Before making a purchasing decision for an upflush toilet, you must consider its advantages and disadvantages. In essence, the benefits of an upflush toilet outweigh its potential drawbacks. This guide gives you a comprehensive outline of the pros and cons of upflush toilets so you can make an informed buying decision.
Pros and Cons of Upflush Toilets
If you are in the marketplace for a toilet, you should know that an upflush toilet offers you a raft of benefits that are absent in a regular toilet. However, they also come with their fair share of drawbacks.
Pros of Upflush Toilets
The common benefits of upflush toilets include:
1. Water Efficiency
If you are conscious about water usage in your home, then an upflush toilet is the best toilet for you. The toilets are highly efficient and use relatively fewer gallons of water per flush (GPF) than a standard flush toilet. Most notably, upflush toilets utilize an average of 1 GPF, while regular toilets use an average of 1.6 GPF. The comparatively lower water usage in upflush toilets is attributable to their slightly higher water level.
2. Easy Installation
You can install an upflush toilet yourself, even if you have little plumbing knowledge. It is worth noting that most installation manuals for upflush toilets are easy to comprehend, and it can you roughly 4 hours to install the toilet. Unlike standard flush toilets, the installation procedure entails minimal chipping and digging.
3. Greater Flexibility
An upflush toilets offer you greater flexibility regarding the places you can install it. It is worth noting that the toilet’s flushing system does not depend on gravity to wash away wastewater into sewer lines. While regular toilets can only be installed in rooms above sewer lines, macerating toilets can be installed in rooms that fall below the sewer line. In essence, the pump in an upflush toilet allows it to defy gravity and send liquid slurry upwards.
When purchasing a macerating toilet, positioning your home’s bathroom fixtures and drainage system is the least of your worries. Essentially, the toilet’s architecture and design enable you to install it as a semi-permanent solution if redesigning a section of your house is not an option.
4. Lower Long Term Costs
Purchasing an upflush toilet allows you to save money in the long term. While the initial cost of acquiring a macerating toilet may be relatively high, the unit lowers long-term costs in two ways. First, the upflush toilets minimize the need to dig the bathroom floor or break valuable items during installation. In contrast, installing regular toilets necessitates professional assistance, which is often costly.
The second way an upflush toilet lowers your long-term expenses is by reducing your water bills. On average, macerating toilets available in the market use relatively lower amounts of water than regular toilets. But, again, it is easier to notice the considerable water savings in your household when many people live in the home.
5. Durability
Durability constitutes a significant advantage of upflush toilets. It is worth noting that the manufacturers of macerating toilets design and produce the units with their durability in mind. A considerable proportion of the upflush toilets on sale in the market come with a warranty of at least ten years. Essentially, the lengthy warranty demonstrates that they last as long as a regular toilet.
6. Aesthetic Value
The appearance of macerating toilets is aesthetically pleasing because they are made of high-quality materials. Also, the toilets derive their aesthetic value from their unique designs and chrome finishes. Moreover, the toilets’ design gives them a modern, sleek, and stylish appearance that matches or even surpasses standard toilets.
7. Saves Bathroom Space
When purchasing an upflush toilet, you do not need to worry that the macerating tank will require additional bathroom space. In essence, the tank occupies the area behind the toilet bowl, thus ensuring that you do not have to carve up extra space in your bathroom. Moreover, most upflush toilets have an elongated toilet bowl that gives you comfort and enables you to save on floor space in your bathroom.
8. Portability
Buying an upflush toilet gives you value for money because the units are easily portable. Unlike regular one-piece toilets, the relatively easy portability associated with macerating toilets allows you to move it around your house effortlessly.
9. Easy Maintenance
Another advantage linked to upflush toilets includes easy maintenance. Unlike regular toilets, upflush toilets don’t need a lot of care. As such, the toilet reduces your maintenance costs and saves you the headache of having to open up the unit regularly.
10. Seamless Integration
An upflush toilet is advantageous because it shares the bathroom drainage with other bathroom accessories, including sinks. Essentially, a macerating unit has design specifications that consider their seamless integration into your bathroom.
Cons of Upflush Toilets
Even though upflush toilets have a raft of advantages, they also have multiple disadvantages. The common drawbacks include:
1. Noise and Vibration
When compared to a regular toilet, an upflush toilet is noisier. It is worth noting that the toilet’s noise emanates from the macerating tank, which shreds solid waste materials into a watery slurry. If the macerating toilet is located in a basement or a room below the sewer line, the pump is likely to generate additional noise in your house. Upflush toilets are also prone to vibrations. The macerating tank may vibrate when foreign debris is stuck in the macerating blades or when the micro-switch is faulty.
2. High Price
If you want to purchase a macerating toilet, you’ll need to dig deeper into your pockets. Notably, an upflush toilet has a relatively higher cost when compared to a regular toilet because of the extra parts, including the macerating tank. The price difference between a standard and a macerating toilet is often in the range of hundreds of dollars.
3. Power Cuts
Power cuts make up another drawback associated with upflush toilets. The toilet’s macerating tank and pump system rely on electric power, and potential power cuts can inconvenience you. If you reside in an area with an unreliable power supply, you should consider getting a backup power source.
Wrapping Up
While macerating toilets have a few drawbacks, such as noise and high price tags, they’re certainly designed for flexibility and versatility. You can install an upflush toilet virtually anywhere in your home, including the basement and the attic. Besides, you won’t have to break floors or walls to lay pipes and other plumbing works. All you need is a cold water supply, a drain pipe attached to your macerating pump, and a power outlet.
