Recommend a quiet toilet (Toto preferred)

**Anthony Curtas** · 01-01-2013, 05:34 AM

Well we're sold on Toto after two upgrades and two very happy results.

One more to go, as part of a larger master bath remodel. However that is a year or so off and the wife wants to upgrade the toilet now. We have a low, small, 3+ gallon monster that doesn't flush well and regrows mold in about two days. So it's time to go.

We have a colonial house, so the bathroom will probably be more traditional (Guinnaviere, Dartmoth style), but we're open to anything. We are willing to splurge on this one since it's the master bath.

Comfort height, no bowl preference (round or elongated), dual flush would be great. Since it's the master bath any noise would be easily heard, so quiet flush/fill would be nice as well. It's a standard 12" rough in.

Thanks in advance guys!
Anthony

**jadnashua** · 01-01-2013, 11:42 AM

Pick the style you prefer, and go for it. ANy of the Totos would work out for you. I'd go for an elongated and probably the 'II' series which has their newer bowl wash tech along with Sanagloss (standard on some models). WIth the 12" rough, the only issue you might have is the location of the shutoff valve and that's usually not a big enough thing to prevent installation.

**Gary Swart** · 01-01-2013, 11:55 AM

The toilet in my master bath is a Dartmouth. When it is flushed, the flushing noise lasts about 2 to 3 seconds. There is virtually zero fill noise. I have a Drake in my basement bathroom, and it is quite similar to the Dartmouth. To flush properly, a low flow toilet must dump the water from the tank quickly and this does amount to a certain amount of noise. Of course "loud" is a relative term, but a gravity flush is nowhere near as loud as a pressure assisted toilet. (Toto does not make a pressure assist) In other words, I don't think the noise should be a factor in your selection. I'm not going to knock a dual flush, but for the potential amount of water saved, I really don't see much advantage. Comfort height and ADA height are about the same, so don't let the two terms confuse you. Very few round bowls toilets are made with the taller heights since to be ADA compliant, they must be elongated. The good news in all of this is you can't really make a bad choice when you select a Toto; they all perform very, very well.

**Anthony Curtas** · 01-01-2013, 12:13 PM

Thanks guys.

We have an ADA, round Promenade in our downstairs bath and an eco-Drake (low, elongated) in the kid/guest bath.

We're leaning towards the Dartmouth, I just didn't know if there was a big difference in noise level of the different flush technologies.

Thanks again.

**Anthony Curtas** · 01-01-2013, 01:16 PM

Anyone know the current lineup of Toto's made in the US plant?

We're trying to buy USA first as a rule (don't care who owns the company, I'd rather support US workers with foreign profits than vice versa). Usually not a deal breaker, but if we're deciding between two brands, lines, etc -- the US plant always wins.

Thanks.

**stephenk** · 01-01-2013, 01:56 PM

The Drake II I bought a month ago was made in the USA. Both the bowl and tank are USA made on mine. I'm also a big proponent of buying USA made products, and I do a lot of research before large purchases to see what USA made options I can get.

That's one of the main reasons I stepped up from the regular Drake to the Drake II, because I knew there was a better chance of getting USA made components. I don't know if the Drake II is made anywhere else other than the USA.

If you're really curious, an email to Toto would probably answer the question. I've emailed lots of companies asking about specific products and they pretty much always have told me the country of origin. The trick is to have it narrowed down to one or two products and ask about those specific part numbers. My experience has been if you send a vague email such as "where are your products made," you'll get a vague answer like "our products are made all over the world." If you ask about a specific product and include the part number, they'll pretty much always tell you the country of origin.

**wjcandee** · 01-01-2013, 02:55 PM

I think you'll find that the Soiree is made in the US. If you're willing to splurge, that's the ticket. You can call Toto customer service at 888-295-8134 to confirm. Let us know what you find out.

**Anthony Curtas** · 02-04-2013, 08:11 AM

Heard back from Toto (real fast after I finally contacted them).

Basically all one piece units are made in GA. Some parts of two piece toilets are as well. She sent me a pdf of all the "Made in the USA" part numbers to comply with the "AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT and the BUY AMERICAN ACT". There's a lot in there, but it looks like the Promenade tank, Mercer Bowl and Tank, Drake II tank, Drake (bowl and tank), Dartmouth tank, and some others. Didn't know what to look for in the base bowl by itself, but the list was pretty comprehensive.

Considering we have the Promenade and Drake, and are looking at either another Promenade, Dartmouth, or possibly a Guinnevere, it looks like we're at least half covered.

Also looking at the matching sinks. Bottom line, though, Toto USA was very responsive.

**wjcandee** · 02-04-2013, 10:45 AM

That's great to hear.

Also nice to know that if I go for a one-piece, it is likely made here!

Thanks for following up with us!

(If you're looking at their sinks, I have seen a few and the quality seems excellent. I even saw some commercial sinks in the new building at Lincoln Center on Saturday night. As I mentioned in another thread, the new facility at Lincoln Center has all-Toto in the restrooms, from faucets to valves to porcelain; very-nice-looking stuff, including undermount sinks on a granite countertop and some very nice looking Toto faucets.)

You may have seen this, but if you're looking at that 8/09 piece, the bowls are listed under "C" (i.e. C744E) and the tanks under "ST" (i.e. ST743E), the combination of which makes an Eco Drake CST744E. There are probably some updates since 2009; if you have a newer one, let me know because I will track it down for my own edification.

**Anthony Curtas** · 03-05-2013, 05:10 PM

We ended up getting an Eco Dartmouth. It looks great and I'm going to temporarily install it tomorrow (the master bath remodel won't start until next year).

I am a little miffed at Toto USA, though. We bought this model based on their list of models made in the USA (at least partially), but both boxes, tank and bowl were clearly marked Made in Mexico. So that Made in the USA list from Toto isn't worth the paper it's printed on. So if that kinda thing is important to you, your best bet is to only buy one you can physically see the box.

**jadnashua** · 03-05-2013, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by Anthony Curtas

We ended up getting an Eco Dartmouth. It looks great and I'm going to temporarily install it tomorrow (the master bath remodel won't start until next year).

I am a little miffed at Toto USA, though. We bought this model based on their list of models made in the USA (at least partially), but both boxes, tank and bowl were clearly marked Made in Mexico. So that Made in the USA list from Toto isn't worth the paper it's printed on. So if that kinda thing is important to you, your best bet is to only buy one you can physically see the box.

I'm pretty confident that they do make that model in the USA, it's just that they also make most of them in other places around the world...depends on inventory and demand - they may need to augment the supply. Since the things are heavy, it's better to not have to ship it further. The good thing is that Toto's QA/QC seems to be quite good, good enough where say a bowl from one country will fit seamlessly to a tank from another along with color matching!

**Gary Swart** · 03-05-2013, 07:44 PM

My Dartmouth was made in Viet Nam. I bought the toilet 2 plus years ago, so Toto could has changed manufacturing site for that model or make it in several countries.

**Anthony Curtas** · 03-07-2013, 05:10 AM

It's hard to stay mad at them. It really is a superior product (and it least it wasn't made in China). It looks great, but I couldn't finish the install last night due to lack of flange bolts. The old ones were unusable and I didn't have extras. The dry fit went well, so $3 and a Home Depot / Ace trip should have me running again. then I can have an Office Space party and destroy the old "clogs with one wad of toilet paper" toilet it replaced

**wjcandee** · 03-07-2013, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by Anthony Curtas

The dry fit went well, so $3 and a Home Depot / Ace trip should have me running again. then I can have an Office Space party and destroy the old "clogs with one wad of toilet paper" toilet it replaced

Brilliant idea!!

I hit my old Kohler Ingenium Flush toilet with a sledge.

Your suggestion for something like the below -- the classic "printer scene" from Office Space, where the engineers finally kidnap and vanquish the constantly-malfunctioning printer that had been torturing them for years -- is a much better idea. Also lets the whole family participate. (Audio is of course NSFW.)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=528_1301224180

**Terry** · 03-07-2013, 09:25 AM

I couldn't finish the install last night due to lack of flange bolts.

I always sell my customers new closet bolts with the install kits. You can almost "never" reuse the old stuff.
2nd trip back to the store.............$4.00 in gas and 1 hour of time.