Toto Soiree or Guinevere review, installing, comments and pictures

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lennym

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Thanks for the response. We have NYC water which is really very good, good enough to filter and sell as bottled water which is actually done. I use no cleaner of any sort. The toilet doesn't need any. I have had a Toto Carrollton upstairs for about 7 years without a problem. Perhaps just a bad flapper this time. The Soiree does get more use than any other toilet in the house. But funny how it "fixes" itself.
 

Gary Swart

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You can buy a new flapper for just a few dollars and it takes only a couple of minutes to change it. If that is not the problem, you will have invested very little and will have at least verified that the flapper is not the problem. My guess: It's the flapper. Either the water quality or perhaps just a early demise of the flapper.
 

lennym

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Well, what do you know. They have actually changed the design of the flapper. Toto sent me a replacement. It now has three little ridges on the top at the far end, evidently to stiffen that part of the flapper that was dragged into the valve seat. Hope to get more than a year out of this one.

The flapper that came out was noticeably curled up at that end. A design defect? Too much water in the tank? The water comes to within 1/2 inch of the top of the white tube. Is that where it is supposed to be?
 
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Jadnashua

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FWIW, Toto does not make the fill valves or the flappers that they supply with their toilets although they are made to their specs for them. While they have several suppliers, the majority are made for them by Korky. In the scheme of things, one hopes things get incremental or evolutionary improvements - that may be one of them. Only time will tell.
 

Gary Swart

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I don't think it matters how high the water is in the tank, only the set amount will be released on the first flush. If you opt for a the "big gulp", the tank will empty so that could be more than the standard flush. On a positive side of that, if the tank has a bit more water, then the possibility of condensation is reduced as the water remaining in the tank will temper the cold incoming a little more than typical. Your post has reminded me to pick up a couple of extra flappers to have on hand, so thank you for that!
 

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Oops! Not a pleasant experience yesterday. First, the plumber sent out by my "Silver rated" Toto dealer couldn't figure out how to install the toilet. He got all the way to dropping the cone into the adapter and couldn't make it fit in. He said it wouldn't fit because there wasn't enough space to the wall and I needed to strip the tile off the wall. After he left (with a $155 check), and I got over my shock and removed the bottom 6 tiles, I tried to seat the toilet and found I was having the same problem. Then the answer came to me.... Press down. With a little pressure the cone slipped into the adapter as smooth as silk. The 2 hours I'd spent stripping tiles off a 40 year mortar bed was totally unnecessary. So, why am I still unhappy. Check out the video. I know these toilets are super flushers. What's wrong with mine? And what's with that pathetic gargling at the end of the flush. I know I'm missing something pretty obvious but, frankly, I'm exhausted and my brain just ain't functioning. Thanks in advance, guys...

 
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Terry

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Pull the tank lid cover off and make sure that the refill tube from the fill valve is pointed down the overflow tube.
This is what refills the bowl.

If the bowl is not full at the beginning, then the flush from the tank only fills the bowl, it doesn't flush the bowl.

I'm sorry that your installer was clueless.

Yes, you install the adapter with wax, bolts and screws to the floor.
And then you drop the bowl onto that. Most homeowners figure that out pretty easily.
It's too bad that many plumbers don't read the instructions. The paperwork that comes with the toilet shows how much room is behind the tank with a standard 12" rough. You don't have to guess at this.
At 12", you should have 3/4" behind the tank.

The next step after "reading" that, is to use a "tape measure"
The two tools your plumber should have used were

"reading glasses"
"tape measure"

The rest is common sense.


ms974_inside_tank.jpg


flange_03.jpg

An adapter installed on tile using the green inserts and the screws that come in the Unifit Box.

 
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dinkledoodle

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Thank you Terry. Sorry for the vent, but as I said I was just tired. This is how he attached the refill tube. It isn't the overflow, but it does point down it. And as you see there is still no flush. Oh well... (p.s. It was the 10" adapter.)

 
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Jadnashua

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Owning a couple of similar Totos, what you are seeing is not normal. It looks like you probably have a drain line obstruction or, when they installed the adapter, they blocked part of the drain with the wax.
 

dinkledoodle

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Arrrrrrgh! You're not going to believe this. I walked in this morning, gave it a pity flush and voila! Flushed perfectly. What did I do? Absolutely nothing! I have no idea what happened. It was a miracle... I have a self-healing toilet... :)
 

Jadnashua

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It's possible that you have a partial drain line blockage, and that overnight, it drained down so there was plenty of room for the waste water to go. It sounds like it's not the toilet at all, and a drain line problem.
 

Terry

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The Soiree and the Guinevere need the water supply 6" to the left of center.
Most toilets can get by with 3" to the left of center.

I used to plumb the water at six inches anyway, so it's not normally an issue.

toto_guinevere_ultramax_bac.jpg
 

Glnow

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Random question.

Are current Guineveres, or other Totos that make use of the uni-fit, still prone to a dripping sound as soon as waste enters the bowl?

unifit-install-01.jpg


No. The Unifit has been redesigned to be quiet now. Terry Love

All of the threads that talk about this are a few years old, and there was some speculation back then that Toto was going to change the plastic, or add a coating, or something to address the dripping sound. Just curious if that ever ended up happening?
 
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Jadnashua

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Mine are the older ones (no idea if they really changed them), and the sound is so subtle, once you understand what it is, it goes into the background noise like the furnace blower, ticking clocks, wind, etc. It really isn't a big deal. All toilets do this, but not many have some plastic in the drain line. The addition of those liquids or solids make more noise than the overflow going down the drain, and it equilizes shortly after those stop.
 

Glnow

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Mine are the older ones (no idea if they really changed them), and the sound is so subtle, once you understand what it is, it goes into the background noise like the furnace blower, ticking clocks, wind, etc. It really isn't a big deal. All toilets do this, but not many have some plastic in the drain line. The addition of those liquids or solids make more noise than the overflow going down the drain, and it equilizes shortly after those stop.

Yeah I got used to it a long time ago, though it still gets annoying explaining exactly what you said above to visitors when they tell me I have a leak (can u believe, not everyone in the world reads toilet forums! I mean come on, what's wrong with these people :p ). I just got to wondering if Toto ever did anything about it, maybe with the 1.2 flush versions, for example.
 
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Marie Koch

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caulk???

But you never caulk all the way around as that would mask a leak from the toilet draining, right?


Wax between the adapter and the floor flange is what seals the sewer gas.

The caulk is to prevent water from going under the bowl from the front.

The Soiree and the Guinevere should come with a 12" adapter in the box.
I have no idea why there would be a 10"
Sometimes for various reasons we will install them with a 10" though.
 

homehunter808

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I have 3 Soirees in my house. The flush is fantastic, the bowl-clean is very good. My only complaint, other than the sound effects, is that the bowl shape is such that there's quite a bit of splash-back when women use it. Since there are no men in my household, I have to remember to clean the underside of the seat frequently. Very frequently. Surely they could engineer a shape that doesn't cause so much splash. I never had this issue with my UltraMax/GMax or any other brand of toilets.
 

WILLIAM69

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Toto guinevere ms974224cef(g) pedestal

When installed, how far from the wall to it's outermost front edge on the floor, does the toilet extend? Many thanks.

ms874_log_cabin.jpg
 
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