I’ve been searching for a pressure-assist toilet to replace one of the toilets in my house that has a cracked tank. Since the old one is a high-flow, and I’ve personally experienced so many…bad things with the mandatory “low flow” toilets, I have been shopping for a pressure-assist toilet to have some hope of putting away the plunger for good.
At two hardware stores I have been to, I have heard the old-timers tell me “Pressure assist toilets are OK and all that, but there’s only one kind of toilet paper you can use with them - Charmin. You use anything else, and you may as well marry a plumber.” When I press them for the reasons, the reason given at both places was identical - “The paper swells up a different way, and will block the pipes in a pressure-assist toilet.”
This site gives some specifics on how the pressure-assist toilets work, and there is no mention of them being anything but superior in every manner to non-pressure assist toilets. I also checked the manufacturer’s websites, and found nothing. So, here are the reasons I think it is a UL:
It’s overly specific in one area (“Charmin” as opposed to “some toilet papers”).
It defies “common sense” (not a sign something is a UL, but it is the first step towards forcing an investigation).
The waste piping from the diagrams I see appears to be larger in diameter and with less bends then a normal toilet.
So…anyone know anything about PA toilet lore?
BTW - the site above has two cool videos of the toilet in action - with sound!
I have an American Standard that’s a PA model and it works fine. I’ll admit is a little loud if you’re not used to it. But you trip the lever and that stuffs GONE.
As it happens I use Charmin paper, but for my comfort, not because I had ever heard the possible UL. What can I say, I’m a sensitive guy!
I’m planning a new house and would like to use the Tolo toilets. And a bidet, I want a bidet!
Another thing you have to remember is that most pressure assist toilets are used in light commercial applications, and I guarantee you that these folks buy the absolute cheapest toilet paper they can find. And the waste piping below the hub in the floor is the same regardless of the type of toilet used.
Sounds like someone has sniffed too much pipe dope.
Well, here’s my input as to possible differences in TP: When dealing with a Porta-Potty (camping toilet) in a trailer, experience dictates that it’s better to use single-ply than double-ply, because double-ply tends to fill up the tank sooner (although there are Those Of Us who compensate by using twice as much single-ply to wipe, so…)
However, the point is that maybe with low flow toilets it’s a “single ply” vs. “double ply” thing.
They’ve got a very annoying “click here for free sample!” popup that takes a minute to go away (click on something else), but they’ve also got two interesting click-through charts that summarize their findings. From “Click here to see which toilet paper dissolves the most easily”.
So, just offhand, I’d say that not only is the “you gotta use Charmin in a low flow toilet” an Urban Legend, but also it’s a remarkably clueless one, not even remotely supported by the facts. In other words, it’s a prime example of the “Perfect” Urban Legend. Find some other old-timers to ask for plumbing advice. Maybe you can find one who will warn you about toilet spiders.
Una the toilet paper in Europe is different than the toilet paper in the U.S., so you may want to do your research on your side of the pond (you are in the U.K., yes?) I can’t say if US-UK or UK-Europe has more similarities.
For what it’s worth when they make toilet tissues, the hardwoods used make the paper softer and more crumbly. Softwoods make the paper harder and less likely to fall apart. Some of the Euro brands are very thick weaves, which I would guess don’t go so well through the pipes. Stuff like Bess wipes (could be marketed as something else in the UK, it’s a German brand) are almost like cloth. These are moist wipes similar to babywipes in case you’ve never heard of these, don’t know that they exist or are particularly popular in the USA.
You could also go Asian style and just use a bucket and some water, but this could make your bathroom floor a bit slick.
At one house, we replaced the toilets. My ex got a regular low-flow, and I got a pressure-assisted toilet by Kohler. My toilet died after just a couple of years. We got a replacement (not pressure assisted) from Kohler after finding out that it was a known problem. The replacement worked at least as well as the original. This seemed to be a problem with Kohler specifically, rather than a general problem with pressure assisted toilets.
In my current house, there is apparently a jog in the sewage line that tends to get blocked under the wrong conditions (don’t ask) After the last call, the roto-rooter guy suggested I use premium paper because it is more likely to break up. I have noticed this with Kleenex brand TP. This may be why Charmin is recommended.
Zyada, one of the lesser known things about Kohler is their replacement policy.
Most decent manufacturers test a good portion of thwie product before going out the door. In fact Hoesch, a very good quality German manufacturer tests EVERY unit they sell and they have about a 23% Fail rate.
Kohler tests NONE of its product. They simply let the customer act as their QA and will simply replace any defective product that comes out. Crappy but true. This was told to me by the US rep for Hoesch when I was at the factory in Germany and was confirmed to me by the Midwest sales rep for Kohler although I already knew it to be true from my years of dealing with irate customers.
This may be a bit off thread but I’d NEVER own a pressure assist toilet. I live in the country and have a well. For you city dwellers, that means if there’s no electricity, there’s no water. When we lose power for days at a time in the winter there is no way to flush except to lift up the tank lid and pour in a bucket of lake water. Try that in your fancy pressure toilet ! Plus, if it ever breaks, I can fix any part in it for less than five bucks.
I’ve had a Gerber brand pressure assisted toilet for almost three years and it works wonders compared to the original unit. Toilet paper (toilet tissue, bog roll, whatever) brand makes no difference, and I have an odd ‘jog’ in the pipes just under the toilet. I have never had to use the plunger on this new one. The old one (installed in 1950) overflowed almost weekly, but that’s because a 12" rough in toilet was installed in a 10" rough in opening. With 6.4 gallons (I measured it) rushing through with each flush you have no time to react to prevent a Mount St. Helens event (it sometimes did this even when if there was no “waste” going down). So make sure the toilet is appropriate for your bathroom.
And really, they’re pressure “assist” toilets – there’s no reason that dumping a bucket in the basin doesn’t make the water go down. It’s where we dump the bathroom mop water, with no problem.
Oh, pressure-assist toilets are wonderful. We replaced both of our toilets in our house with them over two years ago.* We got the cheapest ones from Home Depot.
We use Seventh Generation toilet paper–a recycled single-ply paper that is about the texture of ScotTissue. Never had a problem with any kind of clog. And (true confession time) I use a LOT of toilet paper. I suspect my husband does too, because it seems like we replace the roll every day!
Get one today!
And you’re right about the “use Charmin” thing reeking of a UL. Some toilets, like boat toilets, require special “quick dissolve” paper, but it is unimaginable that any ordinary home toilet would require special paper.
when we moved into our house, one toilet was a low-flow, and the other was an old high-flow. We couldn’t go #2 in the low-flow because it would get clogged. We felt guilty about going #1 in the high flow–12 gallons to flush away a little pee? So, we replaced both of them, and now we happily do whatever we need in whatever toilet we fancy!
