Do you know that you average 45 hours on the toilet annually? According to Homecare Plumber’s survey, most people also use this time for leisure, such as scrolling through social media. Therefore, you need to invest in your toilet for your bodily needs and relaxation. One of the toilets you can invest in is an upflush toilet.
Upflush toilets have the benefits of being affordable to run, portable, flexible, durable, compatible with more sanitary ware, need less maintenance, increase the value of the home, and allow for additional bathrooms. However, they’re noisy, costly to buy and rely on electricity.
What are Upflush Toilets?
Like the word suggests, upflush toilets flush the waste upwards, which is different from standard toilets that rely on gravity and pressure. The upflush toilet’s unique feature is the macerating or grinding pump installed behind the toilet.
This pump has several heavy-duty blades made from stainless steel that grind waste from the bathroom, turning it into liquid waste. Due to the macerating pump, you can also refer to upflush toilets as macerating toilets.
While installing the upflush toilets, you can install the macerating pump behind the wall and connect it to the toilet bowl using an extension pipe. Alternatively, you can place it behind the toilet. Due to this pumping mechanism and unique design, installing upflush toilets in rooms below the drainage is possible since they don’t rely on gravity is possible. Whether in basements, garages, or off-the-grid homes, upflush toilets will still work normally.
How Do Upflush Toilets Work?
For an upflush toilet to function, it requires less equipment than standard toilets. These include a macerating pump, discharge pipe, water supply, electric source, and sanitary sewer inlet. You can even install it without breaking the floor or the wall.
Once everything is set, the upflush toilets function as follows:
- After using the toilet, you flush it causing the water levels to rise and the motor of the macerator pump to turn on automatically.
- The motor causes the blades to start functioning. The blades grind the waste content into tiny particles to make a fine slurry. This process is super-fast and only takes about 3-5 seconds.
- The pump unit pumps the fine slurry through a ¾ or 1-inch diameter standard pipe.
- After pumping the waste into the pipe to the sewer, the upflush toilet is ready to be used again.
This process is quite efficient as it doesn’t need sewer lines to work.
Upflush Toilet Pros
Having understood the working mechanism of upflush toilets, you now need to know the benefits and downsides of this unique toilet system. They’re as follows:
| Upflush toilet pros | Upflush toilet cons |
| Saves money | Noisy |
| Highly portable | High initial costs |
| Highly flexible | Depends on electricity |
| Retain the aesthetics of normal toilets | Can get overworked. |
| Highly durable | |
| Compatible with other sanitary ware | |
| Allows for installation of other bathrooms | |
| Needs less maintenance | |
| Increases the value of the home |
The top advantages of upflush toilets are:
1. Saves You Money
If you are looking for a pocket-friendly toilet, an upflush toilet is the best choice for you. This toilet is cheap to install since you don’t require a lot of plumbing fixtures or breaking the wall and floor. Therefore, you won’t spend money hiring professionals for days to install it.
Unlike traditional toilets which use 1.6 gallons of water or more per flush, upflush toilets only use 1.28 gallons or less. Therefore, you will save a lot of money that would have gone to water utility bills. It also means that the toilet flush won’t affect the shower as much as a conventional toilet when the latter is in use.
Cleaning upflush toilets is no different from conventional toilets unless you’re cleaning the macerator which requires very occasional cleaning. With WD-40, you can clean most outside parts of the toilet with ease.
2. Portability
Upflush toilets are easy to install, uninstall, and carry around. If you want to move it from one room to another, you can easily unscrew it and carry it. However, the portability primarily depends on the particular model you purchased.
With this level of portability, you can easily switch your bathroom grading with the toilet as you please.
3. High Flexibility
As you probably know, many standard toilet flushing systems primarily depend on gravity and pressure to push waste into the drainage. This dependence makes them not flexible since you cannot install them in areas below the sewer.
On the other side, macerating toilets are adjustable and can be installed in any room since they depend on electricity to pump waste. With upflush toilets’ flexibility, you can install them without drilling your floor/wall or re-designing your entire plumbing system.
4. Retains the Aesthetics of Standard Toilets
Though the upflush toilet is designed differently, it still retains the aesthetics of regular toilets. The only significant difference is its pumping mechanism which utilizes a pump and macerator system.
However, the appearance, comfort, size, and stability of both upflush and traditional toilets are the same. More so, after installing the upflush toilet, you will realize that the bowl, flushing handle/button, seat, and other features are similar.
5. Durability
Upflush toilets have a long lifespan, just like standard toilets. If you purchase a good brand, you can be assured to flush the toilet over 50,000 times before you replace any of the unit’s components.
Typically, upflush toilets last for 10 to 15 years or longer. The lifespan is mainly dependent on how well you maintain the toilet by cleaning and maintenance practices. Besides the durability, most upflush toilets come with a 3-year warranty in case of breakages or repairs.
6. Compatible with other Sanitary Ware
You can attach other sanitary ware such as showers and sinks to your upflush toilets and use its pump to drain the waste away.
However, the bathroom hardware must be compatible with your toilet and be installed in the right way. It is easy to install the hardware to the toilet but you must consider the design of the hardware and upflush toilet.
7. Allows you to Install Additional Bathrooms
Upflush toilets’ compatibility is unmatched. Whether in the basement or guest room, you can add a bathroom and utilize the flushing mechanism of your upflush toilet.
With an upflush toilet, you can install a temporary restroom in houses with many occupants, homes being renovated, or in a home with elderly citizens who might be unable to access the toilets upstairs.
8. Requires Less Maintenance
Upflush toilets are made to last longer with less maintenance. Their unique design makes them remain clean and stainless. Due to the macerating unit that shreds waste, it is rare for your upflush toilet to clog or block.
9. Increases your Home’s Value
Do you know that adding an extra bathroom can increase your home’s value by 20% or more? Well, additional bathrooms mean more worth. However, it is expensive to construct an extra full traditional bathroom since it can require an investment of up to $50,000.
You can cut the cost by installing an upflush toilet which increases your home’s value thus giving you a good return on investment if you sell the house. Since installing an upflush toilet is straightforward, you can install it yourself and save more money.
Upflush Toilet Cons
Some upflush toilet problems include:
1. High Noise Level
Macerating toilets are noisy since the blades in the unit produce noise when grinding the waste into tiny particles. If you prefer a quiet flushing unit, consider installing the traditional compact units which lack the macerator that makes noise.
2. High Initial Cost
Though maintaining upflush toilets is relatively cheap, their buying prices are generally higher than traditional units. While standard toilets cost less than $600, macerating toilets can cost you $1000 or more to buy.
3. Require Electric Power to Function
Upflush toilets function seamlessly when connected to a power source. However, if there is a blackout, the flushing unit won’t work. More so, all hardware connected to the macerator stops functioning when the power goes off. Therefore, it is only ideal for people with reliable electric sources or backup generators.
4. Can Get Overworked
Like all mechanical items with lots of moving parts, upflush toilets can easily get overworked especially when there are many users. In fact, manufacturers recommend that they be used less frequently when compared to conventional toilets.
Upflush Toilets
With upflush toilets, you can install your bathroom anywhere in your house. More so, you will enjoy numerous benefits, such as minimal clogs and high durability. If you want to redesign your bathroom or install a toilet in odd places like the basement, an upflush toilet is your to-go choice.