Toto Aquia Dual-Flush Toilet

I just fell in love with the most fabulous toilet on the market–okay rather one in my price range as Duravit and other high end brands have some pretty amazing models out right now–but the toilet I am referring to is the Toto Aquia Dual flush toilet. Discounted TOTO Toilets @ HomeClick.com

It is amazing and in the first month of usage, I have already noticed significant savings in our water bill. Which goes without saying as I traded in my water guzzling 3.5 flush per gallon toilet for a 1.6gpf for a “twosie” and 0.9gpf for a “onesie.” (As a TMI sidenote–I have been known to flush a twosie with a onesie flush, but I digress……)

Before purchasing, I did a lot of research into the dual flush concept. Clearly, America is, again, behind the times when it comes to dual flush toilets. They have been available in Australia and Europe for years. Whereas in the US, sales reps at the Home Depot have no idea what a dual flush toilet is and look at you like you are crazy and instead try to sell you on a toilet that can supposedly flush up to 36 golf balls–not sure why I would ever want a toilet that could flush 36 golf balls and if I did I might have bigger problems. Bygones.

I checked out the Caroma model, the Sterling Rockton, various Kohler models, but I could not resist the sleek design of the Toto Aquia. I had read several reviews citing the small water spot is small and may result in streaking–I have had the toilet in use for three months and have had no such issues.

I will agree, that the installation process is much more difficult than installing a standard toilet and resulted in my dad griping about why, for such a modern toilet, did they make it so difficult to install–as if Toto was getting too cute with their installation. There were some other design flaws–mailnly that the rubber gasket Toto provides (connecting the water tank to the toilet base) does not work very well. I read about this problem online, as other people noted that they were getting leaks because of poor gasket design. I couldn’t agree more. For a new, sleek toilet to have such a poor design (particularly given how much effort must have gone into creating the proto-type) makes no sense. I ended up going to a local hardware store to buy a basic rubber gasket with more of a “V” shape that minimizes the chances of leakage (the one provided by Toto looks like a hollowed-out hockey puck and has no “V” shape to it — it just slides around and doesn’t appear to seal very well).

Despite the issues with the installation, I have been thrilled with my new toilet. I love the look of it, but more over love the water savings. Going with a dual flush is an easy way to go green. So, the next time you are in the market for a new toilet, consider a highly eco-friendly and tres chic toilet – the Toto Aquia.

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(Updated September 29, 2008) Toto, as a company, has made a commitment to conservation. They have focused on designed powerful flushing toilets while using the least amount of water possible. The factory in Georgia recycles and reuses waste water from the manufacturing process. They work in conjuction with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to explore how to make their products more eco-friendly.