Toto Aquia dual flush toilet product review, comments and posts.

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Terry

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Notice the screw cover down low, closer to the wall.

In addition to the two closet bolts, the adapter is held down by two more points at the back, closer to the wall.

There are also two blocks near the wall that use two screws each.
These are for the side mounted attachment screws with chrome covers.

That makes a total of six holes that would be drilled in tile.
Installation instructions for Aquia
 
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Remodeling

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Thanks Terry...guess their spec sheet is not very good as it does not mention any of that...unless I missed something...is there a better drawing that shows all of what you'd mentioned?
 

Margi

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Gotta agree about how pleased I am with the Acquia. Comfy (love the ADA height), flushes incredibly well, and is usually clean (although I keep a small brush set next to each toilet just in case). We've had them since February and have them in 2 bathrooms -- master and hall used by a teen. ONCE in all this time I had to flush a 2nd time -- and that's using the .9 gal -- twice with this is still waaaay less water than the multiple times I had to flush with the old toilets. We bought them just before our water district's voucher program ended -- saved $165 PER TOILET (we saved only $75 on the Toto Ultramax we needed for the powder room due to counter height restrictions -- otherwise would have used another Acquia). Love, love, love these toilets (and love confounding guests, LOL). Only complaint about the slow close seat involves "husband training" -- if he leaves it open, I need to wait for it to slowly close before I can use it.....he needs to be retrained, LOL.
 

JJ4444444

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I am seriously looking at putting these toilets in a new home I am building. The one concern I have is about the flush buttons. I have long fingernails and when flushing cannot use a fingertip to flush as most would.

Do the buttons stick up enough that you can use your finger about where the top knuckle is to flush without a problem or do you have to really push down into a recessed area to flush these toilets?
 

Peanut9199

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The button is a circle the smaller side for 3 litre and the larger for 6 litres.
It pushes into a channel, you can use a knuckle to push but both will go down as the smaller side is to small to fit just a knuckle.
Hope that helps?

I concur, knuckles are a little too large to press just one button.
Terry
 
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herbolaryo

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Any comment on the noise level when you flush Aquia???:confused:

It would be nice if there is a section about noise level for different toilets...Similar to the Maximum Performance rating done by veritec... All one need is a noise meter... Of course... it should be a controlled setting... like same plumbing or preferably same room...

P.S. Gotta love this forum... I believe no where else can you talk about toilet with such detail... Thanks Terry for opening such a forum...

A section about jokes & toilet humor would be a nice addition... Just for the fun of it...
 
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Terry

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Fairly quiet,
TOTO Aquia, with a slight thump. 80 db
TOTO Ultramax, 78 db
Vortens 1.0 pressure assist, 86 db
 
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Mad Plumber

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Toto Aquia CST414M with SS114 seat.

I found your website very helpful in deciding which toilet to purchase. We decided on the Total Dual Flush which we're very happy with since it was installed 3 days ago. But I have 2 questions and a comment. One question--is it necessary to use the larger flush for solid waste? The .9 gal flush is effective, but do we risk having the solid waste clog up the pipe along the way to the sewer?

The comment is that, for readers who are not remodeling their bathrooms, be aware that the "footprint" of the new toilet is different from that of the old one. In one bathroom, the formerly-hidden linoleum looks stained and in the other bathroom, we're left with an unsightly white dried putty-like substance. Is there some product that will dissolve that? Otherwise we'll need to replace the linoleum. Had we known that that could be a problem, we would have planned to replace the linoleum at the same time as the new toilet was installed.

On another note, some people drop a square or two of tissue in the bowl first. It keeps the bowl clean, and prevents any splash.
 

Gregw1

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remove dried putty/caulk

You can usually remove the dried putty or caulking by scraping with a putty knife. Pain thinner will soften it if nessesary.
 

TallGuy

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Aquia just installed..Caroma installed day before

Installed a Toto Aquia yesterday.

I am not a plumber. Have removed and re-installed one toilet until this week!

The installation is different than most but not difficult. Admittedly, mounting on ceramic tile or concrete would present drilling problems that I did not encounter on wood. However, paper template is provided and allows for easy alignment of mounting blocks and plastic adapter/trap. Instructions provided are good but not perfect. Recommend that you read them completely before starting to get an idea of the whole process.

Suggestions when installing:
Bowl... Instructions state to slide the bowl into the adapter/trap until it touches the wall. I would leave at least 1/4 inch between back of bowl and wall. Instructions for attaching tank contradict that by warning against tank touching wall! Back of bowl aligns with tank so to keep tank from touching wall the bowl should not touch the wall either.

Tank... Installation requires careful even tightening of the two brass fasteners to avoid slow leaks. If leak occurs, remove tank and make second attempt to tighten evenly. Be sure to place tank to bowl gasket fully on the bottom of the tank to prevent leaks there too! The flush mechanism was set at 7 litres. Be sure to set it to 6 litres.

Footprint issues...
I installed a Caroma One-piece EL ADA the day before the Toto Aquia.
Somewhat easier to install due to one piece construction. Aquia has a shorter footprint than many toilets, and the skirt tapers at the front. It would not cover the footprint of old toilet in master bedroom ensuite bathroom without extra flooring work. Caroma covered it easily! Similar footprint issue exists in main bathroom so another Caroma will go in there.

Aquia looks great installed in the main floor powder room which did not have the footprint problem.

Performance...
Cannot say much about performance of these toilets due to short time they have been in use. They both flush well, fill fast and you will probably have to get used to brushing after use. I would rather brush than plunge clogs or deal with overflows. The old Crane toilets sometimes had to be snaked to clear them! They often had to be double flushed and they used more than the previous "standard" of 13 litres per flush! Based on the research I did before purchase I believe I can get rid the plungers and the snake too.

I noticed that both the Aquia and the Caroma make the same noise when the half flush is used. "Thunk" can be heard just as the flush finishes. That noise is not present when full flush is used.

We have plenty of TOTO Aquia toilets for the Seattle area now.
We just picked up 40 of them.
11/6/2007
 
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Ktscott01

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Install

I must say that installation took me 2 hours. This is the 1st toilet I have ever installed so it was a slow go and the directions aren't the best at all.

OK so I came back to give my evaluation.
I still fume on how horrible the installation was. I even called Toto with no call back after I was on hold forever and left a message.

Overall so far I like the toilet. I have not seen the leaking problems. Maybe I used the magic tightness so it didn't leak on me, but I have no clue what that is or was.

I can echo a lot of the common complaints. Small water spot & tank cover not attached.

I have found for the most part the .09 flush will also work for solids. If anything is left it is mostly paper.

I do not like the bolts used to attach the seat. I cannot get them tight so the seats slides a little on the base when you sit down.

Oh I do find its not very easy to clean the toilet at the very bottom of the inside of the bowl. My water has some sediment and it leaves a brown film where the water trickles after flushed and in the bottom where the water sits. I know its my water but the curve at the bottom makes it difficult to get the brush in there easy. I might need a smaller brush.

Overall I think this is a good first try for Toto. Some improvements can be made and hopefully soon since these seem to be getting hotter. I have 2 more to replace in my house but I'm going to wait until Toto comes out with another model or I see some other manufactures.

Oh I can't really say if my water bill has went down yet. I have only got 2 bills since I installed and they were down $5 but I don't know from where.
 
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Johnworker

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More Install Tips

I just installed two Toto Aquia toilets in my home because my local water district will give me $150.00 for each one. The comments about the instructions not being the best are correct, but carefull scrutiny and common sense will get you through. I have a few tips that may help. The big screws that hold down the mounting blocks are real pieces of ****! Do yourself a favor and get either the same size screw (1/4"x2 1/2") with a phillips head or even a lag bolt of the same size. I stripped two of the screws installing the first toilet and had to raid the hardware on the second to finish the job as it was New Years Day and nothing was open. I enlarged the pilot hole slightly and was able to get the screws in. On the second toilet I used lag bolts with a socket on my drill and had them tight in seconds, and no blisters!
When attaching the tank you really have to crank that sucker tight. This was hard for me because in my experience with toilets you snug bolts up just enough to avoid cracking the porcelain. After the first toilet was in I spent lots of time feeling around the base for leaks and was happy to find none (or so I thought). I was feeling good after getting the second toilet in untill I noticed water on the floor. I contorted myself around to start feeling where the leak was and finally figured it was the tank bolts. I tightened them up, but was still unsure if they were water tight so I used a paper towel and slipped it between the tank and bowl to check for water. Sure enough the towel came out wet, this was residual water from the leak so I used the towel to dry it up and then another to see if water was still leaking. It took several times tightening the bolt to stop the leaking, but I really had to put my back into it to get the bolts tight. Fortunately nothing broke. I then went back to the first toilet and used the paper towel technique to check for water and sure enough I needed to tighten those bolts as well.
When sliding the tank onto the plastic base, wet the rubber first and the tank will slide on easily. Same thing with the rubber seat bolt anchors.
 

CQ

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Leaking Tank Bolts

I have also just installed the same toilet just last night. It seems that most forums I've read about this toilet state exactly the same complaints about the install (poor instructions, wrong drill bit sizes, leaky tank to bowl connections) and some of the questionable performance features. Most of it was true with my installation experience however it is a pretty sharp looking toilet! (Seems a bit strange to say that! haha)

However, I am having the same problem with the leaky tank bolts. I've tightened the bolts down fairly tight and there seems to be an acceptable bit of play in the movement of the tank (ie. 1/4-1/2"). One other poster had suggested tightening the bolts to the point where the tank hits the stops on the toilet. That seems awfully excessive!? (Maybe it's not- honestly I don't know) I was wondering if some plumbers putty or silicone might be a better solution? Seems to be a mixed opinion on that.

It's my first bathroom DIY. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 

Terry

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We sand the inside of the tank where the bolt connections are.
The bolts should be as in the picture, with the rubber near the tank, then the washer, then the bolt.
We normally rotate the flush valve out while we tighten, and replace when done.
The bolts need to be turned bit by bit, side to side. In otherwords, evenly.
We install these all the time, and it's just a matter of slowing down.
We don't use anything on the rubber washers.

Plumbers putty will cause leaks
 
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MrsMoo

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From what I think I gather, most of you have installed in new construction. Has anyone had any experience with installing one of these toilets in an old house with the old cast iron waste lines? If so how well has it functioned?
 

riverdale

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Distnace of tank to wall with 12" rough-in?

I have just about made up my mind about this toilet but have a very quick question. When the toilet is installed with a 12" rough-in, how far is the back of the tank away from the wall?

My existing toilet RI distance is 12" from the baseboard. So add perhaps an additional 1/2" to account for that. However, the back of my tank is 2" from the wall. These toilets were installed about 10 years ago. Is it just likley they used a toilet with a 10" RI and the plumber assumed a 12"? Was a 10" RI standard 10 years ago? Most of the stuff they installed in this place is off the shelf at Home Depot.

Trust me when I say the previous owners have found a way to screw up just about everything else in this house so the toilet is unlikely to be an exception!

Thanks
 
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