasty and unsanitary, and we must flsuh after every urination. This wastes a LOT of water… “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down” 😃 . There is no real need to flush after urination- and if you don’t like the smell, then a liter/quart of water will do it. However, I found the solution is to flush once after your bowels move, then again after you wipe. Do note- most Americans are slightly constipated, so yes, **danceswithcats** , they _do_ 'shit tar". For those that need a super wad to wipe- get more fluids, fiber and some probiotics into your diet. Your bowels will move a couple times a day- with soft, easily wiped movements. You’ll lose a couple of pounds, too, so that’s a free bonus. It’s easy to add fiber, even if you don’t like to eat roughage- get some of that fiber powder stuff, and drink two doses a day- _WITH_ a large glass of water with each. IANArealD. YMMV. One of my "pet peeves’ is the guys that flush before AND after they urinate. :mad: Even worse are those that flush constantly while urinating, but those are rare. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592/32 "2005-05-09T06:36:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > One of my "pet peeves’ is the guys that flush before AND after they urinate. :mad: Yeah, well, one of **my** pet peeves is occasionally having someone else’s urine splattered back onto me, as opposed to a stray droplet of relatively clean water, so if someone has decided to “let yellow mellow,” I flush before **and** after so as to avoid that eventuality. I know, it’s very pedestrian of me to consider other peoples’ urine unsanitary, but I suspect I wouldn’t catch you touching the slightly speckled floor under most urinals with your bare hands. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-6-gpf-toilet-i-hate-you-you-dispose-of-poop-very-poorly/302592.md?page=1)