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If you have a small bathroom, you'll also need a good compact toilet to match it. This will help you make the most of the space available. And while most makes and models on the market are of a similar size, there are certain features that will take up less room.
For example, an elongated shape bowl tends to protrude further from the wall. You can remove this problem by getting yourself one with a round bowl. Alternatively, there are toilets with triangular tanks that are designed to be installed into a corner.
We've chosen a few of our favorites below and reviewed their specifications individually. There is also a guide explaining the benefits of each of the features included. For specifics, why not read our 24/25" and 26" depth guide.
If aesthetics are important to you, you'll love the design of the K-4007. It has quite a low profile tank which seamlessly combines with a contemporary round front bowl that doesn't extend too far from the wall.
It's also efficient, using just 1.28 gallons per flush and meeting the Environmental Protection Agency standards for water conservation.
Overall, this model includes many of the features we look for in a residential toilet, and could be a suitable upgrade to an older, inefficient unit.
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| Kohler San Souci | American Standard H2Optimum |
Swiss Madison Sublime II |
HOROW | GALBA | |
| Model number | K-4007-0 | 288DA.114.020 | SM-1T257 | HWMT-8733 | MU133 |
| Rough in | 12" | 12" | 12" | 12" | 12" |
| Flush type | HET | HET | Dual | Siphonic | Dual |
| Touchless | |||||
| Trip lever | |||||
| Button | |||||
| GPF | 1.28 | 1.1 | 0.8 / 1.28 | 1.28 / 1.6 | 0.8 / 1.6 |
| WaterSense | |||||
| MaP | N/A | 600g | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| ADA | |||||
Rim height
Height without seat
|
15-1/4" | 15" | 15.5" | 15-3/8" | 15-3/6" |
| Elongated | |||||
| Round | |||||
| Square | |||||
WSA
Water surface area
|
9-1/4" x 6-3/4" | 9" x 8" | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Water level
Rim to surface |
6-5/16" | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dimensions | 25.6 x 16.8 x 24.2" | 15 x 27.8 x 30" | 24 x 14 x 28" | 25 x 13.4 x 28.4" | 24.5 x 14 x 27" |
| Weight | 92 lbs | 72.1 lbs | 89 lbs | 96 lbs | 90 lbs |
| Trap size | 2-1/8" | 2" | 2.75" | N/A | 2" |
| Flush valve | 3" | 2" | 1.5" | N/A | N/A |
| Concealed trap | |||||
| Skirted | |||||
| One piece | |||||
| Two piece | |||||
| Intelligent | |||||
| Floor mount | . | ||||
| Wall mounted | |||||
| Colors | White, Almond, Biscuit | White | White | White | White |
| Seat | |||||
| Soft close | |||||
| Bidet | |||||
| Supply | |||||
| Rating | 84% | 83% | 83% | 82% | 82% |
Externally, the K-4007 features two things that are important in saving space. A round bowl, and a one piece design. It's floor mounted, measures 25.6 x 16.8 x 24.2 inches, and can be found in a number of different colors including white, dune, almond, and biscuit.
Visually, its seamless style looks beautiful and will add a modern touch to any washroom. The chrome plated trip lever can be a great match theme wise for other bathroom hardware such as faucets and shower heads.
And unlike many other products in this industry, the seat is included. The K-4009 Reveal, Quiet-Close lid and seat will help prevent loud slams. The quick release hinges are great too, you will be able to remove the seat whenever you need to, be it for maintenance or cleaning.
It operates on a single flush, gravity fed system, with the AquaPiston cannister that ensures water flows into the bowl from all sides. This ensures the bowl rinse is through and effective, leaving it free of waste for the next user.
The flush itself only sends 1.28 gallons of water through, which allows it to meet WaterSense criteria. To find out how much you can save by upgrading to a product with this label, click here.
It will fit a 12" rough in, and it has a 2-1/8" trap passage. It also has a 9-1/4" x 6-3/4" water surface area, and a reasonably large distance from rimto water level, measuring 6-5/16".
However, if you're a fan of comfort height bowls, you may want to look elsewhere, as this one measures 15-1/4" from the floor to the rim.
The 288DA.114.020 may not be the most impressive functionality wise, but with a more affordable price than many of it's competitors, this may be an option for those of you working with a small budget.
The bowl and tank aren't attached together upon delivery, meaning this is a two piece model, and it's got a round front bowl. However, you should be able to find it with an elongated shape too.
Its a standard sized bowl, measuring fifteen inches to the rim. Falls short of ADA standards, but not every household requires this, and in many cases, people prefer it as it improves your sitting posture for passing waste through the body.
If you want something eco friendly, it could be a great upgrade. You have high efficiency, and ultra high effficiency. This is the latter. The 1.1 GPF rate will save you thousands of gallons of water each year, which also means it's a WaterSense product.
It will fit a standard 12" rough in, and it has a bowl surface that's fully glazed with a coating known as EverClean. This coating smooths over the pores and prevents dirt, waste, and bacteria from building up, producing bad smells that emit to the surrounding areas. In fact, coupled with a fairly large water spot that measures 9" x 8", this will help keep odors down for longer.
The trap passage way isn't particularly big though. The measurement given is two inches, so if you want something bigger, read this guide.
Readers should be aware that the seat doesn't come included, so while it's seen as inexpensive, you do need to account for these extras as they tend to drive the price up quite a bit.
The Sublime II sets itself apart from the competition through its dual flushing mechanism. This simply means users will get a choice between two different levels of water. One flush will be heavier and built to rinse the bowl thoroughly, and the other is designed to save water in scenarios where a strong flush is unecessary.
Looking deeper into this system, we can also confirm that it's a low flow model. The gallons per flush figures given by the manufacturer are 0.8 and 1.28 GPF. This is quite noteworthy as the majority of dual systems utilize a 1.6 GPF on the full flush. This means that regardless of flush you choose, you're using a small amount of water in comparison to 1.6 / 3.5 / 5.0 GPF units.
It's one piece and seamless, making it easy to clean, and has quite a short depth, measuring 24 inches. In fact, looking at the full product dimensions on its spec sheet, we can see that it's a fairly modest 24 x 14 x 28 inches.
A compatible soft closing seat is included, to help keep bathroom usage quiet and slam free. This will help your seat last longer and help prevent damage to the ceramic.
The bowl is skirted which adds to the overall contemporary theme and it's finished in a beautiful white. You can learn more about the benefits of skirted toilet bowls here.
The company behind the HWMT-8733 claims this models flush is both powerful and quiet. Looking into this further, it's a siphonic dual flush system, with an efficient 1.28 GPF for liquids and 1.6 GPF for solids. Both of these options are activated on top of its tank via buttons that are chrome plated.
The sides and front are skirted, concealing the trapway from view, and it's one piece adding to the modernistic theme.
It's floor mounted, and has a seating height of sixteen and a half inches from the base. So it doesn't quite meet ADA standards. However, the taller they are, the more space they consume. In fact, to help you plan, the full dimensions given are 25 inches in length by 13.4 inches in width by 28.4 inches in height.
Maintenance of the bowls surface becomes easier thanks to the inclusion of glazing. This simplifies cleaning, which is always a positive, but it has another important use. Because it's coated over the ceramic china, it forms a protective barrier that stops waste and germs from clogging up the tiny pores. This has a big effect on how effectively the bowl rinses and keeping odors at bay.
Users will also appreciate the five year limited warranty that will provide coverage against the fading of the above glaze. You also get three years coverage on both the seat and flushing issues.
The MU133 offers consumers a simple but modern design for their homes. It's one piece, finished in white, and the flush activation buttons are chrome.
As the main focus of this guide is to ensure you make the most of the space available to you, you'll no doubt like the smaller dimensions, which are listed as 24.5 inches by 13.5 inches by 28.5 inches.
If fits a standard twelve inch rough in, has an elongated shape bowl, and a two inch, fully glazed trapway. This glaze is anti microbial and will help fend of odors and bacteria.
It rinses the bowl through a innovation known as a Vortex Spiral Flush. Combined with the two flush mechanism (0.8 / 1.6 GPF), it ensures the bowl is left spotless and ready for the next user.
The seat is included, but researching further into the seat that comes with it, there seeems to be several complaints surrounding it's durability and strength, which is something that loses it some rating points in our book.
Rough in - In floor mounted products, a toilets rough in is essentially the measurment from your washrooms wall behind the tank to the center of the waste outlet. Most homes will be twelve inches. And the availability of this size on the market reflects that. However, some of you will find their outlets a couple of inches over or under this. If you fall into this category, have a read of our ten inch and fourteen inch guides. Readers should note that this measurement needs to be fairly accurate, or you risk asking for a refund later. So, if you feel this is too confusing for you, we recommend getting a plumber in to measure it.
Height of bowl - The lower you have to bend to sit down, the harder it is on your joints and muscles. This can be problematic for the disabled and elderly. That's why manufacturers have designed bowls that are taller than average, known as comfort height. By adding a few extra inches on top, the amount of stress and weight being beared by your body when sitting and standing is reduced. To get the comfort height label, a product must be seventeen inches tall at minimum. Which, as it happens, is also what's required to be ADA compliant.
How much water does it use? - This is something that should be carefully considered, not just by consumers, but also by brands in the industry. By bringing down the amount of water used per flush (GPF), there will be a positive environmental and economical impact. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency has their own guidelines that determine if a toilet is efficient or not. Those that meet these guidelines can be given the WaterSense label. These products differ from standard options because they can only use up to 1.28 gallons per flush. Sometimes even less. Your average family household can save more than ten thousand gallons per year as a result.
Performance - One of the simplest ways to determine how well a flushing mechanism performs is by looking at the MaP ratings online. This is a test run by Maximum Performance that gives individual products from various companies a score for how well they remove waste in bulk. The majority of these pass with great marks, but you have to watch out for the ones that don't. We recommend choosing something that scores 500 grams and above on their 0-1000 gram scale.
Where will it be installed? - It's easy to say you require a low profile toilet. But there are certain situations where this information alone won't be enough. For example, you may find the products we chose above work well in standard plumbing set ups, but some people need to install it in unconventional places in the home. A good example of this is in basement bathrooms. They require toilets with a macerating pump because they are below the sewer line. Meaning the standard gravity fed mechanisms won't remove the waste for you. So knowing the location and the specific requirements of installing it there is important.
You may also consider buying a toilet sink combination. These are sinks that slot on top of the tank and use far less water in doing so.
Seat - If the seat isn't included in the price, you need to adjust your budget accordingly. Sometimes it's included, other times not. It really comes down to the manufacturer. However, if you find yourself in need of a seat, there are a number of options you can choose. Arguably the most common among these are slow closing seats. They have specially designed hinges that make it impossible to slam shut. Noise reduction and damage prevention being the main advantages of owning one. Alternatively, you can get yourself a bidet, which sprays water jets to the front and back to help you clean up more effectively than toilet paper. These are expensive though.
Brand - The reality is, this is quite a competitive industry. Not just for toilets, but all sanitary ware. But just like any consumer, we do have our own personal favorites. Among them are Toto, Woodbridge, Mansfield, Sterling, Swiss Madison, American Standard, Gerber, Ove, and Kohler. It wouldn't be right for us to suggest just one from this list. Each company has plenty of advantages and innovations that may benefit you. Instead, we'll leave you to read each of the guides above and come to your own conclusions.
You may be lacking floor space, but small toilets don't have to lack features and functionality. Thats why we picked the products above. They come equipped with the power and performance to handle bathroom usage in a busy household. What's more, several of the flushing systems included are highly efficient, which can put a dent in your utility bills at the end of the year. However, before you decide to part with your money, make sure you do your due dilligence and read consumer feedback around the web, be it through forums or online shops.