Toto Ultramax product review, comments & pictures

[Reader Review]

Jamie came out and installed a new toilet at my house several weeks ago. I love it
TOTO Ultramax MS854114S
Eric D
Kirkland WA

[Reader Review]

Terry,

I just want thank you for your website. I am in the process of major remodeling of my condo. I did a lot of research on toilets and plumbing and your website with comments on specific products helped me make the right choices. I purchased a Toto Ultramax toilet and installed it in my 1st floor bathroom. This one piece low flow and very quiet toilet is great! The amount of flush power is amazing. It works like a charm. I have yet to do a courtesy flush and doubt that I ever will. I can usually do a half flush by pushing the handle quickly. It only uses half of the water in the tank. It refills in about 7 seconds and is very quiet compared to most toilets. I like it so much that I installed 2 more in the upstairs bathrooms. I intend to build a full bath in my basement and you can guess which toilet I have already decided on. I am even looking at the Toto Bathtub as a possibility for my tub and shower.
Thanks again! Keep up the great work!!!

Daniel S
Columbus, Ohio

[Reader Review]

P.S. Toilet is installed and working great!

D Miller
Los Angeles, CA

[berchman]

On the basis of the recommendation of this web site I installed an Ultra Max with a T wash seat. Without getting too graphic, I will simply say that my very high fiber diet puts great demands on a toilet's flushing ability. While this Toto is a great improvement on the toilet I had before, it is no panacea. It *does* have to be plunged now and then. Moreover, while the expensive T wash seat is certainly better than nothing, it does not begin to equal a directed spray from a shower. "Residue" is still visible on the paper even after a lengthy high pressure wash. The dryer is useless unless you want to sit on a toilet forever. The warmed seat is nice. The anti-odor fan works. It is not necessary to spend for the most expensive model as I did for its fore and aft adjustment of the wash nozzle. One can simply shift one's position a little on the seat.
berchman

I'm assuming the post is about bidet seats or washlets.
I find that the Toto C110 washlet does a good job rinsing
Terry

[Headless Gal]

Dying to order the Ultramax but have a newbie question..........so please excuse me. My home was built in 1974 and the rough in measurements are approx 13 1/2" instead of the industry standard of 12". Instead of moving the sewer pipe I'm assuming (I know what they say) this just means the toilet would sit 1 1/2" farther out from the wall. Correct???
Since I'm wanting to purchase 2 of these babies and have them shipped to the L.A. area do you foresee any problems?. Guess I should also tell you I'm a woman who thinks she'll be able to do this with just a little help from her friends (for muscle). Go ahead, have a good laugh but I'm addicted to all of those DIY/HGTV shows.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
TIA, Sydney.

[Terry]

I sell tons of the Ultramax toilets in the LA area.
They will set out a bit farther, but then you old toilets were too.

[Headless Gal]

So does this puppy use a wax ring?

[Terry]

Does it use wax?
It installs like any other toilet.
Depending on your situation, you may wind up using a single or two wax rings.
Or you can also use a Waxless seal.

[torontotoiletguy]

Picked up my TOTO MS604114CEF Ultramax after reading user reports and reviews on this and other web sites and watching the videos on YOUTUBE. Just in the nick of time as I had already picked up a Koehler Class 5 Cimarron at the Home Depot as the salesman told me it was their "best". Pardon the pun. Crap.

The Ultramax I picked up is called an Ultramax II actually; is ADA height, slow close seat included, SaniGloss, ultra water conservation (I get a whack of money back from the government against my Canadian $575 investment. It will net me about $500 total.) I also forked out for a new wax ring... but not just a regular one. Based on the reviews and suggestions I got one with a "cone" on it to center everything, bought new mounting bolts as well. One piece toilet. 1.28GPF flush but if you hold the handle down a little longer it appears that the water continues to flow for a larger water volume (?).

Brought the beast home. It fit in the back of the Ford Flex with room to spare and was not all that heavy (we took two to carry it to be safe). Up the stairs, out of the box, onto the drain pipe and bolted down in ten minutes. Attach seat, water line, etc. another 10 minutes. No assembly. RED flapper guys.

Now to test it. Hmmmm. Already did MY business this morning and showered... nobody else in the house willing to be the guinea pig so I figured Kleenex would be sufficient for an initial test. Bad idea. I get carried away. I tossed a 1/4 box of Kleenex tissue into the toilet and flipped the lever. Gonzo! Wow! This would never happen with my old American Standard! So I tossed the entire rest of the LARGE box of Kleenex in and pulled the handle. Gonzo! But wait. Doesn't look quite right.... the water level is not going right down and out. IT IS PLUGGED. IT IS PLUGGED. (No overflow though). Out comes the plunger and with the instructions received on this website on its proper use I gave it one shove. Nothing. Two shoves. All gone and we are back in business. I have been trying all sorts of other stuff including one of the family's "dump of the century" and it all goes down and leaves a clean as a whistle bowl.

I am sorely disappointed by the Kleenex failure but not really surprised... after all, it was 3/4 of a LARGE box and it was not pulled apart... just plopped into the bowl like it sits in the box. All things being considered I cannot believe that there is a better toilet out there excepting perhaps the American Standard Champion 4 according to the videos on YOUTUBE. But they apparently have problems galore with 'run-on' and leakage (have lots of spare parts on hand I think is what the review said).

We have two bathrooms to go and I am going to install TOTO and only TOTO from now on. Might give the Drake a try as it is actually rated as flushing a greater volume of poop than the Ultramax II.

Anyone know the difference between the Ultramax and Ultramax II? We love it so far. The guy at the plumbing supply said to remove the weight from the flapper but we could not find a weight so I guess we are good to go (no pun intended).

[SteveW]

I've had the same experience with the Ultramax II. It can really handle a lot of waste without any fuss. Like any toilet, though, it can clog under extreme conditions (like trying to flush 3/4 box of Kleenex).

RE: the wax seal you used - the pros on this site are not too fond of the type you used, with the plastic "funnel" or horn - it sometimes will get caught on the flange during installation and end up occluding part of the hole and cause clogs later on. Better to use plain wax rings, or as Terry mentioned, a waxless seal like Fernco or Fluidmaster.

[torontotoiletguy]

I've had the same experience with the Ultramax II. It can really handle a lot of waste without any fuss. Like any toilet, though, it can clog under extreme conditions (like trying to flush 3/4 box of Kleenex)..

Agreed.... but I just had to know before testing it with the REAL McCoy. I consider its performance under the circumstances a pass and we are renting a boat to head out into Lake Ontario later this afternoon to look for that wad of Kleenex hoping it made it downtown.

RE: the wax seal you used - the pros on this site are not too fond of the type you used, with the plastic "funnel" or horn - it sometimes will get caught on the flange during installation and end up occluding part of the hole and cause clogs later on. Better to use plain wax rings, or as Terry mentioned, a waxless seal like Fernco or Fluidmaster.

Should have looked up the Fluidmaster part and description/installation information before heading off. Asked for the Fluidmaster and got the wax ring with the plastic 'funnel' ... funny thing is that the Koehler had the same thing inside the box and the kit that we purchased at another supplier also had the same thing. I thought it was the latest thing in wax seals to keep them from expanding under pressure and occluding part of the drain pipe and to ensure a solidly lined up poop hole (not being a commode techie). Seems to have done its job but now that we know how the whole thing works and how easy it is, should we have any future issues we will not hesitate to lift the toilet and investigate.

The Kleenex test was, as I said to my wife, the 'acid test' for me to ensure that (a) this commode is going to take a load of paper clumped up and keep on working; and (b) that this commode is not going to overflow should it get sorta plugged. Like I said to the better half I would rather be mopping up water and Kleenex than anything else, right?

And our bottom line?
(a) The Ultramax II, ADA height, elongated seat, SaniGlaze (?), slow close lid, ECO friendly, is awesome. As one fellow said, 'no more watching the victory laps around the bowl and praying that it completes successfully.' Flush. Gone. Wow.
(b) TOTO deserves the reputation based on what I have seen personally and what I have been reading and we will be putting TOTO's in our other two washrooms and in the basement when we get around to finishing it.

Thanks for a great website and much assistance. Now we are off to tackle the sinks; all American Standard with those stinking rivets running down from the overflow where the ceramic pops off looking like something has been dropped on the sink. Defective design - wonder if they will replace them based on grossly negligent design flaw. Might be interesting to subpoena some AS execs into the courtroom to find out if there was any knowledge of the flaw while it was happening and the sinks were being sold. In Kanada, we have Small Claims Court and for very few dollars one can file a claim for up to $10K per occurance; and for around $50 more per person have them served with subpoenas to come and bring all their pertinent records.

Or.. in the alternative for $60 a shot I can just replace the sinks with properly built ones. Wonder if TOTO makes sinks?

[jadnashua]

Or.. in the alternative for $60 a shot I can just replace the sinks with properly built ones. Wonder if TOTO makes sinks?

Yes, I have several in my home...with Sanagloss, too.

[torontotoiletguy]

Have had our TOTO Ultramax installed for a week now and I am impressed to say the least. It has taken our best and sent it to places unknown without so much as a victory lap. Flush. Gone. My early impression is that I would not purchase anything else but a TOTO product henceforth. Period. I gave American Standard some careful consideration, especially their Champion 4 line, but then noticed that our sinks in all the washrooms are American Standard and the porcelain is popping off where they have rivetted them. I have sent a request to AS for them to replace the sinks, although they may be out of 'written warranty' under common law which suggests that a product purchased shall be fit for its intended use. Not only were these products grossly defective, the fellow in the plumbing supply tells me that American Standard knew of the fault while they were being sold! Comments? Pix attached.

[Terry]

The lav must be over thirty years old.
In fact, that faucet looks closer to 40 years old.
Just pop in some new replacement porcelain lavs.

All brands of metal lavs rust like that after twenty years.
It's called, Wear and Tear.

[Reader Review]

Terry, I bought the Ultramax and it is working out fine.
Thanks.

S. Charnoviz