Costco Water Ridge Dual Flush Toilet Review & pictures

[mannekin2001]

Same problems as everyone else, but the biggest one issue is
1. the sticking of the flusher buttons. If I don't catch it they can run for hours. My partner doesn't hear the water going and going and going and going for ever! It happens frequently and I really have to hammer on them to get them unstuck.
2. The bowl isn't deep enough and indeed when standing up to urinate it will splash EVERYWHERE! I'm not one to sit for number 1.....
3. The shallow bowl also leaves skids with number 2, very embarrassing for company.
4. And there really is no clear visual difference between the liquid and solid buttons.
5. Now I'm starting to get clogs...... I think it's gonna go back as soon as I find a better one.

[dripdripdrip]

Just to confirm,

This is the 1-piece water ridge and not the 2-piece tank and bowl set, right?
I actually found that the bowl appears to have some sort of coating on top of the glaze (or glazed really well) and that 'streaking' isn't really an issue.

Haven't had any of the other issues yet (and hoping that I don't)!

Follow-up comment: Is it possible that your flush mechanism isn't adjusted correctly since you're saying that there doesn't appear to be enough water in the bowl in your case? I'll try to take a look tonight at ours and see how high the floats are set (perhaps I'll snap a pic). Also, is it the outer shiny 'lid' buttons that are sticking or the actual internal flush tower buttons that are sticking?

Same problems as everyone else, but the biggest one issue is
1. the sticking of the flusher buttons. If I don't catch it they can run for hours. My partner doesn't hear the water going and going and going and going for ever! It happens frequently and I really have to hammer on them to get them unstuck.
2. The bowl isn't deep enough and indeed when standing up to urinate it will splash EVERYWHERE! I'm not one to sit for number 1.....
3. The shallow bowl also leaves skids with number 2, very embarrassing for company.
4. And there really is no clear visual difference between the liquid and solid buttons.
5. Now I'm starting to get clogs...... I think it's gonna go back as soon as I find a better one.

[qvminich]

I bought this toilet in 2007 and this past week it has started to fail. Toilet constantly running even after numerous water level adjustments. Couldn't find any info on the internet about replacement parts. Luckily I found my manual with an 800 number to call. I was happy to find out that it had a 5 year warranty so I called them up and ordered the part and it should be here in 4 days. That was easy. Will it last another 20? Who knows. I had been shopping for another toilet before I found my manual and my plumber recommended the cadet 3 American Standard. It was $200 here in Calgary, Alberta. I'll keep my fingers crossed that my Water Ridge will last forever after this part gets changed.

QV

[Xtrck]

I bought this toilet in 2007 and this past week it has started to fail. Toilet constantly running even after numerous water level adjustments. Couldn't find any info on the internet about replacement parts. Luckily I found my manual with an 800 number to call. I was happy to find out that it had a 5 year warranty so I called them up and ordered the part and it should be here in 4 days. That was easy. Will it last another 20? Who knows. I had been shopping for another toilet before I found my manual and my plumber recommended the cadet 3 American Standard. It was $200 here in Calgary, Alberta. I'll keep my fingers crossed that my Water Ridge will last forever after this part gets changed.

QV

Anyone happen to have the contact number for them? I have a couple of these that are running non stop now too.

[me]

I've had one of these Costco Water Ridge dual flush toilets for about 3 years, about 6 months after I installed it, I had problems with the sticking of the full flush button causing it to run. I tried adjusting all adjustable items on the flusher assembly and even replacing the assembly with a new one (taking advantage of Costco's return policy), none of these worked. For 2 years I ended up pushing the button a second time when the bowl flushed, this worked but my company could never follow instructions. I was about ready to replace the toilet but thought I should look at the flusher assembly a bit closer. The sticking button problem is because they have a poor design (bad angles) with the linkages inside the assembly for the full flush and they didn't lubricate them properly. I removed the flush assembly and let it dry out completely (2-3 hours), then I sprayed a water repellant lubricant inside through the holes onto the linkages and onto the flapper on the bottom (for good measure). The toilet button doen't stick open or run anymore (2 weeks so far, cross my fingers for months). I used Jig-A-Loo (orange can) but any equivalent like a silicone or lithium based spray should work. Hope this helps.

[dripdripdrip]

The number on the Canadian boxes/manuals is 1-866-789-CARE (2273) - not sure if it's different for folks in the US or not.

Anyone happen to have the contact number for them? I have a couple of these that are running non stop now too.

[Reader Review]

Hi. We purchased 2 Water Ridge toilets from Costco in La Quinta Ca. and need a repair manual. We are having problems with one, other one is fine. We have replace parts that we could, but the toilet keeps make the "flushing" sound every 20 seconds and doesn't flush properly when button is pushed.
HELP!
Thanks much
Shirley and Dan

[dripdripdrip]

Sounds similar to a problem my Dad had on his American Standard. Basically the flap in the tank wasn't closing/sealing tight because a piece of the rubber gasket from one of the tank screws had managed to work it's way between the flap and opening allowing water to slowly drain into the tank thereby causing the tank to partially refill (that flushing sound you're hearing).

The mechanism is different on the WaterRidge one-piece but the principle is the same in that it sounds like you're not getting a good seal at the opening from the tank to the pipe that leads to the bowl compartment. check to see if you need a new seal or if the drop-valve mechanism isn't lining up properly to seal that hole.

(To confirm that this is what's happening, a common suggestion is to add a few drops of food colouring to the tank and then wait your 20sec. and see if the colour makes it's way into the bowl water before the flush sound).

Hi. We purchased 2 Water Ridge toilets from Costco in La Quinta Ca. and need a repair manual. We are having problems with one, other one is fine. We have replace parts that we could, but the toilet keeps make the "flushing" sound every 20 seconds and doesn't flush properly when button is pushed.
HELP!
Thanks much
Shirley and Dan

[Redwood]

Toilets typically are installed in a home and used for 15-20 years...
Why would you want to buy something you can't get parts for?

[dripdripdrip]

Why does the phone number listed higher up on the page not work? The innards of most of these drop-valve assemblies look pretty common from manufacturer to manufacturer (even the American Standard we have looks the same when I opened it up compared to the WaterRidge so I'm not sure what you're talking about) - the innards are pretty much all made in China/Taiwan.

Toilets typically are installed in a home and used for 15-20 years...
Why would you want to buy something you can't get parts for?

[Redwood]

Why does the phone number listed higher up on the page not work? The innards of most of these drop-valve assemblies look pretty common from manufacturer to manufacturer (even the American Standard we have looks the same when I opened it up compared to the WaterRidge so I'm not sure what you're talking about) - the innards are pretty much all made in China/Taiwan.

Will it work 10 years from now? good luck on that one...
The trouble with "Universal Fits All" parts is they are seldom bolt in parts. They tend to require some adaptation to work even though they look close. Things like "if only it was 3/4" higher" "if only the push button was 1/2" shorter" those will cost you extra when making repairs often many times what you saved by buying a junk toilet...

A toilet like a Toto not only will have parts available 10 years from now, but will also have non-oem parts available, and they will be at a local supplier not at a phone number with a part number that can only be found in the original manual that came with the toilet....

I'm a plumber and my time is money. Make the job harder and it costs you more. It's that simple!

[dripdripdrip]

Umm no offence but that's why if I have such issues after 10 years of the toilet working, I'll just buy a new toilet (with updated styling) if things get that complicated rather than paying a plumber 2 hrs labour @ $80/hr to try and fix something that's "overly" complicated.

Toto is the best we get it, they never have issues, ever. Holy Smokes, you should just rename this site if every forum is going to end with buy a toto buy a toto buy a toto - not everyone can buy a Mercedes which is why you see Hondas, Fords, Volkswagens on the road.

Try to be helpful to folks asking for assistance instead of being a smug smarta$$ plumber.

Will it work 10 years from now? good luck on that one...
The trouble with "Universal Fits All" parts is they are seldom bolt in parts. They tend to require some adaptation to work even though they look close. Things like "if only it was 3/4" higher" "if only the push button was 1/2" shorter" those will cost you extra when making repairs often many times what you saved by buying a junk toilet...

A toilet like a Toto not only will have parts available 10 years from now, but will also have non-oem parts available, and they will be at a local supplier not at a phone number with a part number that can only be found in the original manual that came with the toilet....

I'm a plumber and my time is money. Make the job harder and it costs you more. It's that simple!

[Redwood]

Umm no offence but that's why if I have such issues after 10 years of the toilet working, I'll just buy a new toilet (with updated styling) if things get that complicated rather than paying a plumber 2 hrs labour @ $80/hr to try and fix something that's "overly" complicated.

Toto is the best we get it, they never have issues, ever. Holy Smokes, you should just rename this site if every forum is going to end with buy a toto buy a toto buy a toto - not everyone can buy a Mercedes which is why you see Hondas, Fords, Volkswagens on the road.

Try to be helpful to folks asking for assistance instead of being a smug smarta$$ plumber.

Go For It!

But you are buying a 1986 Yugo....

[Terry]

I think one of the questions was,

Where do you get replacement parts?

Where can I call for questions and tech support?

Dripdripdrip has the right answer to this. These should be considered "one use" toilets. When something goes bad, they can go in the trash, and a new toilet can be installed.
Drippy, any toilet can be installed in a home. I personally sell pretty much all of the brands out there. For some brands, I sell very few. It's hard to get someone to commit to buying a second if they didn't like the first one. If someone doesn't like reserching their buying decisions, then skip all this web stuff and pick up something at Costco or a big box store. If things don't work out, you can always trash can the product and try again. That makes perfect sense to many people and I have to agree, it's logical.

Lucky for me, most of my customers are doing repeat buys on product with few problems.
I did sell the "Consumer Reports Best Buy" dual flush Gerber for six months, but then 40% of them came back and nobody knew how to fix them. I quit selling the EcoFlush dual flush wonder that Consumer Reports tauts as their "Best Buy". It turned out to be junk. But like Drippy says, it's not a big deal to chuck a $349.00 toilet in the trash and start over.
The WaterRidge dual flush, did we ever get around to finding a way to get parts for them?
Or is it the consensus of this review that they should be thown away when the seal or flapper goes bad?
After all, they were sold to people that "wanted" to conserve water. If the seal leaks day and night they should be junked.
Drips, since you have these toilets, maybe you can research the parts problem.

[dripdripdrip]

I'm no "expert" but at least I can offer suggestions as to how to diagnose what's may be the problem/what's happening. If the best you can offer is "Buy a Toto", I think you shouldn't bother putting down "Expert Plumber" but rather "America's Top Toto Salesperson who has expert knowledge in plumbing but won't offer any technical advice".
Sorry but you guys just sound really condescending and can't even help Dan and Shirley to try and diagnose what's going on (like the $1.00 food dye experiment or how a simple $3 can of lubricant was enough to solve the issue of sticky mechanisms).

I agree that Toto makes some great products but the point of the other poster's question was to try and pinpoint what would cause this problem.

I haven't seen a reply from them as to whether the 1-800 number works for them so not sure what else you expect me to offer? If I have a problem with an Apple/HP/Dell/B&D/Sony/RCA/<insert brand here> and I need assistance/replacement parts, I usually start there to see if they can assist.

For the record, I haven't had any issues with the one-piece toilets I purchased (doesn't mean I will or won't have any issues though but the 2 I have appear to function well).

I think one of the questions was,

Where do you get replacement parts?

Where can I call for questions and tech support?

Dripdripdrip has the right answer to this. These should be considered "one use" toilets. When something goes bad, they can go in the trash, and a new toilet can be installed.
Drippy, any toilet can be installed in a home. I personally sell pretty much all of the brands out there. For some brands, I sell very few. It's hard to get someone to commit to buying a second if they didn't like the first one. If someone doesn't like reserching their buying decisions, then skip all this web stuff and pick up something at Costco or a big box store. If things don't work out, you can always trash can the product and try again. That makes perfect sense to many people and I have to agree, it's logical.

Lucky for me, most of my customers are doing repeat buys on product with few problems.
I did sell the "Consumer Reports Best Buy" dual flush Gerber for six months, but then 40% of them came back and nobody knew how to fix them. I quit selling the EcoFlush dual flush wonder that Consumer Reports tauts as their "Best Buy". It turned out to be junk. But like Drippy says, it's not a big deal to chuck a $349.00 toilet in the trash and start over.
The WaterRidge dual flush, did we ever get around to finding a way to get parts for them?
Or is it the consensus of this review that they should be thown away when the seal or flapper goes bad?
After all, they were sold to people that "wanted" to conserve water. If the seal leaks day and night they should be junked.
Drips, since you have these toilets, maybe you can research the parts problem.