A couple of questions.......

[mommy2krj]

I'm new here....I found this site looking for toilet information for my FIL.

He was recently handicapped (lost a leg) and now is in need of a new toilet. The one the in-laws have is pretty old and too short for him to get to comfortably.
It is also constantly clogging due to increased use because of the meds he is taking (if you catch my drift)!

I have looked at a couple different brands of toilets.......they are looking to spend around $300.

There aren't any dealers around here that I have found that carry some of the toilets so I thought I would stick to Kohler and American Standard.

These are the ones that I looked at that seemed like they would be the best options:

American Standard Champion4 Right Height Elongated One Piece

Kohler Wellworth Pressure Lite Elongated 1.1 gpf (k-3531-ra)

Kohler Devonshire Elongated (k-3457)

Kohler Persuade two-piece elongated toilet with Dual Flush Technology (k-3654)


Any information or opinions on these toilets would be highly appreciated! There is so much information out there to wade through! I know alot of people have had problems with both Kohler and American Standard but I haven't seen any of the models that I looked at mentioned!

Thank you!

[Gary Swart]

As you already noted, Kohler and American Standard have problems. They may have some models that work OK, but there are better choices. Kohler in particular has models that cost a fortune to repair (not all models) because they take parts that are only available from Kohler. A far better choice would be the Toto line. In particular, the Toto Drake in the ADA height. There should be a dealer somewhere reasonably close to you. If the Yellow Pages don't do it, you can find the Toto website and get some assistance there. When I needed to upgrade my personal toilet, I make a 300 mile round trip and got a Toto from Terry. You may not be close enough to Seattle to do that, but there are dealers if you look. It might be helpful if you would let us know where you are located as there are contributors to this forum from all over the US. A toilet is a purchase that one should be able to rely on for many years, so a little extra effort and perhaps a few extra dollars now can help assure that. If you have not already found Terry's Report On Low Flow Toilets, the link can be found on the Homepage.

[mommy2krj]

Thanks for the replies! I am in Wisconsin and the only dealer that I found for the Toto line is quite a distance from us. But a lot of websites that I tried to look at today were just not cooperating. It would be kind of difficult for my in-laws if they had to travel too far to get a toilet.....and FIL is one of those that feels the need to be there for the purchase so he can ask questions. He can't travel too far by car quite yet....a 20 minute ride is still about all he can handle.

[jadnashua]

These days you can't go by the brand name...Kohler may very well off-load production elsewhere - I know I bought a shower door from them (regret it, by the way), and it was NOT made in the USA. Toto has a factory in the USA. Many US products are not made here...

[Gary Swart]

As unfortunate as it may be, it is sometimes difficult to find products that are actually made in the US. Many well known US brands have outsourced their production to other countries. Equally unfortunate, many of the countries building these products are not noted for their quality control. Toto has US plants as well as Japan. Personally, I'd rather have a product made in Japan than most 3rd world countries. OK, that aside, you can research the Toto models on Terry's website and get probably as much or more information there than in a showroom. Also, you can send Terry a private message through this site and ask questions on the forum. You can use Toto's website to locate a dealer near you. I would hope your FIL's temporary problem of dealing with a car ride is short term, and I would encourage you not to let this problem lead you to buy an inferior product that you will then have to live with for years to come. Go here for Toto dealer locations.

http://www.totousa.com/dealerlocator.asp

[Redwood]

I fully appreciate what meds can do for toilet clogs. The Toto Drake would be an excellent reason to buck the trend and either order it and have it shipped or, take a long drive and bring it home to show him.

Another toilet that you may consider that has a huge trapway that can flush a brick is the Caroma. http://www.terrylove.com/wc/caroma/index.htm
http://www.caromausa.com/distributor...hp?nm=22&co=us

[Cookie]

I have a Kohler Cimarron, which is miserable to keep clean at times but then again, my nephew can use it and not stuff it up. Plus, I have 2 other sons. What is nice, is the fact the plunger is a thing of the past. Very rarely have to ever use it.

[Cass]

go to Home Depots, or Low*s and get a Cadet 3 , elongated and it also comes in comfort height. Under $250.00 with a seat and tax.