Drake-quiet?

We just installed a Drake ADA toilet-I thought it would be quieter. It makes a loud gurgling sound for about 3 seconds-then refills. Is this what other Drake owners find?

Mine makes a similar sound at the very end of the flush. It seems to be normal, possibly a result of the bowl emptying so quickly.

Drake-quiet

I replaced all of my toilets with the Drake - one is ADA and none have sani-gloss. I had WAY higher expectations that are not close to being met with these toilets. Here are my issues - the bowl does not rinse clean on occassion, and the wiked gurgling flush is irritating as can be. I was aiming for a better function and quiet toilet. I asked many people and salesmen in the field who told me that all the toilets are quiet. Not so - the Drake is not. I regret my purchases immensly.

Have you treated the bowl with Clorox Teflon bowl cleaner yet?

Terry,
Is the Clorox Teflon bowl cleaner effective in reducing the "streaking" effect that has been referred to? I have never heard of this product. Any downside to this product?

But you have heard of Teflon right?

They sell it in the cleaning isle of any grocery store.
Your wife has seen it there I'm sure.

It's good for any brand of toilet.

Clorox Teflon Bowl cleaner

I've heard of Teflon and Clorox, just not together!
Thanks Terry, I'll look for it.

Wonder what all that Teflon does to the water supply? Can't be good for the fish any one that drinks water, and I've read studies that the teflon is pretty nasty stuff in your body and it never breaks down in the water or your body.
But...heck if it keeps fecal stains off your toilet...sounds good.

In today's news:

Jan. 25, 2006 — The federal government said today that although the science is still coming in, enough health concerns have been raised already to virtually eliminate continued exposure to the key chemical used to make Teflon.

Click to expand...

I guess clean bowl or not, teflon or not, my main complaint with the Drake is how loud it is on flush. I was really purchasing new toilets to get a quiet flush, to lessen disturbance and also add more privacy. I feel the Drake is quit loud! Fast flush - so it doesn't last long, but relatively loud in my opinion.

I imagine an old fashioned out house would be pretty darn quiet, how about just dig a pit or get a port a' potty.

My Drake is isn't that noisy, and since it is so fast and efficient, you don't have to flush is 3 or 4 times.

And yes Teflon is bad stuff. My solution: just keep the toilet brush around and give it a swirl once in awhile. Lots better than have to keep a plunger handy in my opinion.

I agree with JD, and so do most of my repeat customers, of which there are many.

When Toto was first introduced, most people thought it did too little compared to what they were used to. They expected more noise and commotion from it.
In the beggining, it was losing sales on a head to head basis to noiser toilets, it just seemed too subtle.

I would hear that plumbers wanted to "adjust" it. I would tell the homeowner, "Send the plumber home!"
"His job is done."
The toilets were flushing everthing down, but without much fuss.
I had a lot of skeptical customers that would try one, then order two or three more in a few weeks.

When I go to Canada, and flush their toilets, the water wasters, I think, Wow! that's a lot of water making a lot of noise.

Noise levels:
If you can find a toilet that doesn't make any noise, let us know.
I would love to add some audio of these things.
I know that the Eljer Titan is noisier than the Toto.
The American Standard Champion is noiser too.
The Kohler Cimarron is about equal in sound to the Toto.

I'm going to add some video of the old toilets too, so you can see how noisy some of them were too.

jdkimes said:

Wonder what all that Teflon does to the water supply? Can't be good for the fish any one that drinks water, and I've read studies that the teflon is pretty nasty stuff in your body and it never breaks down in the water or your body.
But...heck if it keeps fecal stains off your toilet...sounds good.

Click to expand...

The big stink is about PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). It's a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and other fluoro-polymers. It's a long chain molecule that, once it gets into your body, it can't get out. An alternative exists and is a shorter chain molecule that flushes out of the body if it does manage to get in. Once the finished product (Teflon) is complete, it's pretty much inert to most everything you'll run into and does not leach PFOA.
It's much like the stink around PVC and Vinyl Chloride. Yeah Vinyl Chloride in its un-polimerized state is a carcinogen without debate. HOWEVER, once polymerized, PVC is a rather inert plasic itself. Just don't try pumping tetrahydro furan through it .

On a side note...
PVC, when burned, creates PCBs.
Teflon, when heated to decomposition, gives off PFIB (Perfluoroisobutylene) and a Phosgene-like gas.

It's all great stuff after it's made and before it's destroyed.
Mmmmmm, yummy.

I've recently installed two toilets, a Toto Ultramax and a Kohler San Rafael. Yes the Kohler is somewhat quieter but the Toto is a better performer. In the two months or so that I've had it it has flushed everything that was thrown at it without any problems. On this particular model I've also observed very minimal streaking (maybe it's my diet) and even that on very rare ocassions. The subsequent flush has always taken care of this minimal streaking. It's obviously a personal choice but I have no problem putting up with a slightly noisier toilet when it gives me that type of performance that the Ultramax gives. I had a pressure assisted Kohler before the Toto and that one I wouldn't dare flush in the middle of the night. It would wake up the neighborhood dogs.